Midfielder, who has played at seven Olympics and seven World Cups, makes final international appearance on Thursday at 43
![‘Goat for real’: Formiga bowing out with Brazil after 26 years and 234 caps | Suzanne Wrack](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/4b16fdb2af2af843536c9fe2c6f6b45fa58d882b/255_59_3245_1947/master/3245.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=f087ede584b14402d1bc55910de22103)
It is virtually impossible to imagine international
Football without Formiga, in part because, with the
Brazil midfielder’s career spanning seven World Cups and seven Olympics, few have watched an international competition without her and no one has watched women’s football at the Olympics without her.
She has been ever-present in the women’s football ecosystem for so long that to even contemplate a major international tournament without the “ant” (Formiga in Portuguese, a nickname given for a style of play) scurrying relentlessly over every blade of grass is like trying to envisage living the rest of your life without shoes or perhaps, more aptly, never being able to look at a piece of artwork again.