Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players each who primarily use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team by moving the ball beyond the goal line into a rectangular-framed goal defended by the opposing team. Traditionally, the game has been played over two 45-minute halves, for a total match time of 90 minutes. With an estimated 250 million players active in over 200 countries and territories, it is often considered the world's most popular sport.
Juan Román Riquelme is an Argentine former professional footballer and current vice-president of Boca Juniors, the club where he spent the majority of his playing career. He is considered by various journalists, players and coaches as one of the greatest Argentine players of all time, as well as one of the most outstanding midfielders of his generation.
Christine Margaret Sinclair is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward and captains both National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club Portland Thorns FC and the Canadian national team. An Olympic gold medalist, two-time Olympic bronze medalist, CONCACAF champion, and 14-time winner of the Canada Soccer Player of the Year award, Sinclair is the world's all-time leader for international goals scored for men or women with 190 goals, and is one of the most-capped active international soccer players with more than 300 caps. She is also the second soccer player of either sex to score at five World Cup editions, preceded by Marta, later equalled by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Maribel Domínguez Castelán is a Mexican former footballer who played for the Chicago Red Stars during 2013 season of the National Women's Soccer League, and was captain and leading scorer of the Mexico women's national football team. She is known internationally as Marigol for her record of 46 goals scored in 49 matches for the Mexico women's national team.
The Argentina women's national football team represents Argentina in international women's football. Like their men's counterpart, the women's team has been known or nicknamed as "La Albiceleste ".
The 2006 South American Women's Football Championship was the fifth staging of the South American Women's Football Championship and determined the CONMEBOL's qualifiers for the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2008 Olympic Games football tournament. The tournament was held between November 10 and November 26 in the Argentine city of Mar del Plata.
Homare Sawa is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a forward or a midfielder. Regarded by many as one of the greatest female footballers of all time and the greatest Asian female footballer of all time, Sawa had a professional club career spanning 24 seasons, mostly with Nippon TV Beleza and INAC Kobe Leonessa. She also spent 22 years with the Japan national team, most notably captaining them to a FIFA Women's World Cup win in 2011 and an Olympic silver medal finish in 2012.
Cristiane Rozeira de Souza Silva, known as Cristiane, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Santos and the Brazilian women's national team. A prolific forward, she was part of Brazil's silver medal-winning teams at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic football tournaments. In total she has participated in five FIFA Women's World Cups and four Olympics.
Aya Miyama is a Japanese former footballer who played for the Japan national team starting in 2003, and from 2012 to 2016 served as captain of the team. She appeared in four World Cups between 2003 and 2015, including the team that won the 2011 World Cup for Japan. Miyama also led Japan to a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
The women's association football tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Beijing and four other cities in China from 6 to 21 August. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to send their full women's national teams.
Amber Liarnie Rose Hearn is a New Zealand association footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club EDF Logroño and the New Zealand women's national team, making her senior international debut in a 2–0 loss to Australia on 18 February 2004.
Eugénie Anne Claudine Le Sommer is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for French club Lyon and the France national team. She primarily plays as a creative attacking midfielder and left winger, but has also played as a second striker for her country.
Dzsenifer Marozsán is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for French club Olympique Lyonnais. She previously played for 1. FC Saarbrücken and 1. FFC Frankfurt in the German Frauen Bundesliga and the Germany national team. Born in Hungary, she represented Germany at international level.
Eva Sofia Jakobsson is a Swedish professional footballer who plays for San Diego Wave in the National Women's Soccer League. She made her debut for the Sweden women's national football team in 2011 and won her 100th cap in 2019. Jakobsson represented her country in the 2013 edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, as well as at the 2011, 2015 and 2019 FIFA Women's World Cups. She also played at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Olympic Football Tournaments.
Mariela del Carmen Coronel is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Spanish Primera Federación club Rayo Vallecano. She previously played for Club Atlético Independiente and San Lorenzo de Almagro in her country, as well as Villarreal CF, CD Transportes Alcaine, and Alhama in Spain.
Melissa Marie Ortiz Matallana is an American-born Colombian Olympic and professional footballer who plays for the Colombia national team as a striker or attacking midfielder.
Sara Ilonka Däbritz is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Division 1 Féminine club Lyon and the Germany national team.
Mariana Valeria Larroquette is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a right-back or a winger for Liga MX Femenil side Club León and the Argentina national team.
María Belén Potassa, known as Belén Potassa, is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward. She has been a member of the Argentina women's national team.
Ludmila da Silva, commonly known as Ludmila, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Atlético Madrid of Spain's Primera División and the Brazil women's national team.
