“I’m cheering for Argentina,” Caitlin Clark said after the Indiana Fever’s 108-88 win Saturday. “I want Messi, so I’ll be cheering hard.” Clark added she plans to watch the men’s World Cup final Sunday before shifting focus back to the WNBA and Indiana’s next home game.
Caitlin Clark on the World Cup
Clark’s postgame comments made clear she’ll be tuning in for Argentina’s matchup with Spain in the World Cup final, with Lionel Messi attempting to secure back-to-back titles. The remark — both a quick expression of fandom and a lighthearted reaction to a question from reporters — highlighted how elite athletes often take an interest in rival sports at major events.
Her simple declaration, paired with the line “I want Messi,” became the lede of the exchange and the focus of follow-up questions about how she balances off-court interests with her playing schedule. Clark framed it plainly: she’ll watch the final, enjoy seeing a player she admires, then return to prepare for Indiana’s upcoming game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
How soccer helped Caitlin Clark
Clark’s interest in the World Cup is more than casual. She played high-school soccer as a freshman and sophomore, scoring 26 goals and earning first-team all-state honors in her first season, she said. Those years on the pitch came up repeatedly in her remarks as part of the explanation for why soccer still resonates with her.
Clark has credited soccer with sharpening specific physical and mental tools she now uses on the basketball court. She pointed to improved foot speed — a benefit of repeated sprinting and changing direction on grass — that translated into quicker first steps and better lateral mobility on hardwood.
Beyond raw quickness, Clark highlighted the mental side: soccer taught her to read angles, lead teammates into space and anticipate opponents’ movements. Those lessons, she said, are directly applicable to court vision and passing. “The best thing it did for me was obviously foot speed, but also reading angles,” Clark said, explaining how positioning, leading passes, and manipulating defenders on a soccer field helped inform her timing and decision-making as a passer in basketball.
She also described the practical choices that ended her soccer career after her sophomore year: spring soccer conflicted with AAU and national-team opportunities in basketball, and missing parts of the high-school season made it difficult to continue both sports. Ultimately, Clark focused on basketball full time to pursue higher-level opportunities, but she still points to soccer as formative.
Her immediate plans: watch then play
Clark was direct about how she’ll manage the short window between the World Cup final and her WNBA responsibilities. She said she intends to watch the match Sunday and then quickly turn attention back to team preparation for Indiana’s next game. The Fever host the Connecticut Sun at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday, and Clark indicated she will flip from spectator to competitor in short order.
The quick transition underscores a common reality for professional athletes during global sporting events: admiration for peers in other sports doesn’t meaningfully disrupt the daily regimen required at the professional level. Clark’s phrasing — enjoy the final, then refocus on the WNBA — described that balance without suggesting any lasting distraction.
Quick WNBA score note
The remarks came in the immediate aftermath of Indiana’s 108-88 victory over the New York Liberty on Saturday. That win provided the setting for Clark’s exchange with reporters and offered a reminder of the Fever’s form heading into a midweek home game. The 108-88 result was referenced repeatedly during the postgame conversation as context for Clark’s relaxed tone and willingness to talk World Cup fandom.
While Clark’s comment about Messi drew the headlines, the underlying point was logistical: she plans to be an engaged fan for a few hours on Sunday and then refocus on preparing to play against Connecticut on Wednesday.
Source and context
Direct quotes and the reporting around Clark’s remarks were originally published by Fox News and Outkick Sports. This article preserves Clark’s quoted wording where available and attributes the exchange and surrounding details to those original reports. For the original story and full context, see the Fox News/Outkick Sports reporting linked below.
Source: Reporting and quotes originally published by Fox News / Outkick Sports. For the complete original story, see the Fox News article: Caitlin Clark ‘cheering hard’ for Argentina over Spain in World Cup final: ‘I want Messi’.
