Going into the final game of matchday one, with Colombia and South Korea the 31st and last teams to take the field, Women’s World Cup 2023 still hadn’t seen a goal from outside the penalty area.
Enter Linda Caicedo.
The Colombia forward, who has already gone viral several times for spectacular long-range efforts, produced the goods today in Sydney. She put her team ahead by the final 2-0 margin shortly before half-time, having cut inside from the left flank and curled the ball over goalkeeper Yoon Young-geul.
An 18-year-old beating a 35-year-old, and in her World Cup debut…
…or, alternatively, her third World Cup in a year.
Last August, Caicedo played in the Under-20 World Cup in Costa Rica, scoring twice against New Zealand in the group phase before Colombia were eliminated by Brazil in the quarter-finals. Two months later, it was the Under-17 World Cup in India, helping Colombia to the final — where they were beaten by Spain — and finishing as joint-top-goalscorer with four goals.
And now Caicedo has scored on her debut in the real World Cup.
It was, in truth, a dreadful attempt at a save from Yoon, the worst mistake in an opening set of group matches that has otherwise passed without much goalkeeping incident. But it was also a demonstration of Caicedo’s brilliance….
