In her second Olympics, Angelina brought balance and security to the Brazilian national team’s midfield. Talented and with excellent game vision, she was a crucial player in the team’s journey during the Paris Olympics.
With Marta absent, it fell to Angelina, 24, to wear the captain’s armband in the match where Brazil decisively defeated Spain 4-2 in one of the semifinals. In that game, she intercepted several counterattacks from the Europeans.
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The midfielder was born in New Jersey, USA, but moved to Brazil at the age of 4. She holds dual citizenship. She developed a love for playing soccer at an early age and soon joined a soccer school in Jacarepaguá, in the western zone of Rio de Janeiro.
She then began her career at Vasco, where she spent five years in the club’s youth categories. In 2017, she transferred to Santos and before the 2020 season, to Palmeiras.
While balancing her time between the clubs she played for and the Brazilian national team, Angelina caught the attention of American teams and was signed in early 2021 by OL Reign of the National Women’s Soccer League.
Angelina was already with the Brazilian national team at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Two years later, she was called up for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, stepping in for Nycole, who had suffered an ankle sprain.
Before heading to Oceania to fulfill her dream of playing in a World Cup, Angelina experienced a whirlwind of emotions. This was because she had been away from the pitch for 11 months after participating in Brazil’s victorious campaign in the 2022 Copa América.
At that time, she suffered a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament and lateral meniscus in her right knee, precisely in July 2022. The uncertainty regarding her recovery timeline and her performance level—whether she could maintain it or not—caused Angelina to lose many nights of sleep.
But even without match rhythm, she got the chance to represent the Brazilian national team in that World Cup. The result there was not as expected. She held onto the hope of being part of the squad for the Paris Olympics. Her name was on the list of four substitutes called up by Arthur Elias. Given the circumstances of the competition, she was able to play and was fundamental to the success of Brazilian football in the Paris Games.
