Brazil’s 18-woman roster for the Olympics was announced on Friday and included Orlando Pride ace and one of the greatest players of all-time, Marta. The 35-year-old’s reaction to hearing her name called to represent her country in Tokyo is what this sport is all about.

Marta Reaction To Olympic Roster

The moment Marta found out she made Brazil's Olympic roster for the fifth time

History is written by the victors. When you reminisce about the biggest finals of recent times, you’re likely thinking of players like Megan Rapinoe at the 2019 World Cup, Kylian Mbappé in 2018, Carli Lloyd in 2015 or Mario Götze in 2014.   

But there are those rare instances when an individual’s performance on the losing team — for better (Zinedine Zidane in 2006) or worse (Loris Karius in 2018) — lives just as vividly in the memory. 

As much as we at The18 love women’s soccer, it’s a sad fact that the men’s game receives far more attention, whether it’s from FIFA, other media companies, potential sponsors or the fans themselves. (We could spend hours debating why this is the case, but that’s for another story.) Despite this, there are still a large number of women’s footballers who are far more famous than their partners, who are themselves professional soccer players. 

Brazilian legend Marta turned 35 on Feb. 19 and she still proves to be one of the best in the world. She has the most goals in FIFA World Cup history, she is a six-time World Player of the Year and she is Brazil’s all-time top goal scorer, not to mention she just re-signed for the 2021 season with the Orlando Pride and received her green card so she no longer needs an international roster spot. As a player who many young players look up to, the day she decides to hang up her boots will certainly be a sad one. 

The U.S. women’s national team has a remarkable record of reaching the semifinals in every Women’s World Cup. It’s a major reason why we often refer to the USWNT as the greatest sports team of all time. But the road to the final four hasn’t always been easy, and in 2011, the USWNT came closer than ever to an early exit. Only a stunning late Abby Wambach goal vs Brazil — I’d argue the greatest goal in U.S. soccer history — saved the Americans from a quarterfinal exit.