England will bid to keep their World Cup dream alive when they face Colombia in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
The Lionesses booked their spot in the last eight with a penalty shootout victory over Nigeria - despite being reduced to 10 players following Lauren James ' red card for a stamp on Michelle Alozie. Colombia, meanwhile, edged past Jamaica thanks to captain Catalina Usme's second-half strike in Melbourne.
But, while the South Americans have their skipper to thank for getting them to a first ever World Cup quarter-final, it's another of their players - 18-year-old Linda Caicedo - that has set the tournament alight so far. The teenager has been in sensational form for Las Cafeteras in Australia, having so far notched two goals in four games. However, her road to the biggest tournament in world football hasn't been an easy one.
From making her professional debut at the age of 14 to overcoming cancer, here's everything you need to know about Colombia's teenage scoring sensation...
Road to Real Madrid
Linda Caicedo was born in 2005, in Candelaria, western Colombia. At the age of just 14, she made her professional debut for Colombian first-tier side America de Cali, where she made an instant impact by scoring seven goals in seven games.
Her domestic performances quickly earned her international recognition and she received her first national team call-up in November 2019. The following year, she made the switch to Deportivo de Cali, where she would spend the next three years, scoring 16 goals in 37 games. In her time in the Colombian top flight, she won two league titles, in 2019 and 2021.
Caicedo also impressed on the international stage, helping Colombia reach the Final of the 2022 Copa América Femenina, where she was named player of the tournament at the age of 17.
With that incredible form in mind, it's little wonder Spainish giants Real Madrid came knocking earlier this year. The teenager signed a three-year deal with the Liga F side in February, making her debut against Alhama CF on 4 March 2023.
Overcoming cancer
At the age of just 15, Caicedo was forced to put her football career on hold after she received the devastating news that she had ovarian cancer.
“The day they were going to operate on me, I thought I would not be able to return to top-level football," Caicedo told Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo.
But return she did. She underwent surgery to remove the tumour in March 2020, before undergoing chemotherapy that left her bedridden for three months.
In September of 2020, she was declared cancer-free, and returned to the pitch just days after she finished her final round of treatment.
Show your support for The Lionesses throughout the FIFA Women's World Cup with the latest England home shirt. Mixing the classic with the contemporary, this shirt is being worn by the team as they bid to add a World Cup to their incredible European Championship triumph in 2022.
£79.95
NikeWorld Cup wonder goal
Caicedo has been one of the breakout stars of this World Cup so far. The 18-year-old found the back of the net in Colombia's opening group game of South Korea, before scoring a wonder-goal to help the South Americans triumph over tournament favourites Germany.
Caicedo has, however, hit the headlines off the pitch too. Ahead of that clash with Germany, the teenager collapsed during training. She reportedly stopped running, then put a hand to her chest and laid down on the pitch as teammates and medical staff rushed to her aid.
“It’s just an incident, she was tired,” manager Nelson Abadia said. “She was a bit stressed as well, because she was playing in her first World Cup … (which) has great relevance. And she’s 18 years of age. She’s a girl as far as football goes. But she has a great capacity and great character to assimilate all of this.
“That is why she’s one of the players in the world today who is a rising star. And it was just an episode, it’s finished, it’s over. We’re quite happy about this. No problem.”