Off the Pitch

As the confetti fell and thousands of lightbulbs flashed in Lyon, France, on July 7, 2019, USA’s players climbed the podium to celebrate the fulfillment of a dream that had required years of sacrifice, total commitment and a single-minded belief in accomplishing it all.  

A captivated global audience delighted in what these 23 women had achieved — a historic fourth world title for the U.S. — but the players themselves took a moment to immortalize a staff member whose personal journey mirrored their own with the following chant: “Chef! Chef! Chef!”  

MANCHESTER — Soccer fans are buzzing about a Women's World Cup ad featuring French stars Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann - or so it seems at first.

In Telecom company Orange's campaign aimed at challenging people's perceptions of women's soccer, the two-minute ad appears to show a display of magical soccer skills from diving headers to curling free kicks by Mbappe, Griezmann and others.

Then comes the twist.

Nike went all out on their latest commercial featuring United States women’s national team star Sophia Smith.

Released on Saturday, the 60-second commercial features an unnamed defender being haunted by Smith ahead of the 2023 World Cup.

The ad is a nod to the 2022 film “Smile” which I had to look up when writing this article and boy was that a little too spooky for me.

Thankfully Nike’s ad is a little more family friendly but will still be fear-inducing for defenders going up against Smith in Australia and New Zealand.