Caitlin Clark has officially picked a side in Sunday’s World Cup final. And the United States’ exit in the Round of 16 apparently did not kill her interest in the tournament.
Clark is riding with Argentina.
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Following the Indiana Fever’s 108-88 win over the New York Liberty on Saturday night, Clark was asked whether she would be rooting for Argentina or Spain when the two countries meet for the World Cup final Sunday afternoon.
“I’m cheering for Argentina,” Clark said. “I want Messi, so I’ll be cheering hard.”
Argentina is attempting to become just the third nation to win back-to-back men’s World Cups, while Lionel Messi is seeking his second consecutive title at 39 years old.
And Clark’s interest in the final goes beyond simply jumping on the Messi bandwagon.
Long before she became a basketball superstar, the Fever guard was also an accomplished soccer player. Clark played during her freshman and sophomore years of high school, scoring 26 goals and earning first-team all-state honors during her first season.
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“I loved soccer growing up, and I probably could have played in college, too, but it was hard in the state of Iowa,” Clark said last month on the “Post Moves” podcast with Candace Parker and Aliyah Boston.
“Soccer was during the spring, and so was AAU basketball. I was leaving for some USA Basketball stuff, and would miss part of the high school soccer season. Then I’d came back and I felt like a bad teammate, so I eventually gave it up after my sophomore year. But I loved it.”
Seems like she made a good choice.
But Clark said the skills she developed on the soccer field still helped shape the basketball superstar she became.
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“The best thing it did for me was obviously foot speed, but also reading angles. That’s what soccer is — getting your body in the correct angle, leading people on passing, putting the ball on the perfect spot where they can run onto,” Clark said.
“That helped me as a passer, understanding angles and leading people, manipulating where I want them to go. And it helped me get in incredible shape for basketball.”
Clark will be parked in front of a TV watching the World Cup final on Sunday afternoon. But she’ll return to her primary sport Wednesday night when the Fever host the Connecticut Sun at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
