Brazilian footballer (born 1991)
Rafaelle Leone Carvalho Souza (born 18 June 1991) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a defender or midfielder for Orlando Pride in the National Women's Soccer League and captains the Brazil national team .
Rafaelle previously played for the University of Mississippi during her college soccer career in the United States and has played professionally for Houston Dash , Sao Francisco , America Miniero , Changchun Zhuoyue , Palmeiras and Arsenal .
Club career
In January 2014, Rafaelle was picked in the second round of the 2014 NWSL College Draft by expansion team Houston Dash . After playing one season, she was waived by Houston Dash, but FC Kansas City acquired her rights the following week.[ 3] 2015 National Women's Soccer League season as she was in training with her national team Brazil.[ 4]
Rafaelle signed with Changchun Zhuoyue of the Chinese Women's Super League in 2016, one of three Brazilian players to do so with Raquel and Darlene . Terms of the deals were not released, but in an interview with Globo Esporte , Rafaelle said the pay was considerably more than she could make in Brazil.[ 5] Cristiane would join her at Changchun Zhuoyue.[ 6]
In 2022, Rafaelle joined Arsenal on a free transfer from Changchun Zhuoyue. She was the first Brazilian to play for Arsenal Women .[ 7]
On 3 July 2023, it was announced that Rafaelle had signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League , joining the team following the conclusion of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup .[ 8] U.S. green card meaning she would no longer occupy an international roster spot.[ 9]
International career
Rafaelle played for Brazil's youth teams at the inaugural 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in New Zealand and the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup held in Germany. Her senior debut came in December 2011 as a substitute in a 4–0 win over Chile at the 2011 Torneio Internacional Cidade de São Paulo de Futebol Feminino .[ 10] Canada .[ 11]
In February 2015, Rafaelle was included in an 18-month residency programme intended to prepare Brazil's national team for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada and the 2016 Rio Olympics .[ 12]
At the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Rafaelle formed a makeshift center-back partnership with Mônica .[ 13] clean sheets in all three matches as Brazil qualified from their group without conceding a goal. In the second-round match against Australia , Brazil exited the competition after losing 1–0. Rafaelle remained in Canada as part of the Brazilian selection for the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto .
Rafaelle captained the Brazilian team to their 4th consecutive win in the 2022 Copa America Feminina .[ 14]
In June 2023, it was announced that she would captain Brazil in the FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand .[ 15]
Career statistics
International goals
Honours
Palmeiras[ 16]
Copa Paulista Women: 2021 Arsenal
Orlando Pride
Brazil [ 16]
Individual
References
^ a b "FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 – List of Players: Brazil" (PDF) . FIFA the original (PDF) on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2021 .^ "Profile" . FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015 .^ "FC Kansas City Lands Rafaelle Souza" . National Women's Soccer League . 15 September 2014. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2015 .^ Moreno, Daniel (11 March 2015). "Katrina Gorry and Rafaelle Souza to stay with their national teams this season" . FC Kansas City . Retrieved 19 July 2015 . ^ Cíntia Barlem (28 January 2016). "Dinheiro também encanta no feminino, e brasileiras se rendem à China" . Globo Esporte . Retrieved 1 July 2017 . ^ "Cristiane to move to Chinese club Changchun Zhuoyue in June" . Associated Press . Retrieved 1 July 2017 .^ "Rafaelle Souza: Arsenal Women sign Brazilian defender to make it three new signings this January" . Sky Sports . Retrieved 6 August 2022 .^ orlandocitysc. "Orlando Pride Signs Brazilian National Team Defender Rafaelle Souza" . www.orlandocitysc.com . Retrieved 3 July 2023 . ^ "Orlando Pride Announces 2024 Preseason Roster" . www.orlandocitysc.com .^ Leme de Arruda, Marcelo (5 March 2014). "Seleção Brasileira Feminina (Brazilian National Women's Team) 2011-2013" (in Portuguese). Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation . Retrieved 20 June 2015 . ^ "Souza makes first start with Brazilian National Team" . Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2014 .^ Kennedy, Paul (26 May 2015). "Road to Vancouver: Brazil's Formiga picked for sixth time" . Soccer America . Retrieved 11 July 2015 . ^ Cullen, Ray; Lauletta, Dan (9 June 2015). "Women's World Cup Day 4 – Vero, Spain Debut" . The Equalizer. Retrieved 19 July 2015 . ^ "Rafaelle captains Brazil to Copa America title" . Rafaelle captains Brazil to Copa America title . Retrieved 6 August 2022 .^ updated, Ryan Dabbs last (6 June 2023). "Brazil Women's World Cup 2023 squad: Full team announced" . fourfourtwo.com . Retrieved 3 July 2023 . ^ a b "Rafaelle Souza - Profile" . Soccerway . Retrieved 6 March 2023 .^ Sanders, Emma (5 March 2023). "Arsenal 3–1 Chelsea: Gunners fight back to win Women's League Cup final" . BBC Sport . Retrieved 5 March 2023 . ^ NWSL (7 October 2024). "Orlando Pride Claims 2024 NWSL Shield" . NWSL . Retrieved 9 October 2024 . ^ "Orlando Pride win 2024 NWSL Championship, bringing first professional, major league trophy to the City of Orlando" . NWSL . 25 November 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024 .^ Jurejko, Jonathan (10 August 2024). "Brazil 0-1 United States: Emma Hayes leads USA to Olympic gold" . BBC Sport . Retrieved 12 August 2024 . ^ "Rachel Daly: Aston Villa forward wins PFA women's Player of the Year award" . BBC Sport. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023 .^ "Shaw, Leon, Ovalle head up W Gold Cup Best XI" . CONCACAF. 13 March 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2024 .
External links
