After finally returning to pitch for the U.S. Women’s National Team, Catarina Macario will miss the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 24-year-old forward is withdrawing from the Olympic roster after suffering minor knee irritation, USWNT head coach Emma Hayes announced in a press conference on Friday.
Veteran USWNT forward Lynn Williams, who was named as an alternate on the roster, will fill Macario’s spot. Orlando Pride defender Emily Sams has been named as an alternate, pending approval from the IOC, USPOC and FIFA.
Hayes made the announcement ahead of a pair of Olympic sendoff friendlies, the first of which takes place in New Jersey’s Red Bull Arena on Saturday.
During today’s pre-match press conference, Emma Hayes announced that Catarina Macario is unable to prepare physically for the Olympic tournament due to consistent irritation in her right knee » https://t.co/EtaiwfJ6py
Pending official confirmation from the USOPC, IOC and FIFA,… pic.twitter.com/k7Uowy7fHM
— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) July 12, 2024
Macario, a young and dynamic attacking player, suffered a torn ACL in June 2022 while playing for French club Lyon, and took more than a year and a half to return to the pitch. Her delayed recovery also caused her to miss the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, despite hopes that she would be able to join the team in Australia and New Zealand last summer. Macario made her return to the USWNT roster in March.
At the press conference, Hayes, who is also Macario’s former head coach at Chelsea, said that she was “absolutely gutted” for Macario. Hayes added that Macario did train the other day, but that she will not recover in time for the Olympics. Macario will now travel back to her club for additional recovery
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Born in Brazil, Macario was eligible to play internationally for both the United States and Brazil, but chose the U.S. She received her first call-up for the USWNT in October 2020 and earned her first cap in a friendly against Colombia on January 18, 2021. Macario has eight goals in 19 appearances with the team.
The Olympics would have been an opportunity for Macario to finally establish herself as part of the USWNT’s young-and-upcoming core, but her chance to showcase her talent in a international competition will have to wait.
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