"I was at home, they sent me a message with the news and, obviously, I was extremely happy and excited. I felt like this was a great award because it was an award that had eluded me for two years in a row. It's always a goal that I have had," said Ana Catarina, in statements released by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF).

The 32-year-old Benfica goalkeeper, who has been among the finalists since 2015, was voted as the best player in the world in her position for the fourth time, having already received the award given by the futsal specialist portal in 2018, 2020 and 2021.

"I can confess that what I most want to win is a World Cup, more than individual titles, more than any collective title, the World Cup is truly my biggest dream and one that I have been focused on for almost two years", said Ana Catarina.


The goalkeeper is one of the 14 athletes called up by the Portuguese futsal coach, Luís Conceição, for the two games against Italy, on Tuesday and Wednesday, in the city of Prato, in preparation for the Elite Round of qualification for the first World Cup, which takes place in the Philippines in December 2025.

"It's a source of pride that we have the best in the world, being Portuguese, being with us. It's always a source of great satisfaction. This season she had this injury that bothered her for some time, but for us, it's extremely gratifying to have the best in the world," said Luís Conceição.

Portugal is in Group A of the Elite Round, along with Italy (host of the last qualifying phase, between 18 and 23 March), Sweden and Hungary. The top two teams qualify for the final stage of the tournament.