Fleming played college soccer in the United States for the UCLA Bruins from 2016 to 2019, before turning professional and spending four years with English club Chelsea. She was a member of Canada's gold medal-winning side at the 2020 Summer Olympics, where she scored the team's only regular-time goal in the final on a penalty kick, as well as the first goal in the penalty shoot-out.[3]
Early life
Fleming was born in London, Ontario to Michaele and John Fleming, who are both originally from Toronto.[4] She has an older brother, Tristan, and a younger sister, Elysse.[5] Growing up, she competed in soccer, hockey (including in a full-contact boys' league), track and field, and cross-country.[4][5] She started playing soccer at the age of three for the London-based Nor'West Optimist Soccer Club, where she remained until 2016.[4][6]
Fleming attended elementary school at Ryerson Public School, where she remained undefeated in cross-country throughout her entire elementary school career. She went on to attend London Central Secondary School from Grade 9 to Grade 10, where she competed in OFSAA track and field and cross-country. In 2012, she won the novice girls' 4000m race at the OFSAA Cross Country Championships. The following year, she competed at the OFSAA Track and Field Championships and won both the midget women's 1500m and midget women's 3000m competitions.[7][8] She still holds the record for the 1500m in the midget women's category.[5] In 2014, she competed again at the OFSAA Track and Field Championships, winning a gold medal in the junior women's 3000m race[9] and a silver medal in the junior women's 1500m race.[10] She switched to H. B. Beal Secondary School for Grades 11 and 12, and graduated in 2016.[5][11]
College career
Fleming verbally committed to UCLA in December 2014[12][13] and joined the Bruins in August 2016.[14] She played her first game on August 28, less than ten days after helping Canada win a bronze medal at the Olympic Games, scoring twice in a 4–3 loss to Florida.[15] Her goalscoring tear continued as she netted 7 goals in her first 6 games as a college player. She appeared in 19 games, making 16 starts, and finished as the leading scorer on the team with 11 goals and 5 assists, for a total of 27 points. Fleming was one of just two freshmen to receive All-America honours in 2016, being selected to the NSCAA All-America third team. She was selected the Top Drawer Soccer Freshman of the Year, and also earned first-team NSCAA All-Pacific Region, All-Pac-12 and All-Freshman acclaim.[16]
As a sophomore, Fleming scored 6 goals, including three game-winners, and recorded 8 assists, for a total of 20 points. She earned first-team All-America honours and received first-team All-West Region and All-Pac-12 honours for the second-straight year. After helping UCLA reach the College Cup final and scoring a goal in the championship match, she was selected as a finalist for the Hermann Trophy[17] and chosen as one of four nominees for the Class of 2018 Honda Sports Award for soccer.[18]
Although she missed nearly half of her junior season while on national team duty, Fleming still earned first-team All-Pac-12 honours for the third year in a row and was a second-team All-West Region honouree after scoring 15 points on 5 goals and 5 assists.[19]
Fleming at UCLA in 2019
As a senior, Fleming played in a defensive midfield role, finishing the season with 3 goals and 4 assists in 22 appearances, for a total of 10 points.[20] She was chosen as one of three finalists for the Hermann Trophy[21] and one of four finalists for the Honda Sports Award.[20] She was also one of ten finalists for the Senior CLASS Award.[22]
On July 22, 2020, Fleming signed for FA WSL champions Chelsea on a three-year deal.[24] On August 29, she made her debut for the Blues as a substitute against Manchester City in the 2020 Women's FA Community Shield at Wembley.[25] On December 9, she made her UEFA Champions League debut in a 5–0 away win over Benfica.[26] She made her first start against the same opposition a week later, and helped her team to a 3–0 victory at Kingsmeadow.[27] On January 27, 2021, she made her first league start in a 4–0 away win over Aston Villa at Banks's Stadium.[28] On March 14, she played the full 90 minutes as the Blues won the 2021 FA Women's League Cup Final against Bristol City at Vicarage Road.[29] In her first season at Chelsea, she made a total of 26 appearances across all competitions and won the 2020–21 FA WSL title.[30] She was an unused substitute in the 2021 Champions League Final, where Chelsea were defeated by Barcelona.[31] Fleming would later cite the transition to the professional scene as a challenge, in particular the need to raise her game in order to vie for playing time.[32]
Beginning the 2021–22 FA WSL, Fleming scored her first goal for Chelsea in a 6–1 victory against Manchester United at Leigh Sports Village on September 26, 2021.[33] Three days later, she got her first assist for the club in the 2020–21 Women's FA Cup quarter-final against Birmingham City, setting up Fran Kirby in the 72nd minute.[34] On October 10, she registered her first league assist in a 2–0 win against Leicester City.[35] On October 31, she assisted Bethany England in a 3–0 victory against Manchester City at the Academy Stadium, helping Chelsea reach the 2021 Women's FA Cup Final.[36] On November 9, she scored her first Champions League goal in a 7–0 win away to Servette.[37] The 2021–22 WSL season saw Fleming's usage by the club increase significantly, featuring in 21 of 22 games, 11 of those as starts, and tallying six goals and four assists. She won the league title with Chelsea for the second time, before playing in her second consecutive run with the club to the 2022 Women's FA Cup Final.[38]
Shortly after the commencement of the 2022–23 Women's Super League, Fleming signed a contract extension with Chelsea through the summer of 2025.[39] Chelsea won its third consecutive Women's FA Cup on May 27, 2023, and four days later secured its fourth consecutive Women's Super League title.[40][41] Fleming played 20 games in the season, with a new career high of 14 starts.[42] However, her playing time began to decline as the season went on, a trend that continued into the following season.[43] On January 23, 2024, The Daily Telegraph reported that Fleming would be moving to the American NWSL's Portland Thorns. The stated transfer fee of £250,000 would make it the most expensive acquisition ever by an NWSL club.[44]
International career
Youth
Fleming started playing for the Canadian youth national teams in 2012, at the age of 14.[45] The following year, she captained Canada at the 2013 CONCACAF U-17 Championship in Jamaica,[46] leading the team to a silver medal.[47] During the tournament, she scored three goals (two in the group stage and one in the semi-final against Jamaica) and was named Player of the Match in two of Canada's five matches.[48][49] As a result, she was named to the Best XI[50] and awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP).[51]
In December 2013, she was chosen as one of six nominees for the Canadian U-17 Players of the Year award.[52]
Fleming was a member of the team that reached the quarter-finals of the 2014 U-20 World Cup in Canada.[56] At 16, she was the second-youngest player on the Canadian roster. She made two appearances (against Ghana and Finland) in the group stage of the tournament, before playing all 90 minutes in the quarter-final against Germany. In December 2014, she was named Canadian U-17 Player of the Year.[56][57]
On April 27, 2015, Fleming was named to the roster for the 2015 World Cup, held on home soil in Canada.[69] At the age of 17, she was the youngest player on the Canadian team.[66] On May 14, she scored the only goal in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Mexico, which Canada won 1–0.[70] On June 15, she started Canada's final group stage match of the World Cup against Netherlands in front of 45,420 fans at Olympic Stadium. The match ended 1–1, which was enough for Canada to win Group A.[71] Canada defeated Switzerland, its first World Cup knockout stage win since 2003, but fell to England in the quarter-final.[72][73]
Fleming made her 50th senior appearance on March 7, 2018, scoring her fifth international goal in a 3–0 win over South Korea at the 2018 Algarve Cup.[76] She was by this point established as one of the most promising younger players on a team, at a time when commentators were increasingly contemplating its future upon the eventual retirement of longtime captain Sinclair.[77]
On May 25, 2019, Fleming was named to the roster for the 2019 FIFA World Cup,[78] where she would eventually play every minute of the tournament for Canada.[4] On June 15, she scored her first World Cup goal in the 2–0 group stage victory over New Zealand and was chosen Player of the Match.[79] Canada was ultimately eliminated in the Round of 16 by Sweden, which renewed doubts about the program's future.[80][81] Fleming would reflect, years later, that it was "really disappointing. I think it's fair to say we feel like we underperformed that tournament."[82]
Olympic triumph, World Cup disappointment (2020–2023)
Fleming was named part of the Canadian team for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, participating in her second Olympic tournament. The Tokyo Olympics marked a major boost in Fleming's profile when, following a quarter-final shootout win over Brazil that saw captain Sinclair miss her penalty attempt, the latter advised coach Bev Priestman that Fleming should take over as the team's designated penalty-taker in the tournament.[83][84] In the August 2, 2021, semi-final match with the United States, Fleming scored the only goal via a penalty kick, resulting in a 1–0 win that sent Canada to its first ever Olympic final.[85] Sinclair handing Fleming the ball in advance of the kick was misinterpreted by many as a spontaneous decision, rather than one agreed in advance, and was widely covered as a "passing of the torch" scenario.[84] Fleming repeated her performance during the gold medal match, scoring on a penalty kick against Sweden to tie the game 1–1. She later scored the first goal in the shoot-out at the end of the game, which resulted in Canada winning the gold medal.[3]
At the 2022 Arnold Clark Cup, Fleming started the first match against England as captain, in the absence of regular captain Christine Sinclair.[90] On June 26, she earned her 100th cap while serving as captain again for a 0–0 draw against South Korea in a friendly match at BMO Field.[91] Later in the year, she was one of four players to score three goals at the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship, but lost the Golden Boot to teammate Julia Grosso on a tiebreaker, Grosso having had an assist and played fewer minutes.[92][93] She was named Canada Soccer's Player of the Year for the second time, becoming the third woman to win the award consecutively.[94]
The leadup to the 2023 FIFA World Cup was marked by conflicts between the women's national team and the Canadian Soccer Association over the team's financing, as well as questions around Canada's offensive capabilities.[95][96] The draw placed them in what Fleming called a "challenging"[82] group that included host nation Australia.[96] Fleming was widely expected to be a central role on the team in the tournament, with many commentators identifying her as Canada's most important player.[97][98] Former national team member Amy Walsh assessed that "it's very much Jessie Fleming's team. How Fleming goes, I think Canada goes."[42] However, as a result of a practice injury, Fleming was unable to play in the opening match against Nigeria, which ended in a 0–0 draw, with her absence being widely noted as a major weakness.[99][100] She returned to play the full 90 minutes in Canada's 2–1 victory over Ireland, wearing the captain's armband in the first half prior to Sinclair's substituting on.[101] Canada entered its final group match needing only a draw with Australia to advance, but were defeated 4–0 in what was widely described as one of the team's worst defeats in major competition. Fleming described it as "a bad night to have a bad night,"[102] with post-match assessments of roster performance largely concluding that she had not been able to influence the outcome to her own standard.[103][104]
Following the disappointment in Australia, the team regrouped for their next fixtures, the CONCACAF Olympic qualification playoff in September, facing Jamaica for the second CONCACAF berth at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Despite initial concerns, Canada won both games.[105][106] Fleming started both games and wore the captain's armband; when Sinclair was substituted on for the second game, Fleming "tried to give her the captain’s armband. Sinclair immediately waved her off."[106] At year's end, she was named Canada Soccer's Player of the Year for the third consecutive time.[107]
Captaincy (2024–present)
In advance of the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup, Fleming was named the captain of the Canada national team, succeeding Sinclair.[108] Canada reached the semi-final of the tournament, ultimately falling to the United States in a penalty shootout.[109] Fleming was named to the tournament’s Best XI.[110]
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