Just Women’s Sports is here with your daily World Cup Digest, breaking down all of the biggest storylines from each day of action in Australia and New Zealand.

Today’s top World Cup news: Marta’s sixth World Cup ends in group stage

A legendary World Cup career came to an end Wednesday, as Marta and Brazil bowed out in the group stage in a scoreless draw with Jamaica. She leaves her final World Cup as the top goalscorer in tournament history.

Marta nearly added another Wednesday in her first start of the tournament for Brazil. She came inches from finding the back of the net in the fifth minute.

Marta comes this close to finding the opener 👀🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/u3JK70bUMg

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 2, 2023

Ultimately, though, Brazil fell short, marking the first time since 1995 that the team has failed to advance out of the group stage. In contrast, Jamaica earned its first trip to the knockout rounds. Marta and Jamaica’s Khadija “Bunny” Shaw shared a moment after the match in a symbolic passing of the guard.

Marta and Bunny Shaw share a moment after the match ❤️ pic.twitter.com/LIkNYN4oun

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 2, 2023

And Marta herself issued a call to action in a passionate postgame interview.

“Continue supporting women’s football,” she said. “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to play in another World Cup… Hugely grateful. … But for (my teammates) it’s not over, for Brazil and the world, continue to support. For Marta, that is the last World Cup. For me, that is the end, but it’s just the beginning for the others.”

The 37-year-old forward won’t be retiring from the game just yet, but ahead of the tournament she said that “we have to understand that a time comes for us to prioritize other things.”

She not only stands as the top goalscorer in tournament history but also the first player to score in five consecutive World Cups, though she did not score in this one.

“I knew that she was big, she’s a famous player,” Brazil coach Pia Sundhage had said before the game. “[But I] couldn’t even imagine how big she is in Brazil. … I get very emotional just being around such a good player. Not only what she’s going to do tomorrow, but what she’s done for so many years and been a fantastic role model.”

Today’s top highlight: Bunny Shaw and Jamaica celebrate knockout round berth

After crowdfunding their way to the World Cup, Jamaica will advance to the knockout rounds for the first time. The unforgettable moment was celebrated by the players and coaches after Wednesday’s draw with Brazil to close out the group stage.

“This is one of the best days I’ve ever had in my life,” Jamaica coach Lorne Donaldson said. “To see a country like Jamaica be able to do this, it’s unbelievable. The girls are doing it for the country, the country should be proud.

“We had resilience, fight. We are going into a war and we need to be ready,” he added. “And it was a war, and we stayed in the battle.”

BUNNY SHAW AND JAMAICA DESERVE TO CELEBRATE 🇯🇲 pic.twitter.com/C2KJfsTUGL

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 2, 2023

Today’s results:

• Sweden 2, Argentina 0
• South Africa 3, Italy 2
• France 6, Panama 3
• Jamaica 0, Brazil 0

More World Cup news to know:

• Marta Cox scored first against France on a banger, but it didn’t take long for Les Bleues to get going – particularly Kadidiatou Diani, who notched a hat trick for her first goals of the tournament. In the end, France put up six goals despite resting some of their big-name players.
• The USWNT will face Sweden, which won Group G and maintained its perfect World Cup record with a 2-0 win over Argentina. The last time these two teams met resulted in a 3-0 loss for the USWNT at the Tokyo Olympics. Still, World Cup history favors the USWNT, which holds a 4-1-1 record against Sweden in World Cup competition.

Alyssa Naeher exited the Chicago Red Stars game early on Sunday with an apparent injury.

After making a recovery run in the second half of Chicago's 3-1 win over the Utah Royals, the 36-year-old walked off the pitch limping but unassisted in the 62nd minute. She was replaced by backup keeper Mackenzie Wood.

Red Stars head coach Lorne Donaldson didn’t offer an update on the star goalkeeper's status in his postgame interview.

"No [update], I'm leaving it to the pros — the medical staff — so I don't know what's going on yet," he said.

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While the injury is bad news for Chicago, who currently sit fifth in the NWSL table, it’s also potentially troubling for the UWSNT's Olympic prospects. Naeher, a two-time Women's World Cup champion with the US, has served as the team's default starting goalkeeper for the last several years. 

Naeher is virtually a lock for the 2024 Olympics, should her injury not be too serious. But depending on its gravity, the knock could keep her out of a series of upcoming friendlies kicking off June 1st and 4th, Emma Hayes’ first as head coach for the USWNT. 

Also leaving her game with an injury on Sunday was Jaedyn Shaw, who limped off the pitch well into stoppage time in the Wave's 1-1 draw with Gotham FC. Shaw has recently emerged as one of the Wave's top strikers, making it all the more concerning if she ends up joining teammates Alex Morgan, Naomi Girma, and Abby Dahlkemper on the injured list. All four have played in recent camps for the USWNT.

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San Diego head coach Casey Stoney did not provide an update following Sunday's game, but noted that she thought Shaw had landed on her ankle. 

The 2024 Paris Olympics begins Friday, July 26th, with rostered players scheduled to appear in their final club matches in mid-July.

The WNBA 28th season officially begins on Tuesday, May 14th.

A four-game doubleheader is set to kick things off on opening day, with a sold-out matchup featuring Caitlin Clark’s regular season debut with the Indiana Fever leading the charge. A'ja Wilson and the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces will also be in action, going up against the Phoenix Mercury at 10 PM ET in the evening's second act. 

First up are the New York Liberty and Washington Mystics, with 2023 league MVP Breanna Stewart hoping to once again guide her team back to the WNBA Finals. Last year, Stewart led the team in scoring with 23.1 points per game, while the Liberty notched a league-best 11.1 three-pointers per game last season. 

For their part, the Mystics find themselves without longtime forward Elena Delle Donne this season. Rookie Aaliyah Edwards will attempt to fill the void, being one to watch as Washington looks to turn the page on its next chapter.

At 7:30 PM ET, the Fever face the perennially dangerous Connecticut Sun. Indiana is coming off their best season since 2019, finishing the year 13 and 27 overall. Armed with 2024's No. 1 draft pick, they're now looking to make their first playoffs appearance since 2016. This could be one of the first true tests for the much-hyped Caitlin Clark, as the rookie squares off with Sun starter DeWanna Bonner.

The 10 PM ET bill keeps things going with the 2024 WNBA title-winning Aces hosting the Mercury at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. Despite losing superstar Candace Parker to retirement in April, the Aces' roster remains stacked with household names Sydney Colson, Kelsey Plum, and Kiah Stokes complementing rookie Kate Martin and two-time league MVP Wilson. They'll need to harness some of that 2023 champion chemistry on the court if they want to one-up a veteran-heavy Phoenix squad.

Rounding out the night is a Seattle team headlined by offseason additions Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith plus 2024 draft pick, UConn alum Nika Mühl. Paired up with team stalwart Jewell Loyd, the powerful arrangement could make for a sneaky sleeper pick for the WNBA Finals. Minnesota, meanwhile, won both of its preseason games, with 2024 draftee Alissa Pili putting up some solid performances under the basket. Pili, alongside Napheesa Collier and Diamond Miller, could form a tough defensive wall capable of silencing even the most offensively gifted opponents.

Tuesday, May 14th:

• New York Liberty vs. Washington Mystics at 7 PM ET on ESPN3/WNBA League Pass
• Indiana Fever vs. Connecticut Sun at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN2/ESPN+
• Phoenix Mercury vs. Las Vegas Aces at 10 PM ET on ESPN2/ESPN+
• Minnesota Lynx vs. Seattle Storm at 10 PM ET on ESPN3/WNBA League Pass

Wednesday, May 15th:

• Chicago Sky vs. Dallas Wings at 8 PM ET on WNBA League Pass
• Atlanta Dream vs. Los Angeles Sparks at 10 PM ET on WNBA League Pass

WSL star Vivianne Miedema will be leaving Arsenal at the end of the season, she announced on social media Monday.

In a video posted to Arsenal's main Instagram page, the Dutch striker said that it was time for her seven-year journey with the club to come to an end.

"To have represented a club like this, with so much history and tradition, has been an absolute honor,” she said. "So above all else, I would like to say thank you for making this chapter of my life so memorable."

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Widely regarded as one of the best forwards in the world, Miedema has been dealing with an ongoing ACL injury over the past two seasons, an issue that kept her out of last summer’s Women's World Cup. In her personal farewell post, the former Gunner said rupturing her ACL has been "one of the toughest things I’ve had to go through in my career," noting that her Arsenal teammates’ support was "something I’ll always remember."

Even still, she said, "it’s time to move on." Miedema joined the Gunners in 2017 from Bayern Munich, scoring 125 goals and providing 50 assists over 172 appearances. She was the WSL’s top scorer in 2018-19, setting the all-time record with 78 goals as she helped Arsenal win the league title for the first time in seven years. 

Miedema took home a second Golden Boot for her efforts during the 2019-2020 season. Her six-goal outing against Bristol City in 2019 still counts as the most goals scored by an individual player in a single match in WSL history. In March 2022, she became the first player in WSL history to reach 100 goal involvements, and remains the league's all-time leading scorer.

Sources have said that head coach Jonas Eidevall's side opted not to offer Miedema a new contract for the upcoming season.

"On behalf of everyone at the club, we thank Viv for her huge contribution towards the success of the team during her seven years with us," said Arsenal sporting director Edu Gaspar in a team statement. "Viv’s goals and overall performances as an Arsenal player have been of the highest quality, and she has created so many wonderful memories for us over the years. We wish Viv and her family the best of health and happiness for the future."

Several hours after the news broke Monday morning, ESPN reported that Manchester City was interested in signing the 27-year-old, pegging City as her "most likely destination." Neither club has confirmed the reports.

Two-time WNBA champion and league MVP A’ja Wilson is getting her own shoe. 

The WNBA star announced the pending arrival of her long-awaited Nike signature on Saturday, the same day that the Las Vegas Aces played the Puerto Rican national team at South Carolina. The preseason matchup was a homecoming for Wilson, who played for the Gamecocks and grew up in Columbia —making it a fitting moment to drop the news. 

Wilson showed up to the arena with a sweatshirt that read "Of Course I Have A Shoe Dot Com," revealing a URL that redirects to Nike’s website. The sneaker will be called the A’One.

The shoe — along with Wilson’s signature collection — will arrive in 2025. Having first signed with the athletic mega-brand as a rookie in 2018, the former No. 1 draft pick has reportedly been refining designs with Nike for over a year. 

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"It's been incredible working with Nike toward a dream of having my collection, and it really is an honor to take this next step and become a Nike signature athlete," Wilson said in Saturday's press release. "From my logo to the look of the shoe and the pieces throughout the collection, we've worked to make sure every detail is perfectly tuned to my game and style."

She told Andscape’s Aaron Dodson that the highlight for her was being able to announce the drop in conjunction with the Aces’ trip to her alma mater and hometown.

"The biggest thing for me is I get to showcase what I've been working on for a couple of years now in my home state, in my home city," Wilson said. "A place where people watched me grow and I raised eyebrows like, 'Is she really that good?!' To then seeing me in college and now in the pros."

When the A'One debuts, the 27-year-old will most likely be the 14th WNBA athlete to receive a signature shoe. Current players with active shoe contracts include Breanna Stewart, Elena Delle Donne, and Sabrina Ionescu. Caitlin Clark is next in line to receive a shoe in her new deal with Nike, although the brand has yet to confirm that detail.

After talk of Clark's shoe-inclusive Nike deal hit the headlines in mid-April, questions arose around Wilson's lack of signature footwear, with many pointing to a dearth of Black representation within the recent influx of shoe collaborations. The last Black WNBA player to receive her own shoe was Candace Parker with Adidas in 2010, while Wilson marks the first Black WNBA player to ink a Nike shoe agreement since Sheryl Swoopes in 2002.

"There's definitely value in patience," Wilson told Andscape. "That's something [South Carolina] Coach [Dawn] Staley has taught me — that some of the best things come from waiting and 'what's delayed is not denied.' That's something I have tatted on me. That's something I live through. So it's something I'm going to stick through."

In a news release, Nike said they were "proud to introduce A'ja Wilson as the newest member of the brand's signature family, marking the next chapter of partnership with one of basketball's greatest athletes."

Wilson is working with the same shoe designer that partnered with Ionescu, as well as Kyrie Irving before the Mavericks shooting guard parted ways with Nike in 2022. Wilson's upcoming signature collection will be "inspired by her distinctive style, incredible performance, and unapologetic realness," per Nike. "As one of the most iconic basketball players of her generation, of course, she got a shoe," they added.

Wilson’s hopes for the shoe is that girls wearing it can "feel powerful and understand that nobody can stop them from their dreams."

"It’s been an incredible ride, but there’s a lot of weight lifted off my shoulders now because it was starting to get hard," Wilson told Andscape. "But with the movement and growth of the game, I feel like this was the perfect time to say, 'Hey, I got a shoe on the way.'"