Morocco, Benzina set to make Women’s World Cup history in a game against Germany

By CASSIDY HETTESHEIMER
Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Nouhaila Benzina will make history when she steps onto the field for Morocco’s first match of the Women’s World Cup against Germany — and not just as a player for the first Arab or North African nation ever in the tournament. The 25-year-old defender will be the first player to wear the Islamic headscarf at the senior-level Women’s World Cup. She and the Atlas Lionesses face two-time World Cup champion Germany in Melbourne, Australia, on Monday. Assmaah Helal, a co-founder of the Muslim Women in Sports Network, says of the hijab: “Girls will look at Benzina (and think) ‘That could be me.’”