THE NEXT BIG THING

From beating cancer to taking part in three world cups in less than a year and signing with Real Madrid, Colombian soccer sensation Linda Caicedo is a true inspiration

- NASIFA SULAIMAN

SHE’S being hailed as one of the finest players in the world, a rare all-round talent whose dynamic dribbling, goalscoring instincts and perfect finishing put her in a league of her own.

And the Fifa Women’s World Cup has been the perfect showcase for Linda Caicedo’s skills. A 20m-long goal shot against South Korea, a masterful goal against two-time champs Germany, a lightning presence on the field – little wonder the 18-year-old has been making headlines around the world.

To say the Colombian wonderkid is on a roll is something of an understatement: the tournament in New Zealand and Australia is her third world cup in less than 12 months and with each one she’s cemented her status more and more.

“Just saying her name in the last year has generated excitement,” says sports writer Sophie Downey.

Soccer analyst Charlie Davies agrees. “And she’s not even close to fulfilling her potential,” he adds.

Caicedo represented Colombia at the Fifa U-20 Women’s World Cup in August last year and helped her team reach the quarterfinals. Two months later she ran out at the Fifa U-17 Women’s World Cup, taking Colombia all the way to the finals where they lost to Spain.

She also shone at the Copa América Femenina, scoring the winning goal in the semifinal against Argentina to qualify the team for the Fifa World Cup and the 2024 Olympics. But perhaps most remarkable of all is that Caicedo did all this after battling cancer in 2020.

There were some behind-the-scenes concerns when she collapsed at the world cup recently – first during a training session then in the game against Germany – but she was soon back in action.