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Marta plays for Olympic gold one more time when Brazil meets US in women's soccer final

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Marta plays for Olympic gold one more time when Brazil meets US in women's soccer final
Sport

Sport

Marta plays for Olympic gold one more time when Brazil meets US in women's soccer final

2024-08-09 22:27 Last Updated At:22:30

PARIS (AP) — For her final international tournament with Brazil, Marta is back where it all started.

The six-time world player of the year was just 18 when she first played in the Olympics 20 years ago.

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Brazil's Marta looks on, ahead of the women's group C match between Brazil and Japan at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Brazil's Marta looks on, ahead of the women's group C match between Brazil and Japan at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Brazil's Marta, right, and Spain's Teresa Abelleira battle for the ball during a women's Group C soccer match between Brazil and Spain, at Bordeaux Stadium, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Bordeaux, France. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Brazil's Marta, right, and Spain's Teresa Abelleira battle for the ball during a women's Group C soccer match between Brazil and Spain, at Bordeaux Stadium, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Bordeaux, France. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Brazil's Marta, center, reacts after receiving a red card from referee Espen Eskas during a women's Group C soccer match between Brazil and Spain, at Bordeaux Stadium, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Bordeaux, France. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Brazil's Marta, center, reacts after receiving a red card from referee Espen Eskas during a women's Group C soccer match between Brazil and Spain, at Bordeaux Stadium, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Bordeaux, France. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Brazilian soccer player Marta, who is suspended due to a red card, watches the women's semifinal soccer match between Brazil and Spain at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, at Marseille Stadium in Marseille, France. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Brazilian soccer player Marta, who is suspended due to a red card, watches the women's semifinal soccer match between Brazil and Spain at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, at Marseille Stadium in Marseille, France. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Brazil's Marta leaves the pitch after being shown a red card during a women's Group C soccer match between Brazil and Spain, at Bordeaux Stadium, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Bordeaux, France. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Brazil's Marta leaves the pitch after being shown a red card during a women's Group C soccer match between Brazil and Spain, at Bordeaux Stadium, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Bordeaux, France. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Back then, Brazil reached the gold medal match in Athens but fell to the United States 2-1. The two teams met in the final again at the 2008 Beijing Games, and Brazil again came away with the silver with a 1-0 loss.

So it's fitting that for her international sendoff Brazil again faces the United States in the Olympic final. The two teams meet Saturday at Parc des Princes in Paris.

Marta, now 38, has said that after six Olympics and six Women's World Cups, it's time to hand over the team to the next generation. She has never won a major international title — either at the Olympics or World Cup.

So winning gold and beating the nemesis United States at the same time would be a sweet way to walk away.

“It’s been so much of my life, since I was 14, I left home and then I just live soccer every single day,” she told The Associated Press before the tournament. “I just feel like maybe it’s time to just take a little bit away from that and let the young players shine.”

Marta is well known to the young players on the U.S. team, not just because she's one of the best women to ever play the game, but also because she plays in the United States with the Orlando Pride.

“Marta is for sure the player I looked up to growing up," U.S. forward Sophia Smith said. “Whenever I would watch highlights of players with my dad, it was always Marta.”

The 23-year-old Smith plays for the Portland Thorns.

“We get to play against her in the NWSL, we’re really lucky for that,” she said, "and to play against her in this game, in this magnitude of the game, is so special. I know she would want us to give her our best game. That’s that’s the highest level of respect you can give someone.”

Better known just by her first name, Marta Vieira da Silva has scored a record 119 goals in 184 international appearances.

Marta grew up playing street soccer with the boys in Dois Riachos, a town in eastern Brazil some 1,250 miles north of Rio de Janeiro. She was just 17 when she appeared at the 2003 World Cup, held in the United States.

She has the career record for most World Cup goals with 17, and she has 13 Olympic goals, one away from matching compatriot Cristiane’s record.

“It goes without saying, Marta has changed the game of soccer around the world," U.S. forward Trinity Rodman said. "She is such a talented soccer player, but also a great human, which speaks volumes. I’ve always looked up to her. I think we all kind of do. She’s a legend forever.”

Marta's journey in her final big tournament has not been smooth.

She was handed a red card for a foul on Spain's Olga Carmona in the Brazil's final group-stage match. That merited a two-match suspension from FIFA, so she missed the quarterfinals against hosts France and the semifinals, again against Spain.

Brazil upset the Women's World Cup champions 4-2 in a match Tuesday in Marseille.

“Honestly, in these games Marta was out, we did it for her,” teammate Angelina said. “We want to give her a really great sendoff. It was a dream of mine to play with Marta — and now it’s a dream come true."

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Brazil's Marta looks on, ahead of the women's group C match between Brazil and Japan at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Brazil's Marta looks on, ahead of the women's group C match between Brazil and Japan at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Brazil's Marta, right, and Spain's Teresa Abelleira battle for the ball during a women's Group C soccer match between Brazil and Spain, at Bordeaux Stadium, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Bordeaux, France. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Brazil's Marta, right, and Spain's Teresa Abelleira battle for the ball during a women's Group C soccer match between Brazil and Spain, at Bordeaux Stadium, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Bordeaux, France. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Brazil's Marta, center, reacts after receiving a red card from referee Espen Eskas during a women's Group C soccer match between Brazil and Spain, at Bordeaux Stadium, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Bordeaux, France. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Brazil's Marta, center, reacts after receiving a red card from referee Espen Eskas during a women's Group C soccer match between Brazil and Spain, at Bordeaux Stadium, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Bordeaux, France. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Brazilian soccer player Marta, who is suspended due to a red card, watches the women's semifinal soccer match between Brazil and Spain at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, at Marseille Stadium in Marseille, France. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Brazilian soccer player Marta, who is suspended due to a red card, watches the women's semifinal soccer match between Brazil and Spain at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, at Marseille Stadium in Marseille, France. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Brazil's Marta leaves the pitch after being shown a red card during a women's Group C soccer match between Brazil and Spain, at Bordeaux Stadium, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Bordeaux, France. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Brazil's Marta leaves the pitch after being shown a red card during a women's Group C soccer match between Brazil and Spain, at Bordeaux Stadium, during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Bordeaux, France. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

The funeral of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general killed alongside Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah drew the largest crowd of top leaders in the paramilitary organization together Tuesday for the first time since Tehran launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel.

Rumors circulated for weeks over the status of the head of the Guard's expeditionary arm, Gen. Esmail Qaani, but the Quds Force leader was seen in a black bomber jacket wiping away tears early Tuesday morning at the body repatriation at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport.

Meanwhile, Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip killed at least 15 people overnight, including six children and two women, Palestinian medical officials said Tuesday. In northern Gaza, where Israel has been waging an air and ground campaign in Jabaliya for more than a week, residents said families were still trapped in their homes and shelters.

It’s been more than a year since Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed in, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many were fighters but say women and children make up more than half of the fatalities. The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people.

In solidarity with Hamas, Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has exchanged cross-border fire with Israel almost daily for the past year. Israel escalated its campaign against the group in recent weeks.

Here's the latest:

JERUSALEM — Israeli police accused Hamas operatives in Turkey of directing a militant attack in August in Tel Aviv in which an explosive went off on a busy street, killing the attacker and wounding a bystander.

There was no immediate comment from Turkey. Relations between the two countries have plunged since the start of the war in Gaza.

Turkey has long provided political support for Hamas, including welcoming its top leaders on visits, but denies involvement in its military activities.

The bomb appeared to have gone off before it was planned to, and it was unclear if the attacker had planned to carry out a suicide bombing or plant the explosives. Both Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group claimed the attack.

Police said Tuesday that they filed indictments against eight suspects. They said the attacker was a militant from Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, who had been directed by an operative in Turkey. They said one of the attack planners had traveled to Turkey several times for explosives training, and that a raid in Nablus uncovered more bombs and funds transferred from Turkey. The police did not provide evidence.

“The findings of this investigation clearly indicate the establishment of Hamas headquarters in Turkey and their extensive efforts abroad to incite violence and carry out bombings in Israel,” the police statement said.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian first responders say they recovered 11 bodies, nearly all women and children, from a home destroyed in an airstrike in northern Gaza, where Israel has been waging an air and ground operation for over a week.

The Gaza Health Ministry’s ambulance service said the dead recovered Tuesday were all from the same family and included seven women and three children.

Fares Abu Hamza, head of the emergency service, said ambulances were only able to reach the area in the Jabaliya refugee camp around 12 hours after the airstrike late Monday. He said funeral prayers for the dead, which included a medic killed in Jabaliya, were held Tuesday in the courtyard of the Kamal Adwan Hospital.

First responders from the Civil Defense said its teams evacuated three families Tuesday who were stuck inside their homes in Jabaliya for several days because of heavy fighting.

Since the start of the war, the Israeli military has carried out several large operations in Jabaliya — a densely populated urban refugee camp dating back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation — only to return months later after saying militants had regrouped there. Israel launched a large operation there on Oct. 6.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The funeral of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general killed alongside Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah drew the largest crowd of top leaders in the paramilitary organization together Tuesday for the first time since Tehran launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel.

The Guard’s leadership hasn’t been as visible in the two weeks since Iran’s Oct. 1 attack on Israel. The Guard is the main power behind Iran’s theocracy and oversees its arsenal of ballistic missiles — which would be crucial in any future attack on Israel.

At the funeral in Tehran for Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, the Guard’s chief commander, Gen. Hossein Salami, attended alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian and the head of the country’s judiciary. Other Guard generals also attended, including Gen. Esmail Qaani of the Guard’s expeditionary Quds Force, about whom rumors had circulated for days regarding his status after the strike that killed Nasrallah.

At least two prominent Guard generals were not on hand: Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of Guard’s aerospace division that oversees its missile program, and Gen. Ali Reza Tangsiri, commander of the Guard’s navy, did not attend.

Iran offered no explanation for their absence, though Israel has threatened to carry out a serious retaliatory strike against Iran.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip killed at least 15 people overnight, including six children and two women, Palestinian medical officials said Tuesday.

A strike early Tuesday hit a house in the southern town of Beni Suhaila, killing at least 10 people from one extended family, according to Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Younis. The dead include three children and one woman, according to hospital records. An Associated Press camera operator at the hospital counted the bodies.

In the nearby town of Fakhari, a strike hit a house early Tuesday, killing five people, including three children and a woman, according to the European Hospital, where the casualties were taken.

The Israeli military rarely comments on individual strikes. It says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas, accusing the militants of sheltering in civilian areas.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — In northern Gaza, where Israel has been waging an air and ground campaign in Jabaliya for more than a week, residents said families were still trapped in their homes and shelters Tuesday.

Adel al-Deqes said his relatives tried to move to another place in Jabaliya in the morning, but the military shelled them.

“We don’t know who died and who is still alive,” he said.

Ahmed Awda, another Jabaliya resident, said they heard “constant bombing and gunfire” overnight and Tuesday morning. He said the military destroyed many buildings in the eastern and northern parts of the camp, which dates back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation.

“They bombed many buildings; some of them empty buildings,” he said.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The head of the expeditionary arm of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has appeared in television footage aired Tuesday by Iranian state television.

Rumors circulated for weeks over Gen. Esmail Qaani’s status in the time since an Israeli airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut in late September. But Qaani, the head of the Quds Force, was seen in a black bomber jacket, wiping away tears at an event early Tuesday morning at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport.

While Iranian state television did not acknowledge the rumors, it made a point to film Qaani for over a minute and later share the footage from the airport ceremony online.

Qaani was on hand for the repatriation to Iran of the body of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, 58, who was killed in the airstrike.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Australia’s government has imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on five Iranians contributing to the country’s missile defense program, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Tuesday.

Iran’s launch of at least 180 ballistic missiles against Israel on Oct. 1 was “a dangerous escalation that increased the risk of a wider regional war,” Wong said in a statement.

The fresh sanctions target two directors and a senior official in Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organization, the director of the Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group, and the commercial director of the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group.

The decision brings to 200 the number of Iran-linked individuals and entities now sanctioned by Australia.

“Australia will continue to hold Iran to account for its reckless and destabilizing actions,” Wong said.

People chant slogans during the funeral ceremony of the late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut in late September, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

People chant slogans during the funeral ceremony of the late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut in late September, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

People and officials attend the funeral ceremony of the late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut in late September, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

People and officials attend the funeral ceremony of the late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut in late September, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Commander of the Iran's Revolutionary Guard Quds Force, Gen. Esmail Qaani, mourns during the funeral ceremony of the late Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut in late September, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Commander of the Iran's Revolutionary Guard Quds Force, Gen. Esmail Qaani, mourns during the funeral ceremony of the late Revolutionary Guard Gen. Abbas Nilforushan, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut in late September, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Mourners carry the coffin of Iranian Revolutionary Guards' deputy commander Brigadier Gen. Abbas Nilforushan who died alongside Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month during his funeral in Karbala, Iraq, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)

Mourners carry the coffin of Iranian Revolutionary Guards' deputy commander Brigadier Gen. Abbas Nilforushan who died alongside Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month during his funeral in Karbala, Iraq, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)

Palestinians look at the damage after an Israeli strike hit a tent area in the courtyard of Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians look at the damage after an Israeli strike hit a tent area in the courtyard of Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Pro-Israel protesters holds Israeli flags as demonstrators protest Israel's war against Hamas outside the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Pro-Israel protesters holds Israeli flags as demonstrators protest Israel's war against Hamas outside the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A displaced family fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the south, sits next to their tent on Beirut's corniche, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A displaced family fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the south, sits next to their tent on Beirut's corniche, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Families fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the south, sit in front of the Mohammad al-Amin Mosque in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Families fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in the south, sit in front of the Mohammad al-Amin Mosque in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Mourners carry a picture of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during the funeral procession of their relatives, in Maisara near the northern coastal town of Byblos, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Mourners carry a picture of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during the funeral procession of their relatives, in Maisara near the northern coastal town of Byblos, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Palestinians look at the damage after an Israeli strike hit a tent area in the courtyard of Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians look at the damage after an Israeli strike hit a tent area in the courtyard of Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Middle East latest: Israeli strikes on southern Gaza kill at least 15 people overnight

Middle East latest: Israeli strikes on southern Gaza kill at least 15 people overnight

Middle East latest: Israeli strikes on southern Gaza kill at least 15 people overnight

Middle East latest: Israeli strikes on southern Gaza kill at least 15 people overnight

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