#world cup top scorer

[footballsoccercards]

ALL TIME TOP 50 GOAL SCORERS FIFA WORLD CUP 1930 - 2022 IN HISTORY, WIT...

[legowolas]

LET'S HEAR IT FOR OUR FAVOURITE NINE AND KEN TEN COMBO ‼️ 🇿🇦 🏆🏆 💚💛

[ID 1: A "This Barbie is..." poster, featuring Faf de Klerk, a South African rugby player with shoulder-length blond hair. He is wearing nothing but a speedo with the South African flag on it, and his 2023 Rugby World Cup winner's medal. He is holding the Webb Ellis Trophy, and smiling at the camera. The sparkly background behind him is green, and the text above his head reads "This Barbie is a 2x Rugby World Cup champion". End ID].

[ID 2: Another "This Barbie is..." poster, this one featuring Handré Pollard, another South African rugby player. He is wearing a white T-shirt with text on it that reads "WORLD CHAMPIONS", and has four stars below the text, which are labelled "1995", 2007", "2019", and "2023". He has a large cut on his cheek, which has stitches. He is also wearing his 2023 Rugby World Cup winner's medal and holding the Webb Ellis Trophy, and he kisses the trophy as he looks into the camera. The sparkly background behind him is also green, and the text above his head reads "This Ken is the #1 points scorer in Rugby World Cup finals". End ID].

[acmeelan]

Monsieur le Roi 👑

[ohhtobeagooner]

everybody play mini world cup right now this is the only wc that matters

[swamyworld]

Former India star remains top scorer pick in T20 World Cup after Virat Kohli's golden duck against USA: 'Don't write...'

Is Virat Kohli Embracing Lean Patch? Former Indian opening batsman Wasim Jaffer has issued a fresh warning against writing off India’s talismanic batsman. As India look set to enter the Super 8 stage of the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup, Kohli’s form has been the focal point for the 2007 champions. Starting their bid for a second World Cup title in the shortest format, Rohit’s team India lived up to the…

[celebritynewtrenddotcom]

[allfifaworldcup]

World Cup 2022 top scorers: Kylian Mbappe leads Lionel Messi, Bukayo Saka and Richarlison in Golden Boot race-FIFA WORLD CUP

World Cup 2022 top scorers: Kylian Mbappe leads Lionel Messi, Bukayo Saka and Richarlison in Golden Boot race-FIFA WORLD CUP

A raft of players sit on three goals in their bid to become top scorer in Qatar and claim the award Harry Kane won four years ago. Lionel Messi, Bukayo Saka, Cody Gakpo, Marcus Rashford and Richarlison are all in with a shout of grabbing the gong as things stand, with Brazil taking on Croatia in today’s first quarter-final. Goncalo Ramos shot himself up the Golden Boot standings with a hat-trick…

[tumsozluk]

World Cup 2022 top goal scorer: Updated rankings in the Golden Boot race

World Cup 2022 top goal scorer: Updated rankings in the Golden Boot race

It’s raining braces at the World Cup. After Ecuador’s Enner Valencia, it was England’s Bukayo Saka and then Iran’s Mehdi Taremi to register braces in their opening match on Monday. Ecuador dominated Qatar on Sunday in Group A just as England did to Iran in Group B with a 6-2 victory. The only consolation for Iran was Tarem’s two goals, including on a stoppage-time penalty kick. The most…

[thinkwosolife23]

Reputation, Alexia Putellas

Being a Williamson is great. For the most part. You and Leah had gained quite the reputation both on and off the pitch.

On the pitch, Leah had become one of the best centerbacks in the world. Captaining the Lionesses to winning the Euros and then taken them right through to the World Cup Final. And you had become on of the most well-decorated fowards in the world, top scorer for Arsenal and England. And when you were on the pitch together, well that was a duo that was feared by your opposistion. Leah was able to find you wherever you were on the pitch and 9 times out of 10, you would put the ball in the back of the net. The connection you two held on the pitch was unmatched, it became unstoppable.

But off the pitch, the Williamson name wasn't as appreciated. After the two of you had come out of long-term relationships, Leah with Jordan and you with Katie (McCabe). You had started to become known as, 'players.' The routine of going out, meeting someone, sleeping with them and leaving in the morning became all too familiar for the pair of you. The word commitment no longer exsisted in your world outside of football.

Your teamaties had become well aware of the antics you and your sister shared. This happened because you may have, accidently slept with one of your teamates sisters.

But this season, the Williamson sisters were no longer playing for the same club team.

Arsenal Star, Y/N Williamson leaves childhood club for Champions League Winners.

Barcalona break the current Womens record fee to sign Y/N Williamson from Arsenal.

So, here you were. In Barcalona. Today would be your first day in training, also the day where you would be introduced to your new teamates. Obviously, you had played against some of them in the World Cup Final but we won't talk about that.

Kiera had offered to take you to training, with it being your first day. And for the fact that currently, you don't have a car.

But with the journey to training, you also recieved a lecture.

"You can't mess around here, Y/N. You can't be like how you were in England." Kiera told you firmly just as you had stepped into the training centre.

"Best behaviour. I know, Ke" You replied, almost sarcasticly.

"I'm serious!"

You didn't reply, you just smiled at gave her the thumbs up.

Kiera took you straight out onto the field where all the girls were. They were all quick to come over introducing themselves to you.

But then something else took your attention, rather someone did.

She was beautiful, everything about her was just…. uuhh. She was talking to Lucy about something.

You looked back at Keira who was already giving you a firm look as if she knew what you was thinking, then giving you a strong shake of her head, telling you that your thoughts needed to stop.

Meanwhile, Alexia was just as curious. And Lucy seemed to notice it.

"You can't go there, Ale." Lucy told her, Alexia's eyes staying fixed on you.

"What do you mean?" She questioned, almost confused at Lucy's sudden outburst.

"She's got a bit of reputation for messing people around."

"She's english. You play with her, isn't she your friend." Alexia said, as if she was coming to your defense.

"She is a friend and she's an amazing footballer but that doesn't mean she isn't bad news. You need to be careful." Lucy affirmed before walking off, making her way towards Kiera.

This gave you the perfect chance to go an introduce yourself.

You made your way through the team towards her.

"Hola." You said, holding your hand out for her to shake. (Hey.)

"¿Tú hablas español?" She questioned, gently reaching out to shake your hand. (You speak spanish?)

"¿Qué puedo decir? Me propuse impresionar." (What can I say? I set out to impress.)

"Tienes bastante reputación, ¿no?" (You've got quite the reputation, haven't you.)

"Podría decir lo mismo de ti." You told her, your confidence soon starting to show. (I could say the same thing about you.)

"No creas que nuestras reputaciones son similares." Her confidence almost matching yours, almost… (Don't think that our reputations are similar.)

"Bueno, lo siento, no todas podemos ser tan buenas como Miss Balón de Oro. Pero me ofende un poco que mis habilidades futbolísticas no sean lo que más me conoce." (Well I am sorry, we can't all be as good as Miss Ballon D'or. But I am slightly offended that my footballing abillity isn't what i'm best known for.)

"Me han advertido sobre ti, que me mantenga alejado, aparentemente son tus malas noticias." She told you, her hand still held within yours. (I've been warned about you, to stay away, your bad news, apparently.)

"Entonces claramente debes estar inflado por mí, porque no estás escuchando la advertencia, ¿verdad?" You questioned her, whilst lifting your hands up showing her that she hadn't let go. (You must clearly be infactuated by me then, cause your not listening to the warning, are you?)

"Me gusta pensar que puedo opinar sobre las nuevas jugadoras." (I like to think I can make my own opinion of new players.)

"Mujer independiente. Y no pensé que podrías volverte más hermosa." (Independent woman. And I didn't think that you could get anymore beautiul.)

"Y eres demasiado coqueta." (And your too much of a flirt.)

Over the next few weeks, you and Alexia had become really close. Despite what people were telling both of you.

It was different with her though: something drew you towards her, you didn't just want to sleep with her. She made you feel something. Obviously, she was beautiful - no-one could deny that but she was so many other things. She was funny, she was intelligent, she amazed you everytime she stepped onto the pitch. She was perfect.

Nothing had actually happened between the pair of you, nothing more than the casual flirting on a daily basis. You two had formed an incredible connection on the pitch, similar to yours and Leahs. Alexia always managed to find you on the pitch and you knew that she was either next to you or behind you, words didn't need to be spoken for you two to understand each other.

Tonight, the whole of the Barcalona Femeni team were going out to celebrate a 4-0 win in the El Clasico. You managing to score 2 of them goals, also managing to assist Alexia on another one.

Anyways, you had just got to the bar with Mapi and Ingrid. Since your move to Barcalona, you had formed a really good friendship with the couple. Besides your fellow Lionesses, the two had definatly become two of your closest friends.

Some of your teamates had already arrived at the bar, taking seat in one of the booths in the far corner. Despite the night only just starting, the spanish bar was packed with people and sound.

The three of you made your way over to the group, squeezing through the crowds of people. As soon as you got to the group, everyone was up greeting the three of you before going back to there previous conversations.

After about half an hour, you joined Lucy in getting everyone another round of drinks.

"I'm suprised you haven't already found someone to take home." Lucy casually questioned you.

"Are you being serious?" Your voice raising slightly, clearly irritated.

"What? You can't blame me for thinking that. You and Leah practically bedded most of the girls in London."

"You know what Lucy, it's none of your buissness what I get up to in my own life. I'm done with this." You gestured your hands between you and Lucy, towards the conversations before walking off.

You began making your way outside, wanting to give yourself time to calm down. You went and sat on the kerb just in front of the bar but you weren't outside alone for long.

A few minutes passed before you felt someone's prescence beside you, resting their head on your shoulder.

You didn't even have to look to see who it was. So many things told you that it was her: the way she smelt or the fact that your body instantly relaxed as soon as she was near you.

"Y/N?" Alexia's voice was soft, sensing that something had clearly agitated you.

"Lex, estoy tan harto de todo esto que es como si todos estuvieran esperando que lo arruine todo." You told her, the fustration evident in your voice, complety opposing her soft tone. (Lex, i'm so fed up of it all, it's like everyone is waiting for me to mess everything up.)

"Se preocupan por ti. Sólo quieren lo mejor para ti." (They care about you. They just want what'a best for you.)

"Pero si se preocuparan por mí, verían que he cambiado, que estoy tratando de ser mejor." (But if they cared about me, they would see that i've changed, i'm trying to be better.)

There were a couple of minutes of silence between the pair of you, but knowing that Alexia was next to you brought you more re-assurance that any words could ever do.

"¿Puedo hacerte una pregunta?" She was first to break the silence. Her head head coming off your shoulder, for her boy to turn and face you. (Can I ask you a question?)

You eyes never left the view in front of you but you did nodd so that she knew you were listening. You could feel the intensity of her stare without even lookin in her direction, it felt as if she was almost studying your side profile. Her eyes focused solely on you.

"¿Qué te hizo acostarte con todas esas chicas? ¿Por qué estás tan en contra del compromiso?" (What made you sleep with all them girls, why are you so against commitment?)

"Técnicamente son dos preguntas." (That's technically two questions.)

She let out a slight laugh at your almost sarcastic response before looking back at your face to see that there were tears falling from your eyes. Instinctively, her hand reached for yours; interlocking your fingers before giving your hand a light squeeze. Her way of letting you know that she was there for you.

"Cuando estaba con Katie: pensé que me casaría con ella, tendría hijos con ella, pensé que estaríamos para siempre. Ella era mi todo. Pero obviamente no. Cuando ella rompió conmigo: estaba entumecido, no podía sentir. Después de un par de semanas, el equipo me arrastró con ellos a salir por la noche. Terminé emborrachándome mucho y yendo a casa de una chica. Fue la primera vez que realmente sentí algo. El sexo me hizo sentir, se volvió casi adictivo pero en el mal sentido. Salía, me emborrachaba, traía a alguien a casa, dormía con ellos y luego, a la mañana siguiente, se convertían en extraños y yo me iba." (When I was with Katie: I thought I was going to marry her, have kids with her, I thought we were forever. She was my everything. But obviously not. When she broke up with me: I was numb, I couldn't feel. After a couple of weeks, the team dragged me out with them on a night out, I ended up getting really drunk and going to a girl's house, It was the first time that I actually felt something. Sex made me feel, it became almost addictive but in a bad way. I'd go out, get drunk, take someone home, sleep with them and then the next morning they became a stanger and I left.)

"¿Y qué te hizo querer cambiar? ¿Por qué quieres mejorar?" (And what made you want to change, why do you want to get better?)

For the first time, you head turned to look at her. Her hands came up to wipe there tears from under your eyes, before giving you a smile.

"Lo hiciste." (You did.)

Her smile grew slightly and that mad you break out into a small smile. Before you knew it, your were both leaninig in. Her hands still resting on your cheeks as yours reached to each side of her neck. And then, her lips hit yours, giving you a spark you had never felt before, not even with Katie. The both of you pulled away, resting your forehead on hers.

"Es diferente contigo, Lex. Me haces sentir, me haces sentir tantas cosas diferentes. En realidad me asusta, pero quiero intentarlo contigo." (It's different with you, Lex. You make me feel, you make me feel so many different things. It actually scares me, but I want to try with you.)

[outsideratheart]

Bumped Heads & Bedtime Stories (Alex Morgan x reader)

A/N: So this wasn’t planned but once it was in my head I had to write it. I hope you all like it.

Alex and Charlie watched on proudly as you took the field with the Matildas for the Semi final of the World Cup. The younger of the two got up from her mother’s lap and stood directly in front of the TV when the camera zoomed in on you as you exchanged pendants with the German captain. 

“Mommy look it’s Mama” Charlie says excitedly. 

Long distance was hard for the two of you when you started dating, more so when you got married but all of that failed in comparison to when you had Charlie. You played for Lyon and had done since you were a 21 years old. Alex feared what your bond with Charlie would be like when you lived half way across the world for the majority of the year but she soon found out she had nothing to worry about. Charlie adored you and the bond you two shared was unbreakable.

“It is and she is wearing a shirt just like yours” Alex replies to her daughter.

“This is her shirt Mama, look” Charlie points the your last name on the back of her shirt.

“But you support America, right Charlie?” Kelley asks the small child.

“No! I support Australia” she didn’t pronounce every letter but it was enough to be understood.

Alex knew this was an argument she could never win. You hadn’t tried to get Charlie on your side, the girl automatically chose you. The two of you asked her who she would support if Mama and Mommy play against each other and each time Charlie said you.

The Matildas were putting in yet another dominating performance just like they had been doing the entire campaign. The advantage they had with it being a home tournament made a huge difference and every game sounded and was played like a final.

You were 2-0 up going into the second half. Sam had scored from a corner and you had scored from a free kick. You were currently the top scorer on the tournament which shocked most people because you were a left back but you were also a set piece specialist. The ball almost always found the back of the net whether it came off your foot or your head.

It’s why when the next corner takes place you are heavily marked but some how manage to free yourself. As you jump for the header you feel your head hit something but it felt a lot harder than a ball, this much is proven when you fall to the floor and can feel your head throbbing in seconds. Your first guess is that you got elbowed so you stand to your feet but then feel a warm liquid running down your face. Yes, you had built up a sweat but it was winter in Australia no way are you sweating this much. It is only when you look down that you see drops of red on your shirt and when you raise your hand to where the pain is your hand is covered in blood.

Alex was unaware of the incident that had taken place on the pitch as she was getting some water from the hotel bar. The first wave of panic is brought on when she hears Charlie shrieking and her cries get louder and louder as she runs towards her.

“Mama’s hurt. Blood” Charlie all but jumps into the Alex’s arms. The child is inconsolable.

Your wife doesn’t know to react. She knew that she had to stay calm if she had any hope of calming Charlie down but right now she was finding that incredibly difficult.

When Alex returns to the seating area she sees all eyes are on her before heads turn towards the TV. 

“How bad is it?” Alex asks calmly.

“Lots of blood” Charlie is the only one to answer her question.

“Can you one you please tell me what happen to Y/N?” Alex begs her team mates.

“It was a corner. She jumped up for a header but one of the German defenders had a hold of her shirt. The keeper came out to punch the ball away and kneed Y/N in the head. She got up almost immediately—“ Kelley tried telling her best friend.

“So she’s ok?”

“She had a cut on her head. Like Charlie said there was a lot of blood. She refused a stretcher and help from the physios because she wanted to play. Sam and Ellie had to help her of the pitch. She looked out of it”

Alex tried to process what she was being told. Head injuries are serious and regardless of whether you used a stretcher or not, the suggestion of one is enough to instil worry. 

“Was it bad?” She wasn’t sure if she wanted to the answer.

“No”

“Yes”

Only one player said yes and it was Kristie. 

“Sam refused to play and walked off the pitch with Y/N. I know my girlfriend, I has never seen her look like that and she has never walked away from a game. It’s the semi final. She wouldn’t have gone with Y/N if it wasn’t bad”

Kristie’s statement made Alex feel two things; relief because you had your best friend with you and panic because the blonde was right, Sam wouldn’t have left the match if it wasn’t bad. 

“Charlie” Naomi walks up to the little girl who surprisingly doesn’t shy away from her “do you know how many goals you mama has scored so far? I think it’s 2”

Your daughter reaches of the defender and goes into tell her that you had scored and how you scored them. 

Time after time, Alex got your voicemail. She was about to give up and drive to the hospital that were closest to the stadium but then Kristie got a call.

“It’s Sam” She holds the phone towards the forward “She’s with Y/N”

Alex took a deep breath before holding the phone up to her ear.

“Y/N” 

“Hi Al” you voice was quiet and if she hadn’t already have known she would be able to tell something was wrong “I need to go to the hospital for some checks and stitches”

“Which one? I’ll get one of the cars and be there as soon as I can” Alex was already searching for a member of staff that would have car keys.

“No, don’t come. Stay with Charlie. Hospitals are no place for children and you hate them almost as much as I do. I should only be a couple of hours if I don’t have to stay over. I’ll come to you afterwards”

Alex wanted to argue. She needed to see that you were ok with her own eyes, anything less wouldn’t do. 

“You’re going to come here as soon as you can?” 

“I am” 

The whole USWNT waited patiently, some more than others, for you to arrive to their hotel.  Since you began dating Alex, you had become part of their family. They all watched the incident happen and would feel much better when they saw you in the flesh. 

Hours pass and you still hadn’t arrived, they hadn’t even heard from you since the call with Alex.

Charlie went quiet and Alex knew it was because you needed to see you. The young girl always shut down when she missed you and she wouldn’t return to her normal until she saw you or felt like you were close to her. Because of this Alex had packed several of your hoodies so that they can be a source of comfort your daughter and her as well.

“Kells, will you take Charlie up to get one of Y/N’s hoodies. I’d take her but I want to be here when she—“

“Of course” 

The choice of clothing must have been a hard decision because the pair was gone almost half an hour. The defender returns to the hotel bar.

“Kelley, please tell me you haven’t lost my daughter?” Alex asks when she notices her friend is alone.

Alex walks towards the defender who had assumed Charlie was right behind her.

“Mama!!” 

The word is heard throughout the bar and the giggles that follow lift a weight that had been hanging on each players shoulders. 

When you enter the bar, your daughter in your arms, everyone can see what the accident had done to you. The left side of your forehead is slightly swollen and you had stitches just below your hairline. You welcome Alex into your arms and place a small kiss to both her and Charlie’s temples.

Sam hovers near you. You hear Kristie call her over but she shakes her head.

“Go. I’m fine” you pat your best friend on her shoulder “Thank you for staying with me Sammy” 

“I’m only over there if you need me” Sam gingerly walks over to her girlfriend.

You sit down with Alex next to you and Charlie on your knee. Your daughter inspects your injury all whilst been careful not to hurt you. She presses your stitches a little too hard which causes you to wince.

“Does it hurt?” Charlie asks and you can feel Alex’s eyes burning into you.

“It does but I’m ok” 

“Are you?” It is now Alex’s turn to ask you a question.

“I am. I have no concussion and no major damage”

“Then why is Sam here and why is she watching you like you’re going to pass out at any minute?”

“I lost consciousness a couple of times, I think I scared her” You once made a vow to be honest with Alex and it seemed important now more than ever.

You look over to where Sam and Kristie were sitting and like Alex said, Sam was watching you like a hawk. 

“I’m here because I have her medication” Sam answers Alex’s first question.

“Medication? You said you were ok. If you were ok then you wouldn’t need medication” 

You give Sam a look as if saying look what you’ve started. 

“Sam. Show Alex the medication you were talking about”

Sam holds up a pack of paracetamol earning a laugh from the girls around you. 

You hated taking painkillers but the doctor give you strict instructions to take them every 4 hours. It has been 2 hours since your first dose and Sam had taken it upon herself to make sure you took a second dose, after that it would be Alex’s job.

“Sam wanted to see Kristie without it the girls teasing her for it so she’s using me as an excuse”

Sam couldn’t argue with you on that. The team, you included, loved to tease her about how much she missed her girlfriend. You got just as much stick but you agreed with your tormentors whereas Sam would get defensive.

You took Charlie upstairs to get ready for bed since it was made obvious that the team would be staying downstairs for a bit and one late night wouldn’t harm the child. 

Whilst Alex did believe you when you told her you were ok, she still wanted a second opinion and your best friend her best option. 

“How bad was it?” Alex joins Sam and Kristie at their table. Sonnett, Lynn and Kelley was also at the same table.

“You want the truth?” Your wife nods her head “At first it was really bad. The physios couldn’t stop the bleeding and they didn’t want to go to hospital until they did. Y/N was out of it but she was trying to act fine. Her eyes wouldn’t focus on anything, it was almost like we weren’t in the room with her” Sam tries not to cry but the lump that if forming in her throat was making it difficult.

Alex didn’t share the same need for control. Her tears fell freely as she heard your best friend tell her what happened moment by moment. Turns out she did have a reason for concern and quite a few at that. Looking at the way you walked in you wouldn’t have thought anything had happened but after listening to Sam, Alex realised you had to be putting on a brave front.

When you return with a pyjama clad Charlie Alex tells the group that is is time for the Morgan - Y/L/N’s to go to bed. You saw the look in her eye and didn’t argue.

Once the door had shut Alex started to cry. 

“Hey hey, there’s no need to cry” you pull her in tight and hold her close. You knew that you would have scared Alex so you let her cry.

“You scared us” Alex speaks into your chest.

“I know, I’m sorry” you grab her hand and pull her towards the bed. Once sat down Alex buries her head in the crook of your neck and you hold her tightly again.

“Yeah mama, there was a lot of blood” Charlie walks over to the two of you. Alex pulls away and quickly wipes her eyes. She didn’t want your daughter to see her cry.

You wanted to say wait till they see your Matilda’s jersey which was now more red than yellow but now wasn’t the time for jokes. 

“I know there was but it all got cleaned up and then I got these to stop it from bleeding again” You point to your stitches. 

“I got you this” Charlie climbs onto your lap and holds up a band aid which had Pepper pig on. You take it off her and hand to Alex with a nod of you head. Alex then places the unnecessary band aid across the stitches but makes sure that the cushion covers your stitches.

“Can we watch a movie?” 

“Yes” Alex answers.

“Actually, the doctor told Mama she isn’t allowed to watch any movies tonight”

“You said you didn’t have a concussion” Alex whispers knowing full well what people who have concussions get told.

“I don’t but the brightness makes my headache worse” you reassure your wife.

“Why?” Your child was curious and didn’t understand why you wouldn’t be allowed.

“Because whilst I am ok, I do have a poorly head. What about a bedtime story instead?” 

Charlie happily takes you up on your offer and even gets herself into her bed. 

“What do you think Al, is it time our daughter finds out how we met?” 

Alex rolls her eyes at this. You two had very different sides when it came to the day you met. You were adamant that it was love at first sight, especially for Alex but she didn’t agree. 

“Only if you tell her the truth” 

Once Charlie is tucked up in bed you side on the side with Alex standing over you.

“It started when Australia played America. I had to mark your mommy and she kept trying to take my top off” This earned you a slap from Alex but a giggle from Charlie so it was worth it.

“I did not”

“You ripped it off me remember”

“It was an accident”

“Oh baby, you keep telling yourself that. Do you think it was an accident Charlie?”

“Nope” Charlie agrees with you, of course she did.

You continue telling the story and every so often you would hear Alex scoff at your recollation of events. She saw you as this cocky Aussie but you did catch her eye that first day but she wouldn’t call it love at first sight. Lust would be more appropriate given then you ended in her hotel room that night.

“Then a couple of years later your Mommy moved all the way to France because she missed me and wanted to see me everyday”

“I didn’t move for you. Well not just you”

“Ha! I knew it” you look up at Alex with a smug look in your face.

“I miss you everyday Mama” 

“And I miss you my sweet one”

You continue the story up to the point where you propose to Alex when you see Charlie trying really hard to fight sleep. You end it there and promise to finish it another time.

You get into your own bed, well technically it is Alex’s bed, and with a watchful eye you enjoy the show she is putting on as she gets changed.

“So I’ve been thinking” 

“Are you allowed to do that?” Alex jokes.

“Actually not but just allow it for the time being. My contract is up with Lyon this summer and I have meeting after the world cup to discuss my contract. How would you feel if I request a transfer?”

Never in all the years of dating and marriage had Alex asked you to leave Lyon, not even when Charlie was born. You were one of the best players in the world, Lyon was the team that made you into that and in return you gave them several champions league titles. Sure the topic had been brought up before but you were always under contract so it was hard.

“Are you saying you are ready to leave?”

“No. I’m ready to stop leaving. Charlie is getting older and you heard her, she misses me and I know you do” Alex throws her top at you “You do and I miss you too. I’ve given my life to that club but it’s time I put our family first”

You wouldn’t admit it but today scared you and you knew that it could have been a lot worse than it was. It made you appreciate these moments you had with your family and you wanted to have more of them even if it did mean moving the San Diego.

[wileys-russo]

I don’t know if you’re doing ficlets still but could we get one maybe for golden boot golden girl? No pressure as I know you must be swamped 🤍

golden boot golden girl ficlet

"-and you want me to hide in that?" you laughed at millies face and nodded, gesturing to the large food truck parked in the middle of the indoor pitch.

"yeah the front window will be closed and then the camera will be here-" you moved to stand where they'd be. "-less and rach will be there-" you gestured for her to take a few steps to the left.

"they'll have their backs to you and we'll keep them talking, then you pop out surprise them with the award. easy!" you shrugged, millie humming in understanding.

a couple of hours later and everything so far was going to plan, millie was hiding in the truck and the cameras were set up, now all you had to worry about was keeping what came out of your girlfriends mouth family friendly.

"rach we're filming, you're making more work for the editor!" you sighed for the third time she'd make an inappropriate joke, alessia having given up telling her off and instead just laughing at your expense. "i'm at work too daly, some respect please." you warned more seriously this time, the social media manager for the lionesses.

"sorry love. go on, start over!" your girlfriend waved once her and alessia's giggles had subsided, and you could only imagine the growing annoyance of one english defender stuck tucked away in a food truck awaiting her signal.

with a sigh you directed them once more on what to say, the two of them finally getting to the bit which would signal millie as one of the production assistants slowly opened the window of the food truck.

"congratulations girls!" the blonde boomed as both alessia and rachel let our a shriek, poor alessia almost falling to the floor in shock making millie bend over with laughter as she stepped out of the food truck.

she glanced to you and gave you a thumbs up which you returned, gesturing for her to continue with the speech she'd prepared as she presented both girls with their trophies for top goal scorers at the world cup.

it wasn't until hours after you'd wrapped that video that you saw your girlfriend again, pulled into meetings all afternoon and eating dinner with the staff as sarina wanted to address everyone about the upcoming tournament of nations and the plan for going forward.

"-yeah we'll go for a coffee tomorrow and brainstorm. night!" you yelled out with a smile to the rest of your team who all headed off to their own rooms as you stayed in the elevator.

it wasn't hidden knowledge that you were seeing rachel, you'd been with her for longer than you'd been the social media manager and it was one of the first things you'd flagged with your boss during your interview, an interview you hadn't even told rachel you were taking.

and for the most part everyone was fine with it, though you were frequently but not unkindly warned about not showing any bias in content which was yet to be an issue that actually happened.

stepping off on the second to last floor you made your way over toward your girlfriends room, shaking your head with a roll of your eyes as the blonde texted you for about the tenth time in the hour that she missed you.

you'd barely gotten a knuckle to the door before it swung open and the blonde was dragging you inside, your laughter filling the room as she held you hostage in her arms and kissed all over your face.

"alright! relax needy." you teased shoving her away as she pressed a sloppy kiss to your cheek. "needy!" the girl scoffed in displeasure, sending you a scowl as she dove onto her bed, millie nowhere to be seen.

"well what you waitin for? hurry up then!" the footballer patted the empty side of the bed impatiently as you laughed again. "wheres mills?"

"not here. now hurry up! i missed ya." the girl pouted, sitting up and grabbing at your shirt, tugging you down onto the bed and back into her arms as you rolled over to get more comfortable.

"hello." you grinned, nose squished against rachels who beamed. "hello lover." she wiggled her eyebrows and pulled you in for a kiss which sent your head into a spin.

"oh! almost forgot." you almost had whiplash as the defender turned striker pushed you away and jumped up to her feet, dropping to the floor and rummaging about in her bags for a moment.

"we have to christen it." rachel grinned holding up her trophy from earlier today as you quirked an eyebrow curiously, unsure what she meant. though as the look in her eyes changed you caught onto what she was wanting.

"rach absoloutely not, no!" you shook your head and pushed yourself up onto your elbows, but before you could move another inch your girlfriend was sat on top of you, her hips pinning yours to the mattress below you.

"come on baby, give it a little kiss now. just a little one!" rachel grinned holding out the trophy as you firmly shook your head and tried to pull your arms out from where they were stuck beneath her knees.

"babe come on! this is so dumb." you groaned as she tapped the trophy against your cheeks and you squirmed. "one little kiss baby, go on don't let her feel neglected." rachel teased with a mocking smile as you glared up at her, the dejavu of the situation not lost on you from when she'd gotten her golden boot trophy last season.

"i'm not kissin ya till you kiss her." your girlfriend shrugged holding out the trophy as you groaned even louder and pushed your head back into the pillow. "her? its a piece of metal!" you scowled as the blonde smoothed out your eyebrows with her freehand.

"seriously? again? we're doing this again?" you sighed as rachel nodded happily, wiggling the trophy expectantly as you gave up fighting her. with a roll of your eyes you craned your neck up and gave the cool metal a small kiss, the footballer immediately rolling off of you and clutching her stomach with laughter.

"i hate you. goodnight!" you announced, trying to stand and leave as your girlfriend placed the trophy on the nightstand and grabbed you, pulling you back into her arms. "i love you, i love you, i love you, i love you-" she repeated over and over as she kissed at your lips with each confession.

"aw i love you both too!" you hadn't heard the door open but you both groaned as a much taller body crashed down on top of you, wiggling herself into the middle and throwing her arms around you both.

"my besties." "mills you're such a cock block." "thank you, honored and happy to be here rach."

[grantgustluv]

his champion - lando norris

pairings: lando norris x fem!footballer!reader

author’s notes: THIS IS MY FIRST IMAGINE AHHHH so let me know what I need to improve on. Also, just pretend that it wasn’t the Hungarian GP on 31st July 2022

warnings: some mentions of anxiety, implied smut (i’m not ready to write that yet sorry)

comment any requests please - i’m going to try and put a new one out every Wednesday

30th July 2022 - the night before the final

Lando and Y/N had been together 4 years, but known each other since the age of 4 and despite their demanding work schedules and busy lives, still found time to love and support one another. They decided to keep their relationship private (with the exception of close friends) because they knew just how brutal their “fans” could be with the introduction of a significant other in their lives, and, although they considered themselves too young to be fully settling down yet, they still only saw each other as their future and they didn’t want that ending yet, especially not by fake fans.

~

Lando was incredibly proud of his girlfriend and all her achievements despite her only being 23, he had been by her side through everything, all the best parts, like signing for her childhood club, scoring her first goal for both Manchester United and England and making her first appearance at the 2015 World Cup at the age of 16, but also all the lowest moments of her career too, the injuries, the hate, the doubt and all the rumours. Lando had been there through it all and he would always be her biggest supporter no matter what. The same could also be said for Y/N, she was his biggest fan and came to as many of his races as she possibly could and Lando insisted that she was his lucky charm. The only way they could support each other while not physically being there was by sporting the number 4 on their backs, Lando being McLaren’s number 4 and Y/N being number 4 for both Manchester United and England. It was their number. They were each other’s person.

~

The Women’s Euro tournament had been life changing for England’s Lionesses so far, they had truly done their country proud in every game, but they still had one more to go, the final, against Germany, their toughest opponents yet. Y/N was the top scorer of the tournament so far and was determined to walk away with the golden boot, but she knew it wouldn’t be the same without also winning the Euros altogether with her team.

She never usually got nervous before her games, but this was different, it was one of the biggest games of her career. But all that took over her mind was that she knew that Lando was going to be there. Thankfully, a break in the f1 season had fallen right on the day of the final, which meant Lando and a few of the other drivers were able to come and show their support.

Y/N couldn’t help the smile that took over her face when she looked at her phone, more specifically, her home screen as a notification popped up. It was a picture of Lando wearing her football shirt from last season with the cheesiest grin on his face. Lando hated the photo, but she absolutely loved it, because whenever she would look at it, it would brighten up her day. In that moment she couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have someone that radiated so much joy and happiness by her side. He was the daylight in her life.

A soft knock interrupted her thoughts. Slowly, she walked over to the door of her hotel room and opened it to be greeted by a bouquet of gorgeous roses and the very same smile she was grinning to herself about a few minutes ago. “Missed me?” asked Lando as he handed her the flowers. Y/N didn’t even answer as she jumped straight into his arms and held him as tight as possible. They both breathed a sigh of relief at finally being back in each other’s arms and they weren’t ready to let go yet, they could’ve stayed like this forever. Y/N pulled away first and looked at the flowers. “They’re gorgeous Lan, thank you,” she beamed as she walked over to put them on the side table. She felt his arms wrap around her waist and the tickle of his faint stubble in the crook of her neck. “Not as beautiful as you sweetheart,” he mumbled softly, kissing her neck. He gripped onto her hips and spun her round so they were face to face. “How are you feeling?” he asked, knowing how anxious she could sometimes get before big games like this. “I just feel like I want to get out there and play, I hate the waiting around before,” she ranted. He chuckled lightly, “I know baby, but you’re going to do so amazing, Daniel and I have already predicted what’s going to happen” she raised her eyebrows encouraging him to carry on. “You’re going to score, I just know it. And not just one, but two. It’ll be a tight game but I really believe you girls will win, you all deserve it so much, especially you Miss L/N” he finished. She just gazed at him lovingly and said with a teasing smile, “I hope you’re right Mr Norris.”

~

It was the day of the final at Wembley and all the girls were getting ready in the changing rooms for the last push of the tournament, giving each other encouraging talks and of course a last minute motivational speech from Leah. Higher up within the stadium was Lando, he was in one of the family boxes with the rest of the L/Ns and had brought along Daniel, Carlos, Max, George, Lewis and Charles (Y/N’s second family, she would call them), all there to support not only their friend’s girlfriend, but someone who had supported them in their careers too.

As Y/N was listening to her pre-game music, her phone buzzed, it was a message from Lando. She tapped on it and chuckled to herself, it was a picture of Lando, Daniel, Max, George, Carlos, Charles and Lewis looking out onto the pitch, all wearing an England shirt with her name and number on the back. She felt a tear form in the corner of her eye at the sweet gesture from the boys and replied back quickly with a red heart when she felt a tap on her shoulder from her teammate, signalling that they need to go line up ready to walk out.

Stood behind her was Jill who squeezed her shoulders and said “We’ve got this kiddo.” Y/N laughed at the nickname that had stuck since the first time she played with Jill in 2015 when she was in fact still a kid. She took a deep breath and replied with “Yes we do.” All of a sudden she was walking out into a packed out Wembley, screams and cheers surrounded her as the two teams made their way onto the pitch. Lining up, Y/N started to look around and her eyes locked onto him. There he was. They gazed at each other lovingly and Lando waved down at her and then made a love heart with his hands, causing Y/N to blush and a big grin to take over her face showing off the dimples that Lando loved so much. It wasn’t until a nudge in her ribs from Lucy Bronze broke her loving gaze from him, letting her know that the national anthem was about to start.

~

The first half had been pretty uneventful with neither teams scoring a goal and England knew they needed to up their game in the second half or their dream of winning might just slip away. It was in the 62nd minute when Lucy was running down the wing and spotted Y/N outside of the box with no one marking her. Y/N saw the ball coming her way but she knew she wouldn’t have time to stop the ball in order to get the right angle for her shot, so as it came closer she prepared herself and as the ball made contact with her right boot, she volleyed it into the top corner of the net. She couldn’t believe it. She had scored for her country in the European final. She ran to the corner of the pitch towards the England fans and the subs that were warming up alongside the rest of her team, with Leah launching herself onto Y/N’s back. All she could hear around her was her famous chant the fans had come up with a few years ago and the encouragement from the girls. This was a dream come true.

The stadium was still buzzing as the players made their way back to their positions, she looked around for him and when she spotted him she held up an ‘L’ with her fingers and then formed a heart. Lando got a few teasing shoves and comments from his friends. “I think that one was for you mate,” Daniel said with a chuckle. Lando just blushed and mumbled “I know” back to him.

Unfortunately, due to Germany scoring as well and bringing the score to a draw, the game was forced into 30 minutes of extra time. The last thing any of them wanted was it going to penalties, because they knew how much pressure they were, especially in a final. Everyone was on the edge of their seats as it edged into the last 2 minutes of the game and Germany were given a corner. Y/N decided to hang back instead of getting in the box with every other player, even the Germany goalkeeper had joined the rest of her team in the box in hopes of scoring a last minute winner. The delivery into the box was near perfect but no way was Mary letting that ball into the goal at this point so she pushed it away straight out of the box. The ball flew over all the player’s heads and straight towards Y/N and the player that was marking her. She collected the ball, turned around and started running as she already knew that she was onside. She could feel the German player close to her trying to catch her up but she kept pushing. She was running towards an open goal and they were surely into the last minute by now, so she increased her pace as much as she could for one last push. She kept her gaze forward as she took the shot just after entering the box.

Time slowed down completely as she and nearly ever person in the country watched the ball hit the back of the net. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion as she ripped her shirt of her head and swung it round throwing it to the ground as she saw her teammates running towards her. She looked around the stadium. The fans were screaming, the girls were grinning from ear to ear and Lando was cheering and beaming down at the love of his life. He already thought that he was madly in love with her but right now he swore he had never felt this much love for a person, his heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest and without thought reached into his pocket to feel the little box he had been carrying around with him for the last 3 months. He wanted this, he wanted forever with her, no, he needed forever with her. He caught her looking up at him and nearly fell to his knees when she grinned up at him with teary eyes, pointing to herself, forming a heart and then pointing at him. Lando chuckled nervously to himself, wiped his eyes and then repeated the action.

All the players were eagerly awaiting the full time whistle from the referee and finally it came. Y/N dropped to her knees and burst into tears, they had done it. She had done it. She felt herself being lifted off the floor by a few of her teammates and they couldn’t even produce words as they just cried into each other’s embraces. They approached the German players, congratulating them on a good game and comforting those in tears.

‘Three Lions’ started blaring through the speakers after a few minutes causing the girls to start dancing and singing on the pitch, the whole of Wembley sung in unison and gazed down at their Lionesses, their champions.

After applauding their fans and the German players receiving their silver medals, it was time for the Lionesses to collect their Gold medals, she was nearly there. “And now, give it up for your golden boot winner, your player of the tournament, your number 4, Y/N L/N!” the announcer spoke and suddenly, a loud roar burst through the stadium. She couldn’t believe it. To have the support of your family and team was one thing but to have the support of your country was like no other feeling in the world. She shook Prince William’s hand after receiving her medal and walked over to the trophy, admiring it before walking over to the rest of the team who were now just waiting for their skipper Leah to bring over the trophy ready for the proper celebration to begin.

She didn’t think it was possible, but as Leah lifted up the trophy into the air, the stadium grew louder than ever. Y/N and Millie were then handed a bottle of champagne each and they knew exactly what they needed to do. Y/N turned up to her families box and winked at Lando and he immediately caught on as to what was about to happen. She gave the champagne a little shake and with some force banged the bottom of the bottle against the floor, causing the champagne to shoot out of the top and high into the air, the screams of her teammates then took over as Rachel stole the bottle out of her hands and started spraying everyone with it. Y/N looked up at Lando and could see Daniel and Max next to him cackling at the stunned and lovestruck expression on his face. He was a little embarrassed by himself with how easily that turned him on.

The girls all jumped around on the pitch taking turns holding the trophy and when it was finally handed to her, Y/N kissed the top of it and lifted it high into the air. Just as she was about to pass it on, she felt multiple pairs of arms lift her up in the air and the stadium yet again let out a huge cheer for their number 4. The girls had never experienced an atmosphere like this, things were changing and they knew that they were a part of that change.

As the celebrations had died down, the player’s families were allowed to come down onto the pitch, and as Y/N was getting yet another picture with the trophy, she felt arms wrap around her from every angle. She turned around to be met by the proud expressions of her mum, dad and little brother, she shared tight hugs with all of them before she heard her name being called by a familiar voice behind her. She turned round and jumped straight into Lando’s arms as her legs wrapped around his waist. After a few moments she unhooked her legs and Lando placed her down onto the ground with their foreheads still touching, neither of them could care less about being private anymore as they both leaned in and connected their lips together in a loving and passionate kiss, hearing the sound of cameras clicking around them. They were pulled apart by the sounds of fake gags coming from behind them, they turned around to be met with the boys sharing fake looks of disgust on their faces. Y/N and Lando went over to them and they all joined together for a group hug, which again, caused a ricochet of camera clicks to go off around them. This moment was exactly what Y/N had waited for, winning the European Final and doing it with her team, her family and the love of her life.

~

Lando and Y/N walked out the stadium hand in hand, heading back to the hotel to get changed ready for the real celebrations to begin.

Lando couldn’t tear his eyes away from her all night, she was jumping up and down to the song playing, her hair bouncing as she did so, her dimples prominent due to the gorgeous smile on her face, her dress clinging to her beautiful figure and her angelic glow causing her to stand out perfectly in the room full of people. Lando could confidently say that he was the luckiest man on earth to have a girl as perfect as her being in love with a guy like him.

It was getting into the early hours of the morning now and both Lando and Y/N were ready to go back to the hotel room, both had craved to be sleeping in each other’s arms again after a month away from each other. They arrived back at the hotel room 15 minutes later and Lando watched as Y/N flopped onto the bed dramatically. Chuckling to himself, he began to remove her heels that she had been complaining about for the majority of the evening and placed them to the side, before carefully lifting her up with her clinging to him like a koala and carrying her to the bathroom and placing her gently on the countertop. Lando stared at her lovingly and softly pushed her hair out of her face. Her eyes flickered open slightly and she let out a little hum as her eyes met her favourite person. Lando proceeded to gently remove the makeup from her face and then carry her back through to the bedroom before removing her dress and replacing it with one of his tops that drowned her figure.

Just as Lando had snuggled in beside her, he felt her shift slightly in his hold. “I love you Lan, you’re everything to me” she mumbled tiredly, followed shortly by her soft snores. The faint traces of the early morning sunrise had started to peek through the curtains allowing Lando to gaze at her sleeping figure. Being careful not to wake her, he placed a gentle kiss on the side of her head, “I love you too my champion,” he whispered softly into the kiss, before drifting off to sleep, holding his girlfriend tightly to his chest.

[didalexiabreakupwitholgayet]

idk if this is way too much to ask of you 😅 but can we have more info on the barça b babies? 🫶🏼I’ve only focused on the women’s team since getting into football last summer and don’t know much about them and their team, stats, injuries etc.

so some basics: the first team squad for barça currently has 21 players, but you can use players from the reserve team for first team matches. it's a great way to give more experience to the b players who have potential and a way to have more squad rotation.

the main b girlies for us this year have been vicky lópez, martína fernández, giulia dragoni, and lucía corrales. and the b team has been a very successful feeder into the first team!

per uefa rules: players who are 16 years of age or older by the end of the calendar year when the match is played are eligible to play. each club is responsible for submitting to uefa an A list of players (list A) and a B list of players (list B). no club may have more than 25 players on list A during the season. (there are even more detailed rules that you can read on the uefa link above).

la masia has a reputation for a reason, and there are protocols in place to make sure that the b girlies are not doubling up on practices and their health is monitored. that's why barça tracks biometrics for all our players, so that they are not overworked or overconditioned. and the b girls play mostly for the b team, except for some matches against lower ranked opponents or as subs. so it's not like they are all playing 90+ minutes against first team real madrid on saturday and then have to do another 90+ minutes against a b team opponent on sunday. now of course, there is an epidemic of injuries in women's football with no easy answers, and sadly that's affecting b team girls too.

so i won't go through all the barça b players, but here are some who have shown great potential:

vicky lópez - she's 17 years old and is one of the regular subs for the barça first team. and she already has two caps with the spanish national team. she's one of alexia's daughters and has a lot of flair as an attacking midfielder. also, her mom passed away when she was 11 (another way she relates to alexia in losing a parent when young), and the goal celebration above is to honour her mum.

giulia dragoni - another 17 year old wizard in the midfielder and has earned 8 caps for italy and went to the world cup last summer! it looks like giulia will be loaned to roma's first team next season, which will be a great move for her and i think she has the potential to be a regular starter there before coming back to barça. she was the youngest non-spanish player to make her debut for the first team.

lucía corrales - she's an 18 year old winger and has been a force for barça and the spain youth teams and has scored some important goals in important matches for them. mundo deportivo has described her as the heir to mariona and you can see some shades of her in the way lucía plays.

martina fernández - she's a 19 year old defender and captain of the b girlies and the spain u23 squad. she was part of the first class of female students to be in residence at la masia. she's training to be one of the cb successors to mapi and paredes. also, she's a brainiac and studies biomedical sciences and works in a lab in her free time!

ariana arias - ari is a 20 year old striker who came over from real madrid, if you can believe it! she has spoken out about suffering from harassment and psychological abuse while at real madrid! and last year was the top scorer of the primera federación (b league). she's had two goals for the first team so far.

ona baradad - ona is a 20 year old forward who already has multiple caps for the first team, having debuted back in 2021. she ruptured her acl last year but has recently returned to play. she has a lot of explosive and dynamic quality.

txell font - she's the sister of gemma font and is an even better gk in my opinion! she's also recently injured but has so much potential. barça really churn out some of the best gks around!

honourable mentions: martine fenger (norwegian national who some say have the potential to be better than ada!); onyeka gamero (one of the nominees for young player of the year in usa). emilia szymczak (17 year old who nows plays for poland national team).

anyway, this is just a start! can't wait to see more from them in the future!

[swamyworld]

World Cup 2024 News, Live Updates Today May 31, 2024: Australian greats Ponting, Gilchrist ignore Virat Kohli to finish as top scorer in IPL stars T20 WC

May 31, 2024 11:59 PM IST T20 World Cup News in Cricket. Stay tuned for all the latest updates and highlights of T20 World Cup 2024. Stay updated with the latest news, updates, articles, stats, commentary and more from the ICC tournament, with our comprehensive coverage. Latest News on May 31, 2024: Broadcasters have been given a major say in the schedule of the ICC tournament these days but…

[sunshine-theseus]

The Game That Changed Our Lives | Katrina Gorry x Reader

Words: 2.3k

Summary: your sister retires but you found the girl. (I know how her final game went but I’m changing it because I can. again apologies it's not my best)

Warnings: nothing really but reader is like 26ish? So it’s like a 5 year age difference. And I’m gonna say Harper is like 4 not 2 for the sake of the timeline. Also please pretend there’s like at least a week between the 2 games.

Requested by - @liverpoolfan96

“Christiiine. You can’t make me! I refuse!” I try to pull my arm out of her grip as she drags me onto the field.

“You’ve been crushing on her since we played against them at the World Cup, you’re going to meet her.” Christine continues to drag me through the celebrations of our teammates, the British Columbia rain pelting down on us and the Australian players.

“Plus, after our final game in Vancouver, who knows when you’ll see her next. And I’m your older sister, I’m required to make you do things you don’t want to.” She abruptly stops in front of Steph Cately, who is talking to Caitlin Foord and Katrina Gorry.

Christine hugs her former Portland teammates before turning to Katrina, who now has her little girl resting on her hip. The group begins talking amongst themselves and I zone out, until an arm wraps around my shoulders and squeezes me.

“This is my little sister. I apologise you haven’t met her yet, she’s awfully shy, especially when she likes someone.” She pointedly comments toward Katrina. I shove my elbow into her ribs and glare up at her before turning toward the Australian girl. My face is flushed, and my palms are sweating as I make eye contact with Katrina, who smiles at me before picking up the little girls hand and makes her wave. It’s painfully adorable to watch.

“It’s nice to meet you…”

“Y/n” I smile at the shorter woman as I watch Christine, Steph and Caitlin slowly move away from us out of the corner of my eye.

I talk to her for a relatively long time, eventually finding myself sitting on the wet pitch, my feet touching Kat’s as Harper runs back and forth between us, occasionally actually holding the ball we’re throwing. But then we’re both called by our respective teams to get back to the locker rooms before going back to our hotels. We bid each other goodbye, exchanging numbers before I crouch down and hug Harper.

I spend the following days excessively texting Kat, or Mini as everyone endearingly seemed to call her. I also facetime them after dinners to talk to Harper, who apparently begs all day to see me. I tell everyone who will listen, about the beautiful Australian and her precious little girl who adores me. It doesn’t take more than 10 minutes for Christine, or whoever else it may be, to tell me to shut up most times. Except Jessie, who is either far too polite to say anything, or has her headphones on and therefore isn’t actually listening. In her times of need, she messages Janine, who comes to rescue her.

~~~~~

The day of our match in Vancouver at BC Place, temporarily renamed Christine Sinclair Place, I unintentionally go dead silent. It was naturally an emotional day for us all, but being the sister of the world’s top goal scorer who is finally retiring, having played with her all my life, and being there to see her hang up her boots? It had me tearing up every time I even looked at her.

I woke up that morning, turned over in bed, and saw her training bag sitting on the bed, and began crying. A similar incident happened at breakfast as I watched her walk the buffet line next to Schmidt. Ashley wasn’t sure how to comfort me and simply decided to pat me on the back.

By the time we pulled up to training, Kat had messaged me multiple times, and I hadn’t read a single one. I spent every moment by Christine’s side. I think most people were annoyed by lunch time, but I continued to cling to her arm as the bus pulled up to Christine Sinclair Place. And as we all changed into shirts with the number 12 on them for warm up. And as we changed into our kits, her for the very last time. I finally let go when we had to line up, her mere steps behind me as she waits to be announced.

I make eye contact with the Australian I had been accidentally ignoring all day, tears pricking behind my eyes. I give her a small smile, but she just turns back to her mascot.

We then all line up on the pitch, watching as past Canadian teammates come out and a farewell video plays on the big screen above us, Schmidty, Christine and our nieces standing in front of us all. I can’t help the tears that fall as Jessie hugs me as well as she can as we stand side by side.

Before we get into our positions to start the game, I rush to the sideline to meet Christine. Our pinkies link together, and we step over the white line with our right foot in sync. We turn toward each other, and as we raise our joint hands to kiss our thumbs, foreheads leaning against each other’s, the tears spill once more. Our hands drop to our sides once again and before I can say anything, Christine wraps her arms around me. Not a word is spoken as we hug, or as we part, or as she pats my back when we move to our positions.

I turn to look at the player I’m marking and come face to face with Kat. Her originally cold glare softens when she notices the drying tears on my cheeks and taps my leg as we wait for the whistle to start the game, a small attempt to try and comfort me.

~~~~~

In the 37th minute, the ball falls at my feet and I don’t hesitate on running forward, making a final pass to Christine for her to shoot, increasing her score from 190 to 191 goals. As the net ripples, I run and jump into her arms before she wraps an arm around my neck and ruffles my hair. The action had become our well known ‘sibling celebration’, and like hell I wasn’t going to experience one last time.

“We’re going to get you a goal too.” She laughs as we reset. I once again fall in my spot in front of Kat, who gives me the first smile of the night.

We’re awarded a corner in the 56th minute. Jessie sets it up and it falls to Christine, who manages to find me, and I manage to find a gap, and the goal. It’s a similar string of events, jumping into Christine’s arms before I wrap my own arm around her neck and mess with her hair. She gets subbed off 3 minutes later and I struggle to let her go as Schmidt comes on. A familiar pat on my leg as we watch her walk off is my only sense of comfort.

~~~~~

After the game ends, and many hugs and celebrations and lots of tears, the toes of my boots meet those of Kat, who has Harper hanging on her hip again.

“I’m sorry I ignored you all day. I didn’t realise how sad I’d be today, and I got so overwhelmed.” I wipe the remaining tears off my cheeks as I finally look into Kat’s eyes, the palladian blue seemingly brighter under the stadium lights.

“It’s okay, I just wished you said something. So we could’ve cheered you up.” Harper reaches out for me as I take Kat’s hand and I pick her up, spinning her around.

“Can I also admit I was nervous? That we were getting too close, and I’d just spill all my feelings to you. But after today I think I shouldn’t waste time fu- fluffing around.” The swear almost slips from my lips but Harper’s tug on my hair reminds me of who’s around.

“I wouldn’t have minded… if you’d let it slip.” Her hand slips into my spare one and we smile at one another as Christine and Hayley approach us.

Christine bends over, resting her hands on her knees, as she comes face to face with Harper.

“Hey chickee, how’d you like my final game.”

“It made mumma sad.” I turn to look at Kat questioningly.

“You were sad?”

“I mean yeah but no where near your level of sad.”

“No no! Not mum, mumma.” Harper’s finger pokes at my cheek and everyone seems to have a matching incredulous look on their face.

“Me?” the girl nods vigorously.

Kat opens her mouth to apologise but I kiss her cheek then Harper’s, and hand the little girl to Christine who wastes no time spinning her around and taking her to play with girls from either team.

“Can I kiss you?” I rush out as I turn to the older woman, her eyes sparkling. She nods and I place my hand on her cheek, leaning down to press our lips together.

“I know this is pretty quick, but will you be my girlfriend?” her warm breath hits my lips and all I can do is kiss her again.

~~~~~

“Come on Harper! Aunty Christine’s already there!” I yell down the hall, Kat rushing past me to pack the orange slices and bottles of water into the car.

The 7-year-old comes rushing out at the sound of her favourite aunt’s name, making a bee-line toward the car.

When we arrive at the field, Harper bounces on the balls of her feet, waiting for Kat and I to get out. Once we have everything, she grabs my hand and pulls me through the crowd to find Christine who is getting ready to ref the Under-10s finals.

“Christiiine! Can you help me tie my boots?” I look at Kat, who has just caught up to us.

“We may as well be invisible.” She chuckles and helps me set up our seats as Christine ties Harpers boots and sends her off to warm up.

“She’s going to be playing for The Matildas before you know it.” She says as she passes us.

“Heartbreaking it won’t be the Canadian team.” I retort. Katrina pulls my hand into her lap and rests her head on my shoulder.

“Thank you for helping raise her. Being her other mum.”

“I’d do anything for you two. Anything.” Kat hums and puts more body weight against me.

“You’re so pretty.” I whisper, pecking her nose.

“Not as pretty as you.”

~~~~~

“Katrina! You can’t look! It’s bad luck!” I yell through the door as Jessie helps me get into my dress.

“But I want to see you.” I can hear the pout in her voice, and it takes everything in me not to leave Jessie and rip open the door. It’s Harper who saves me from doing so. I hear her dragging her mum away as my niece ushers me over to put one last pin in my hair. The 15-year-old had some sort of magic for hair, and it was free.

It’s another 20 minutes before the bridesmaids line up, and an additional 5 until I slide into my place next to Christine, who opens her mouth to say something, but seems to choke up and begins to cry. All I do is smile and link our pinkies, and she walks me down the aisle.

As I stand next to Kat in front of our friends and family, holding her hands as she says her vows, I realise how lucky I am. Having these people in my life, meeting the love of my life and having the best daughter. I wouldn’t change a thing. And I say just that.

“When my sister dragged me back onto the pitch to meet you after her second last game, I was so embarrassed and adamant you’d hate me. For no reason. But when I looked into your eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes, I knew. And when Harper laughed as I blushed when Christine basically told everyone I had a crush on you, I knew I wanted her in my life forever too. I’m so grateful for having Christine and Jessie and the whole team. I’m grateful for my family. But I’ll never be as grateful for them as I am for having found you.” I smile a watery smile as Kat cries, and I can’t stop staring and thinking how beautiful she is. We exchange rings and I kiss her like it’s the only thing keeping everyone alive.

“I love you.”

~~~~~

I stand on the sidelines, looking down at my boots and the matching pair that stands firmly next to them. I then reach out my hand and link my pinkie with the girl next to me. Despite the different jerseys, we step over the white line with our right foot in sync. We turn toward each other, and we raise our joint hands to kiss our thumbs, foreheads leaning against each other’s. When I look into Harper’s eyes, I see Katrina’s, and when I think about this moment, my very last game, I think back to that game 13 years ago, saying goodbye to my sister on the pitch, and I smile.

“Good luck chickee.” I press a kiss to Harper’s forehead and take my position, marking the young Gorry.

When the game ends, I fall to my knees. People from both teams dogpile on top of me as we celebrate both the win and my final game. I spend a lot of time talking to everyone before I meet Katrina’s eyes, standing next to my big sister. I run forward and pull them both into a hug.

We eventually head back to the hotel. Kat and I fall back onto our bed, hearing the girls continue celebrating in the hallway.

“I’m so proud of you.” She whispers against my neck, the warm breath sending chills down my spine.

“I couldn’t have done it without you.” I kiss her gently and pull her closer to me. We spend the rest of the night watching the games at Christine Sinclair Place. The game that got us to confess. The game that changed our lives.