Brazil forward Marta will not start her team's opening game against Jamaica at the FIFA Women's World Cup on Sunday because of a thigh problem, which she suffered on May 25 in training, coach Vadao confirmed on Saturday.

Marta Vieira da Silva, commonly known as Marta, is the world's best female soccer player of all time, but she was born in Brazil, where for almost 40 years women were banned from playing the sport. Gender stereotypes and discrimination were entrenched in the society, but that didn't stop the Brazilian soccer player from following her dream to become a professional player, a desire she had when she was a little girl.

"My cousins always met in the street to play ball, and I did not want to be left out, so I joined them," she said.

"And as time went by I really enjoyed playing, and I realized that I knew how to play because many times the boys were much bigger and stronger than I was, but I still managed to stand out among them so that was where that passion for the game came" and "the dream of making a career" out of playing soccer.

Marta was so determined, that at 14, she took a 3-day-long bus trip to Rio de Janeiro to try out for the professional women's soccer team Vasco da Gama. The rest is history. The shooting star has since played for Brazil's National Team, the Umea IK in Sweden, the Los Angeles Sol and Orlando Pride of the United States' National Women's Soccer League. 

She currently holds the record for most goals scored in the FIFA Women's World Cup and she is a six-time FIFA Women's World Player of the Year.

Marta has won three Copas America titles, two Olympic silver medals, and one UEFA trophy, among other titles. 

Even though she had to quit the match because of her thigh problem, the 33-year-old soccer player previously showed no sign of slowing down:

"As long as my body is responding positively day after day, month after month, year after year, we'll keep on playing."

(Top image: Brazil's Marta poses for a portrait during the official FIFA Women's World Cup 2019 portrait session in Grenoble, France, June 6, 2019. /VCG Photo)

(With input from Reuters)