Canadian soccer player (born 2000)
Julia Angela Grosso (born August 29, 2000) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Serie A Femminile club Juventus FC and the Canada women's national team. She attained international prominence after scoring the title-winning penalty kick at the 2020 Summer Olympics, leading Canada to its first gold medal.[2][3]
Early life
Grosso was born in Vancouver, British Columbia.[4] She attended Burnaby Central Secondary where she played with the Whitecaps FC Girls Elite Rex.[5] Future national teammate Jordyn Huitema attended the same school and program, and the two became close friends during this time.[6] Grosso's sister Carli was also a member of the Vancouver Whitecaps system and played for the Simon Fraser Red Leafs.[7]
Grosso made her college debut for the Texas Longhorns on August 17, 2018, in a 3–0 win over the Rice Owls.[8]
Club career
Early career
Grosso signed with TSS FC Rovers of the Women's Premier Soccer League for the 2018 season.[9]
Juventus
In December 2021, Grosso returned to her ancestral country Italy and joined Italian club Juventus on an initial one-year contract.[10] She debuted for Juventus on January 16, 2022 in a 5–0 win against Pomigliano.[11] In her first season with Juventus, the team completed the domestic treble with victories in Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana.[12]
Grosso's second season with the team saw her named the Serie A midfielder of the season, having appeared in twenty games and scored three goals.[13]
International career
Youth
On August 7, 2014, Grosso made her first junior appearance for Canada with the national under-15 against Puerto Rico in a 5–0 victory at the CONCACAF Girls Under-15 Championship.[14] She played twelve minutes in a substitute appearance.[4] The Canadians would go on to win the inaugural edition of the tournament in a penalty shoot-out over Haiti.[15] Grosso would make five appearances for the under-15 national team in the tournament, the only five U-15 caps of her career.
Grosso's debut for the under-17 team came on March 3, 2016 at the CONCACAF Women's Under-17 Championship in a 3–0 win against Guatemala.[16] Canada would finish in third place at the tournament and Grosso was named to the Best XI, en route to qualification for the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.[17][18] Grosso proceeded to play in the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Jordan.[19] There, she played 90 minutes in all three group games, recording an assist in the first game, a 3–2 win over Cameroon.[20] Canada would draw and lose their next games against Germany and Venezuela, respectively, resulting in a third-place finish in the group and failure to proceed from the group stage.[21] The game against Venezuela was Grosso's last for the under-17 team.[4]
On January 18, 2018, Grosso made her debut for the under-20 team in a 3–1 victory over Costa Rica in the opening match of the 2018 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship.[4] Canada would lose the semi-finals on penalties to Mexico after a 1–1 draw after extra time.[22] Canada needed to defeat Haiti in the third place match in order to qualify for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, but lost the game 1–0 and did not qualify for the U-20 World Cup.[23] Grosso played every minute of the five-game campaign.[4]
Senior
Grosso received her first call-up to the senior team under coach John Herdman for a home and home series against the United States on November 9 and 12, 2017.[4] While Grosso did not feature in the first match, she came on as a ninetieth minute substitute for Janine Beckie in a 3–1 loss at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California.[24] Grosso was also a part of Canada's squad for the 2018 Algarve Cup where the team finished fifth.[25][26]
Grosso was named to the Canadian squad for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France.[27] However, she did not take the field for any of the team's four games. which she would later describe as "very frustrating."[6] The event ended in disappointment for the Canadians, who were eliminated in the round of 16 by Sweden.[28]
After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the 2020 Summer Olympics by a year, Grosso was named to the Canadian squad for the occasion. Canada advanced to the Olympic final for the first time in its history. On August 6, 2021, she scored the winning penalty kick in the shootout of the gold medal game against Sweden, winning Canada their first gold medal in women's soccer.[2] This was the first time Grosso had scored on the international circuit at any level in any situation, and immediately raised her profile at home.[29] She was by this point regarded as a rising talent, but had been continuing to have trouble finding her way into the starting lineup due to the presence of veteran Desiree Scott.[3]
Joining the Canada national team again for the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship, Grosso scored her first international goal in the tournament opener against Trinidad and Tobago, and then managed a second goal for a brace, with Canada winning a 6–0 rout.[29] Grosso scored the lone goal of the next game against Panama, in the process qualifying Canada for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.[30] Grosso did not play in the third group stage game, but appeared as a substitute in both the semi-final and finals. She was one of four players to score three goals in the tournament, but won the Golden Boot as top scorer due to having played the fewest minutes.[31] She was also named to the tournament's Best XI.[32]
Grosso was named to the Canadian squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.[6] During the group stage match against Ireland, with Canada down by a goal toward the end of what was generally judged a poor first half for the team, Grosso's cross into the box was deflected into the net by Irish defender Megan Connolly, tying the game. Canada would on to win 2–1, though Grosso was substituted off for Sophie Schmidt in the second half.[33] Canada was ultimately eliminated from the tournament after a 4–0 loss to Australia in their final group match; Grosso was substituted after the first half, having struggled defensively.[34]
Style of play
Grosso is a left-footed mezz'ala who has creativity and technique as well as intensity and contrast and can also play as left-back.[35]
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