IFFHS WORLD TEAM
Linda Caicedo in IFFHS Women’s World Team 2023: who else is included?
The Real Madrid and Colombia forward is the only Latin American in a global all-star XI that is dominated by Spain’s World Cup winners.
Fresh from naming Linda Caicedo among the top five players in women’s world soccer, the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) has again recognised the Real Madrid and Colombia star’s talents. Caicedo has been included in the body’s Women’s World Team for 2023, with the 18-year-old the only Latin American player to make the all-star XI.
Who is in the 2023 IFFHS Women’s World Team?
After a year in which Spain won the Women’s World Cup for the first time, La Roja dominates the Women’s World Team. It features four members of the Spanish side that lifted the global title in August: Golden Ball winner Aitana Bonmatí, Silver Ball winner Jenni Hermoso, FIFA Young Player Award recipient Salma Paralluelo, and final goalscorer Olga Carmona.
No other country has more than one player in the IFFHS’ ideal line-up.
Beyond the inclusion of the Spanish quartet, the 2023 World Cup’s influence on the IFFHS’ selections is also evident. The team features the tournament’s top scorer, Japan’s Hinata Miyazawa; its Bronze Ball winner, Sweden’s Amanda Ilestedt; and its best goalkeeper, England’s Mary Earps.
Caicedo’s selection for the Women’s World Team likewise owes much to her impressive displays in Australia and New Zealand, where Colombia reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time in their history. The teenager scored twice down under for Las Cafeteras, with her group-stage strike against Germany voted goal of the tournament.
IFFHS Women’s World Team 2023:
Mary Earps (England); Amanda Ilestedt (Sweden), Wendie Rénard (France), Olga Carmona (Spain); Lena Oberdorf (Germany), Aitana Bonmatí (Spain), Hinata Miyazawa (Japan), Linda Caicedo (Colombia); Jenni Hermoso (Spain), Sam Kerr (Australia), Salma Paralluelo (Spain).
What’s in store for Linda Caicedo in 2024?
Caicedo, who is currently preparing for Real Madrid’s Liga F match-up with Madrid CFF on Sunday, is approaching the first anniversary of her February 2023 move to European soccer.
Having appeared in three World Cups over the course of 12 months - she played at the Under-17 and Under-20 tournaments in the second half of 2022 - the teenager now has another to look forward to. Colombia will be the host nation of the 2024 Under-20 World Cup, which takes place between 31 August and 22 September.
Before then, the forward is also in line to represent the Colombians at the CONCACAF W Gold Cup in February and March, and at the Paris Olympics in July and August.
At club level, Madrid have been knocked out of this season’s Women’s Champions League, and face a battle to beat arch rivals Barcelona to the 2023/24 Spanish league title. Sitting second in the Liga F, Las Blancas have a nine-point gap to make up on the leaders, who are chasing a fifth straight domestic championship.