Caitlin Clark has dominated basketball headlines in recent days, but ahead of the FIFA World Cup final, the Indiana Fever superstar shifted the spotlight to another sport. Fresh off a record-breaking performance and a convincing victory over the defending WNBA champions, Clark made it clear there is only one team she’ll be cheering for when Argentina meets Spain and her reason has everything to do with Lionel Messi.
Speaking before Indiana’s 108-88 victory over the New York Liberty on Saturday, Clark was asked who she would support in Sunday’s World Cup final. She didn’t need time to think.
“I’m cheering for Argentina,” Clark said with a smile.
Her explanation was just as direct.
“I want (Lionel) Messi.”
The comment instantly highlighted Clark’s long-standing admiration for one of soccer’s greatest players while revealing a side of the WNBA star that many basketball fans may not know. Before becoming one of the most electrifying players in women’s basketball, Clark was also an elite soccer player with the potential to play at the collegiate level.
The timing of her comments came during an unforgettable stretch in Clark’s career. Just one day earlier, she delivered one of the greatest performances in WNBA history, exploding for 45 points and 10 assists to lead the Fever past the Seattle Storm. Less than 24 hours later, Indiana returned home and dismantled the New York Liberty 108-88 to continue building momentum in the playoff race.
Clark’s passion for soccer dates back to her childhood and continued through her freshman and sophomore seasons at Dowling Catholic High School in Des Moines, Iowa. She made an immediate impact, scoring 26 goals as a freshman and earning first-team all-state honors, becoming the only freshman selected to the prestigious team that season.
Looking back on that chapter of her life, Clark admitted walking away from soccer wasn’t easy.
“I loved soccer growing up, and I probably could have played in college, too, but it was hard in the state of Iowa,” Clark said during an appearance on Post Moves with Candace Parker and Aliyah Boston.
Because Iowa’s high school soccer season overlapped with AAU basketball and USA Basketball commitments, Clark frequently missed matches before returning midway through the season.
“I was leaving for some USA Basketball stuff and would miss part of the high school soccer season. Then I’d come back and I felt like a bad teammate, so I eventually gave it up after my sophomore year. But I loved it.”
Although basketball eventually became her full-time focus, Clark believes soccer played a major role in shaping the player she is today.
She credits the sport with developing the vision and instincts that have helped make her one of the best passers in the WNBA. Clark currently owns the highest career assists-per-game average in Indiana Fever history at 8.3 assists per game, a statistic she says is directly connected to lessons learned on the soccer field.
“The best thing it did for me was obviously foot speed, but also reading angles,” Clark explained.
“That’s what soccer is getting your body in the correct angle, leading people on passing, putting the ball on the perfect spot where they can run onto. That helped me as a passer, understanding angles and leading people, manipulating where I want them to go. And it helped me get in incredible shape for basketball.”
Clark’s competitive personality wasn’t limited to basketball, either.
Following Indiana’s victory over New York, she picked up her sixth technical foul of the WNBA season just 90 seconds into the game. Under league rules, the technical resulted in a $1,000 fine, and she now sits just two technical fouls away from an automatic one-game suspension.
When asked about her fiery nature, Clark laughed while remembering that the same competitiveness often got her into trouble during her soccer days.
“I got quite a few yellow cards. I know that’s probably not very shocking,” she joked.
“And it was dumb in the state of Iowa, if you get a yellow card, you got a 15-minute timeout.”
Despite those disciplinary moments, Clark has no regrets about choosing basketball over soccer.
Reflecting on the decision that changed her life, she smiled and summed it up perfectly.
“Basketball turned out OK.”
Clark admitted she would have loved to witness the World Cup final in person, calling it a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity. However, after playing back-to-back games against Seattle and New York, making the trip simply wasn’t realistic.
Instead, she’ll be watching from afar as Argentina attempts to defend its World Cup crown.
The championship match also carries historic significance beyond Messi’s pursuit of another title. Argentina’s legendary captain is set to face Spain’s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, the 19-year-old widely viewed as Messi’s successor at Barcelona. Messi spent 17 years with the Spanish giants, while Yamal has already emerged as one of the club’s brightest young stars in just his fourth professional season.
Adding another remarkable twist, Messi and Yamal actually shared a moment long before becoming rivals. In 2007, Messi posed for a UNICEF charity calendar photo with an infant Yamal a picture that has since gone viral as the two prepare to meet on soccer’s biggest stage.
For Clark, though, the storyline is simple.
Whether she’s dazzling basketball fans with deep three-pointers and pinpoint assists or reminiscing about her soccer roots, there’s no doubt who she’ll be supporting when the World Cup trophy is on the line.
The Indiana Fever superstar is firmly behind Lionel Messi, hoping the Argentine icon adds one more unforgettable chapter to his legendary career.
