WOMEN’S World Cup star Linda Caicedo COLLAPSED for a second time in three days after she scored a sensational goal-of-the-tournament contender.
The Colombian sensation – who beat cancer just six months ago – went down on the pitch after she netted the brilliant goal as her side battled for a spot in the Women’s World Cup knockout stages.
The goal comes just days after she collapsed during a training session.
Caicedo, 18, was running with the ball on a dribble when she suddenly stopped and began clutching the left side of her chest.
She then tried to sit down but, within seconds had keeled over, seemingly unconscious.
Colombian medical staff rushed over as a sense of panic overwhelmed the camp, with terrified team-mates fearing the worst.
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Thankfully, Caicedo was able to regain consciousness by the time she was placed on a stretcher, ferried into the ambulance and off to a local hospital.
And she was able to make a full recovery in order to be able to feature against the Germans.
Caicedo showed that she has not lost any of her ability as she scored a fantastic go-ahead goal for Colombia in the 52nd minute.
She collected a loose ball in the German box, skilled her way past a defender and then unleashed a lovely shot into the top corner.
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There was a concern for Caicedo as she appeared to collapse again in the 83rd minute.
Footage showed her down on the pitch, being helped by medical staff.
She was eventually helped to her feet and made her way to the sidelines.
But rather than subbing her off, the teen was remarkably allowed to carry on playing.
Marcela Restrepo eventually replaced her in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Meanwhile, fans were going wild on social media for the star’s goal.
One tweeted: “What an inspiration. Bounce back from cancer at 15 to scoring bangers at the World Cup at 18.”
A second commented: “What a story! Incredible player.”
A third wrote: “Beautiful moment, a young woman from our family town in Colombia ❤️🇨🇴 with a stunner of a goal!!
“Against Germany to see. Reminds me of the female version of Willian’s goal vs Nottingham Forest!”
A fourth said: “One of the goals of the tournament so far.”
A fifth added: “What a goal. What a player. What a story.”
The goal did not turn out to be the winner, however as Germany star Alexandra Popp netted a penalty in the 89th minute to level the scores.
But that was not the end of the drama as Manuela Vanegas headed home in the 97th minute to give Colombia a famous victory that has been hailed as one of the biggest Women’s World Cup shocks.
Before the final whistle, there was one moment of concern for Colombia as Jorelyn Carabali was stretchered off with an injury.
Caicedo was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 15 in February 2020, just before the pandemic struck.
She needed surgery to remove a tumour and underwent six months of chemotherapy before she was able to return to the football pitch.
Caicedo explained: “The truth is that I was very young and maybe I didn’t quite understand what was happening to me.”
Mum Herlinda recalled: “Every time we would take Linda to the hospital, she would cry, and she would ask the doctors to please tell her the truth, if she would be able to play football again. That’s all she wanted to know.”
Her recovery to full fitness stunned many.
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Incredibly, she was able to make a move from Deportivo Cali to Real Madrid.
SunSport have contacted Fifa and Colombia for comment.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
