Kathellen Sousa Feitoza (born 26 April 1996), commonly known as Kathellen, is a Brazilian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as centre back for and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Saudi Women's Premier League The Saudi Women's Premier League ( ar, الدوري السعودي الممتاز للسيدات) is the top flight of women's association football in Saudi Arabia. The competition is run by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation. History The f ...

club

Al Nassr Al Nassr Football Club ( ar, نادي النصر السعودي; '' Naṣr'' meaning ''Victory'') is a Saudi Arabian football club based in Riyadh. Formed in 1955, the club plays its home games at the Mrsool Park. Their home colours are yellow ...

and the Brazil women's team. She is a product of the American college soccer system.

Club career

As a young girl Kathellen loved football but mainly had to play futsal. She found opportunities for field soccer limited in her native

Baixada Santista The Baixada Santista is a metropolitan area located on the coast of São Paulo state in Brazil, with a population of 1.7 million. Its most populous city is Santos. As an administrative division (''Região Metropolitana da Baixada Santista''), it ...

, especially after Santos FC's women's section was closed in 2012. Kathellen applied for an athletic scholarship to the United States and was selected by Monroe College of the National Junior College Athletic Association. After two successful years with Monroe College she spent her two remaining years of college eligibility with Louisville Cardinals and UCF Knights, respectively, in NCAA Division I. She subsequently received an offer from

FC Girondins de Bordeaux Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux (), commonly referred to as Girondins de Bordeaux ( oc, Girondins de Bordèu) or simply Bordeaux, is a French professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bordeaux in Gironde (de ...

and joined the French Division 1 Féminine club halfway through their 2017–18 season. In May 2018 she signed a two-year extension to her contract. After a successful

2019 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international Women's association football championship contested by 24 women's national teams representing member associations of FIFA. It ...

with Brazil, and an elite level performance against France, Kathellen was linked to many major European clubs, including newly promoted CD Tacón, due to become Real Madrid for season 2020–21. Instead she remained with Bordeaux for a further season, then joined Italian Serie A club Inter Milan in August 2020. In 2024 she left Real madrid and joined

on a two years contract, her offical debut was on the 25 of August in the AFC Women's Champions League which she helped her team to keep a clean sheet at.

International career

Brazil women's national football team head

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Vadão Oswaldo Fumeiro Alvarez (21 August 1956 – 25 May 2020), more commonly known as Vadão, was a Brazilian football manager. Although he managed several Brazilian men's teams over the course of his managerial career, he was best known for being the ...

called Kathellen up for the first time in June 2018, for a training camp ahead of the

2018 Tournament of Nations The 2018 Tournament of Nations was the second Tournament of Nations, an international women's association football, football tournament, consisting of a series of exhibition game, friendly games. It was held in the United States, from July 26 to ...

. As the tournament fell outside the FIFA International Match Calendar, some regular national team players were not released by their clubs, causing Vadão to consider other players. On 26 July 2018, she earned her first cap for the senior Brazil women's national team at the 2018 Tournament of Nations, appearing as a substitute for Daiane Limeira in a 3–1 defeat by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. A year later, Kathellen was subsequently called up by Brazil for the

. She started the preparation camp as the main backup for the experienced pair of centre backs Mônica and

Érika Érika Cristiano dos Santos (born 4 February 1988), commonly known as Érika, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Corinthians and the Brazilian women's national team. Érika played as a forward for her clubs and Brazil's youth ...

. After Érika was forced out of the competition by injury, Kathellen was made a regular starter. Despite being the youngest Brazilian player in the lineup for the Round of 16 game thriller against France, Kathellen delivered a major performance.

Career statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kathellen goal.''

References

External links

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Profile
at Footofeminin.fr {{DEFAULTSORT:Kathellen Sousa 1996 births Living people Brazilian women's footballers Brazil women's international footballers Women's association football defenders Expatriate women's footballers in France Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in France Division 1 Féminine players Sportspeople from São Vicente, São Paulo Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Brazilian expatriate women's footballers UCF Knights women's soccer players Louisville Cardinals women's soccer players FC Girondins de Bordeaux (women) players 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup players Inter Milan (women) players Expatriate women's footballers in Italy Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Serie A (women's football) players Monroe Mustangs women's soccer players Footballers from São Paulo (state) Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Liga F players Expatriate women's footballers in Spain Real Madrid Femenino players 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup players