Marta couldn't go a full 90 minutes, still recovering from an injury. But she fought and clawed, pushed her body to the limit for 81. But it wasn't enough. Brazil — and a global icon — are done, writes thrace.
After the game, the players were quietly devastated as they took questions from the Brazilian press in the mixed zone. Debinha went directly through while holding back tears, understandably not stopping to talk to anyone. Rafaelle and Kerolin put on brave faces and worked the line, but were clearly ready to be escorted into privacy by their press officer by the time they were done. “I love her,” said Cheyna Matthews.
But in the press corps of women who had assembled to hear her, in the players who eliminated her in her final World Cup, in the brilliant young Brazilians like 23-year-old Kerolin, there is her enduring legacy carried forward — forever.Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us.is a staff writer for The Athletic covering women’s soccer in the United States.