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WOMEN'S WORLD CUP 2023

What did Linda Caicedo say about Colombia’s Women’s World Cup 2023 exit to England?

The Real Madrid forward has been one of the stars of the World Cup down under but couldn’t help her team past The Lionesses.

Linda Caicedo, triste por la eliminación de Colombia del Mundial
IZHAR KHANAFP

There was no shortage of tears and plenty of heartbreak in the Colombia dressing room following their Women’s World Cup 2023 quarter-final defeat at the hands of England in Sydney. Linda Caicedo, only 18, will surely have many more tournaments ahead of her but was among the worst affected, the Real Madrid attacker claiming after the final whistle that the pain she felt was mainly down to the likely international retirement of a number of her teammates.

Caicedo “hurt” by Carolina Arias injury

“I feel very sad, I have plenty of World Cups left, but it hurts most of my teammates won’t be carrying on. Also because of Caro (Arias), who is a really good friend of mine. For her to bow out this way...it really hurts me”, said the teenager, who scored two goals in the group stage.

The forward thanked the Colombian fans for their support and stressed that the most important thing now is for the players to keep their heads up and continue working hard to ensure they qualify for the next tournament. “We have to say goodbye to this beautiful World Cup, I want to thank the Colombian fans. Unfortunately, it was a tough way to go out, but we have to accept it and hold our heads up high,” she said.

Real Madrid forward speechless after Colombia elimination

Finding it more and more difficult to express herself, Caicedo was at a loss to explain what had happened to her team. “I really have no words, I can’t deal with this”.

She did finally go on to speak more about defender Arias, who suffered a nasty-looking injury early on in the game. “We don’t know the extent of the issue yet, but we hope the tests give us good news. I hope she’ll be OK, that’s the most important thing now”.

Caicedo returns to Spain a World Cup star

Caicedo will now have a few days off before heading back to Real Madrid for the start of the 2023-24 season, in which she’ll hope to continue her stratospheric rise to the top of elite women’s soccer. After her performances down under, the world will be watching.