By: Jennifer Zhou
Soccer is the type of sport that often brings people together, although it also has the potential to create some fierce rivalries. Now in the Women’s World Cup, Brazil and Colombia are going up against each other. Goosebumps crawl all over the audience watching.
The Brazilians, who wear yellow, cheer loudly on Saturday night in Brisbane while Colombians, also in yellow shirts, make great noise in Sydney. Recently, Brazil suffered a 2-1 loss to France, while Colombia edged out a 2-1 win to Germany, who started off with a 6-0 win against Morocco.
The Colombians have experienced two joyous in just one night, three if you count the national anthem. According to the Washington Post Times, The Australia Bureau of Statistics reported in a study from 2021 that 35,033 Colombia-born people live in Australia, and a large portion of them attended the Sydney Football Stadium for the match to make up a majority of the 40,499 spectators. Colombia, ranked 25th in the world, ascended to six points in Group H. That’s ahead of the three points for Germany, the number 2 ranked team.
On a second straight night of roars from South Americans that sounded indiscernible from any men’s match, Germany looked the better side and had more possession time through a scoreless first half and early into the second half.
In the 52nd minute of play, the Colombian 18-year-old Linda Caicedo fielded the ball on the left side of the box and sent it into the goal. It was her second goal of the tournament, having also scored against South Korea in the tournament. Caicedo, born in Cali, Colombia is another reminder of how the world continues to fashion little girls who grow up to cause big sounds. Caicedo was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 15 and underwent surgery and chemotherapy. Two years later, she was back on the field and ready to play at the highest level.
The Colombians, led by the energy of Mayra Ramirez (age 23), won the game in the 96th minute with Columbia’s Manuela Vanegas’s header goal to earn the 2-1 final score over Germany. This win caused wild celebrations from Colombia, and looks of disbelief among the German players.
“This is something historic for us. We’ve been feeling the whole time the backing from the fans from our country,” says Colombia assistant coach Angelo Marsiglia. “Today we were playing as a home team.”
Soon, Columbia is expected to play Morocco. It is for sure that the rest of the Women’s World Cup will be just as exciting.