Women’s soccer champ, Jessica McDonald, dedicates World Cup win to adorable son: ‘I want this to inspire him’
As a member of the USA's 2019 Women's World Cup Team, Jessica McDonald is balancing being a champion athlete and a single mom.
Jessica McDonald, the only mom on the U.S. Women’s soccer team, was all about spreading the joy and love with her 7-year-old son after winning USA’s 2019 Women’s World Cup over the weekend.
The 32-year-old Phoenix, Arizona native admits that while her son Jeremiah is not old enough to fully understand the magnitude of her journey to victory, he’s at least of the age to remember this historic moment, as noted by USA Today.
“He doesn’t fully understand, but at least he’s an age right now where he’s actually going to remember this,” McDonald The Associated Press. “He’s going to look back and be like, ‘Wow, I was there. Wow, my mom is actually cool – like she said.’ ”
Hours after their 2-0 victory over the Netherlands on Sunday, McDonald shared an image on her Instagram of Jeremiah sprinkling her with confetti. She captioned the post, “We did it, bud!!! ?? #WorldChamps.”
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Later she shared a second photo of the two holding up the World Cup trophy on the field: “My kid has no clue. One day, he will! ??????❤️,” she wrote.
Throughout the World Cup, the proud mom shared many loving moments with her son on social media, including a video of their reunion when he first arrived in France. Another clip showed them at the World Cup arena and a peek at their “secret handshake.”
“I’m out here not just representing the state I am from, not just my family name, not just the United States, but all the moms out there,” McDonald said Wednesday before U.S. practice. “That’s super cool for me.”
Despite the physical, mental, emotional challenges that come with preparing for a pressure-filled tournament, from day one, McDonald has been about working hard “for my kid.”
“I want this to inspire him. He’s going to remember being in France. And hopefully whatever it is he does in the future, this is going to inspire him,” she said. “So that, deep down, is what makes me so happy with this experience, because he’s a part of it as well.”
Even her fellow teammates have been in awe of how McDonald has managed to balance motherhood and while being highly competitive.
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“She’s always talking about how early she has to wake up to make sure Jeremiah is taken care of,” left back Crystal Dunn told AP. “I wake 10 minutes before training and I’m annoyed training gets pushed up earlier and earlier.”
While in France, the U.S. Soccer Federation supported their star Forward by paying for a nanny to assist with child care, a common courtesy for all of mothers in the league when they are on the road.
