Marta Says Upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 To Be Her Last

• Marta will retire from international soccer after the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
• Marta has won the FIFA World Player of the Year award six times.
• Marta is recovering from a knee injury.

Marta, a forward for Brazil, said it’s “surreal” to be preparing for the sixth Women’s World Cup and that it will be her last. The competition will take place in Australia and New Zealand.

With 117 goals overall, the 37-year-old is Brazil’s all-time best scorer. She made her World Cup debut in 2003. Although she has won the World Cup once, she has won the Copa America three times.

Brazil’s highest finish at the international soccer championship was second place to Germany in 2007.

“Yes, it will be my last World Cup,” she told local media in Brasilia on Monday. “We have to understand that a time comes for us to prioritize other things.

“I just have to be thankful to have lived all those years in the national team. To have the opportunity to go to another World Cup, a sixth one, for me is something surreal.”

Marta, who has won the FIFA World Player of the Year award six times, may begin the tournament on the bench as she continues to heal from a knee injury, according to coach Pia Sundhage.

Marta underwent surgery to repair a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament last year, missing 11 months before joining the national squad in February.

She sat out the friendlies against England and Germany in April but entered the game against Chile in the 74th minute and helped her team win 4-0.

On July 24, Brazil plays Panama to open the World Cup, followed by matches against France and Jamaica.