![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2023\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2XQOD5UWAMI6TGQW3RKR5JNEHM-696x464.jpg\" "\\"APTOPIX")
Marta\u2019s sixth and final Women\u2019s World Cup ended in despair beyond her \u201cworst nightmares\u201d as Brazil failed to reach the knockout stage in Australia and New Zealand.<\/p>\n
A goalless draw against Jamaica saw Brazil eliminated as their Caribbean opponents reached the last 16 alongside France.<\/p>\n
The 37-year-old Marta\u2019s legacy has long been cemented and she bows out as the greatest scorer in the tournament\u2019s history with 17 goals.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
After the game, she made it clear the early exit was a dark moment but held out hope for Brazil\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to talk at a time like this,\u201d Marta said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot even in my worst nightmares was it the World Cup I dreamed of. But it is only the beginning, the Brazilian people ask for renewal, and there is renewal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only old one is me, most of them [her team-mates] are young girls with enormous talent, it\u2019s just the beginning for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarta ends here, there is no more World Cup for Marta.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018A reference point\u2019 for women\u2019s football<\/strong><\/p>\n Marta will always be one of the most revered players in the women\u2019s game, which she has helped to put on the map.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know what\u2019s good? When I started there were no idols in women\u2019s football,\u201d she said on the eve of the Jamaica match.<\/p>\n \u201cHow could there be if you didn\u2019t show women\u2019s football? How could I understand that I would reach the national team and become a reference point?\u201d<\/p>\n Marta made her World Cup debut in 2003, and although she never led them to a global tournament victory, Brazil reached the final in 2007, losing to Germany. Near-misses for her country extended to the Olympics, with silver medals in 2004 and 2008.<\/p>\n \u201cTwenty years ago, nobody knew who Marta was at my first World Cup. Twenty years later, we have become a reference for many women all over the world, not only in football,\u201d Marta added.<\/p>\n \u2018She will go down in history for the right reasons\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Overall, Marta scored 122 international goals in 189 matches, Brazil\u2019s federation said. At club level, she has played for 11 sides over 23 years, in South America, North America and Europe, being crowned World Player of the Year six times.<\/p>\n She won the Copa Libertadores \u2013 the South American equivalent of the Champions League \u2013 with Santos in 2009 and has represented Orlando Pride since 2017.<\/p>\n But her most successful spells came in Sweden, winning the league title in four successive seasons between 2005 and 2008 with Umea IK, with Tyreso FF in 2012 and FC Rosengard in 2014 and 2015.<\/p>\n Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, who was working for ITV, paid her own tribute.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat an emotional moment for Marta. It\u2019s not the way she would want to bow out at a World Cup but what memories she has made for lots of us who have witnessed an incredible footballer over a long period of time,\u201d Hayes said.<\/p>\n \u201cShe deserves at least that farewell to the fans. She is one who will go down in history for all the right reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n Marta was substituted against Jamaica after 80 minutes to rapturous applause, regretful she could not be decisive once more for Brazil, but there are not many \u2013 if any \u2013 who can match her career-long impact.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n