Caicedo's fall in training caused alarm due to her history of battling ovarian cancer. Credit: AFP/Franck Fife
18-year-old Colombian sensation Linda Caicedo recovered from a mysterious fall in training on Thursday and scored a miracle goal on Sunday that helped her team produce one of the biggest shocks at the Women's World Cup when they beat Germany 2-1 in Sydney.
Real Madrid forward Caicedo is no stranger to setbacks: he was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 15 and was recovering after six months of chemotherapy. practice field in the middle of Thursday's session.
Colombia's medical staff later said she was “healthy and back to normal” ahead of their dramatic match against tournament favorites Germany.
In front of a bustling crowd dominated by Colombian fans in Sydney, Caicedo opened the scoring by skillfully slipping past two German defenders and then landing a satisfying shot into the far top corner of the net. It was her second World Cup goal after she also scored in her team's first 2-0 victory over South Korea on July 25.
Just as Linda Caicedo's career was taking off in 2020, she was diagnosed with cancer.
Three years later, she just did it at the World Championships at the age of 18 🤯#FIFAWWC pic. twitter.com/PPxYlDnEJi
– BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 30, 2023
European finalists Germany appeared to turn down Colombia when they equalized with an 89th-minute Alexandra Popp penalty, but Manuela Vanegas won the game with a 97th-minute header from a corner to cause bedlam in the stands at the Sydney Football Stadium. This victory is undoubtedly one of the best in the history of Colombian football.
This stunning result puts Colombia in first place in Group H and almost reaches the last 16, but leaves Germany in second place, one of the pre-tournament favorites and still has some work to do to qualify for the play-offs. This could put the Germans on a collision course to face France in the round of 16, with the French currently leading Group F with another round of matches ahead.
For the New Zealand co-hosts, however, their dream is over , as they became the first Women's World Cup hosts to be eliminated in the group stage, as they drew against Switzerland on the final evening of Group A. As a result, the Swiss emerged as group winners and were joined by Norway, who beat the Philippines 6-0 thanks to a hat-trick by Sophie Roman Haug.
For New Zealand, which had a great start to the campaign, shocking the 1995 champions Norway in the first match, their demise was in the second match against the Filipinos, who were also eliminated on Sunday. Switzerland and Norway will face the runners-up and Group C winners respectively, i.e. Spain or Japan.
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