Texas-exes Julia Grosso, Chelsea Surpris to represent Canada, Haiti in 2023 World Cup
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is kicking off tomorrow, and while only countries will be represented there, Texas can lay claim to two athletes.
Former Texas players in the FIFA Women's World Cup
Chelsea Surpris and Julia Grosso, who once upon a time donned the burnt orange, will be representing Haiti and Canada respectively. Both of them have previous international experience, with Grosso being known for her performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In the finals vs. Sweden, Canada headed into penalty kicks tied 2-2. With five kicks down and needing a goal, Grosso pulled through for her country to win Canada's first-ever Olympic gold in soccer.
IT’S THAT TEXAS TOUCH FOR CANADA 🤘🏾@TexasSoccer’s Julia Grosso gets the Olympic Gold. pic.twitter.com/0UvLPKa0HR
— Longhorn Network (@LonghornNetwork) August 6, 2021
It's Grosso's second consecutive World Cup selection. In her first selection in 2019, Grosso did not make an appearance. Overall, the Canada native has made 50 career caps for the CANWNT. This includes 20 starts, three goals and three assists from the midfield position. She was with UT from 2018-2021, with 15 goals and 12 assists in her time in Austin.
More: Texas’ Julia Grosso casts her eyes on Olympics with Team Canada
Surpris has one previous cap for Haiti in the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship match against the United States. Overall, she's had 12 career matches for the HAIWNT and two goals. As a Longhorn from 2015-2018, the defender logged 4,500 minutes of playing time through 60 matches and 42 starts. She also helped Texas reach the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
Who are Chelsea Surpris and Julia Grosso's current professional soccer teams?
Grosso currently plays for Juventus, an Italian club in Serie A. So far, she's made 30 appearances as a midfielder with the team, played 2,152 minutes, collected seven assists and scored four goals.
Surpris is a defender for Grenoble Foote 38, a French club in Ligue 2. The Haitian has made 17 appearances, played 1,184 minutes and scored four goals.
You don't need to convert to Australia time. Here's how to watch the World Cup in Central Time.
The CANWNT will begin its Group B action vs. Nigeria at 9:30 p.m. CT on Thursday. The HAIWNT begins its Group D slate at 4:30 a.m. CT on Saturday, July 22 against England.
Fox Sports and its family networks will be broadcasting all of the matches.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: World Cup players: Canada's Julia Grosso, Haiti's Chelsea Surpris
