Linda Caicedo

Profile Overview

Linda Lizeth Caicedo Alegría (Latin American Spanish: [ˈlin.da liˈset kaiˈse.ðo a.leˈɣɾi.a]; born 22 February 2005) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga F club Real Madrid and the Colombia national team.
Often regarded as one of the world's best players, Caicedo began playing her senior club career in 2019, when she debuted for Colombian club América de Cali at the age of 14. She played a key role in América's historic victory, helping the club secure its first league title. In early 2020, she moved to Deportivo Cali where she won another Colombian league title in 2021. This achievement qualified Cali for the 2021 Copa Libertadores Femenina. Despite only making the quarterfinals, Caicedo finished the tournament as joint-top scorer and made the tournament's Best XI. In 2023, after years of speculation about her next club move, she signed for Real Madrid in Spain's Liga F. In her first season at the club, she helped Madrid reach their first major cup final at the 2022–23 Copa de la Reina.
In addition to her accomplishments at the club level, Caicedo has also found international success at both the youth and senior levels. In July 2022, Caicedo featured in her first Copa America tournament with Colombia's senior team, where she scored the game-winning goal against Argentina in the semi-finals to help her team qualify for the Copa America final. After finishing as runner-up with Colombia's senior team in the Copa America, Caicedo competed with Colombia's U-20s at the 2022 FIFA U-20 World Cup in August, where they reached the quarterfinals. In October of the same year, Caicedo helped Colombia's U-17 side to a second-place finish at the U-17 World Cup. She scored 4 goals and was Colombia's top scorer as they finished as runners-up behind Spain. She later competed in the 2023 FIFA World Cup, and scored two goals in the group stage—one against South Korea, and the opener against Germany, a match that Colombia won to pull off one of the greatest upsets in Women's World Cup history.
Caicedo has won multiple individual awards throughout her career, including the Golden Ball at the 2022 Copa America Femenina, and Bronze Boot and Silver Ball at the 2022 FIFA U-17 World Cup.