Julia Grosso

Julia Angela Grosso (born August 29, 2000) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club Chicago Stars FC and the Canada women's national team. She attained international prominence after scoring the title-winning penalty kick at the 2020 Summer Olympics, leading Canada to its first gold medal. She is of Portuguese descent through her father, and Italian through her mother. She attended Burnaby Central Secondary where she played with the Whitecaps FC Girls Elite Rex. Future national teammate Jordyn Huitema attended the same school and program, and the two became close friends during this time. Her sister Carli was also a member of the Vancouver Whitecaps system. Grosso made her college debut for the Texas Longhorns on August 17, 2018, in a 3–0 win over the Rice Owls.

Club career

Early career Grosso signed with TSS FC Rovers of the Women's Premier Soccer League for the 2018 season.

Juventus In December 2021, Grosso returned to her ancestral country Italy and joined Juventus on an initial one-year contract. She debuted for Juventus on January 16, 2022, in a 5–0 win against Pomigliano. In her first season with Juventus, the team completed the domestic treble with victories in Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana.

In a 2022 profile with DARBY, Grosso said that, despite the attention surrounding her Olympic penalty and move to Juventus, she did not feel additional pressure, explaining that she wanted to "keep working hard" and maintain the same mindset as she settled in at the club, and she also said that she was impressed by Juventus' history and immersive soccer culture. In the same profile, Grosso said that Cristiano Ronaldo was the player she most tried to emulate growing up and that it felt surreal to join the same club and use the same facilities he had used at Juventus.

After missing part of the 2023–24 season due to injury, she returned to the roster in time to participate in her second Supercoppa victory. Following the conclusion of the season, Grosso announced that her tenure at Juventus had come to an end.

Chicago Stars On July 8, 2024, the Chicago Red Stars (later named Chicago Stars FC) announced that they had signed Grosso to a three-year contract through the 2026 season.

International career Youth On August 7, 2014, Grosso made her first junior appearance for Canada with the national under-15 against Puerto Rico in a 5–0 victory at the CONCACAF Girls Under-15 Championship. She played twelve minutes in a substitute appearance. Grosso would make five appearances for the under-15 national team in the tournament, the only five U-15 caps of her career.

Grosso's debut for the under-17 team came on March 3, 2016, at the CONCACAF Women's Under-17 Championship in a 3–0 win against Guatemala. Canada would finish in third place at the tournament and Grosso was named to the Best XI, en route to qualification for the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. Grosso proceeded to play in the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Jordan. There, she played 90 minutes in all three group games, recording an assist in the first game, a 3–2 win over Cameroon. Canada would draw and lose their next games against Germany and Venezuela, respectively, resulting in a third-place finish in the group and failure to proceed from the group stage. The game against Venezuela was Grosso's last for the under-17 team. Canada needed to defeat Haiti in the third place match in order to qualify for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, but lost the game 1–0 and did not qualify for the U-20 World Cup. Grosso played every minute of the five-game campaign. Grosso was also a part of Canada's squad for the 2018 Algarve Cup where the team finished fifth.

Grosso was named to the Canadian squad for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France. However, she did not take the field for any of the team's four games, which she would later describe as "very frustrating."

After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the 2020 Summer Olympics by a year, Grosso was named to the Canadian squad for the occasion. Canada advanced to the Olympic final for the first time in its history. On August 6, 2021, she scored the winning penalty kick in the shootout of the gold medal game against Sweden, winning Canada their first gold medal in women's soccer. Grosso has said that she does not clearly remember what she was thinking as she prepared to take the penalty, describing herself as initially nervous while waiting but "blank" once she walked up to the spot and stating that her focus was entirely on the ball. She was by this point regarded as a rising talent, but had been continuing to have trouble finding her way into the starting lineup due to the presence of veteran Desiree Scott.

Joining the Canada national team again for the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship, Grosso scored her first international goal in the tournament opener against Trinidad and Tobago, and then managed a second goal for a brace, with Canada winning a 6–0 rout. Grosso did not play in the third group stage game, but appeared as a substitute in both the semi-final and finals. She was one of four players to score three goals in the tournament, but won the Golden Boot as top scorer due to having played the fewest minutes. She was also named to the tournament's Best XI.

Grosso was named to the Canadian squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Canada was ultimately eliminated from the tournament after a 4–0 loss to Australia in their final group match; Grosso was substituted after the first half, having struggled defensively.

Grosso was called up to the Canada squad for the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup, which Canada finished as semifinalists.

Grosso was called up to the Canada squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Style of play Grosso is a left-footed midfielder who has creativity and technique as well as intensity and contrast and can also play as left-back.

Personal life Grosso has been in a relationship with Major League Baseball player Jeremy Peña since December 2024 and they were engaged in December 2025.

Grosso has said that she was initially surprised to hear that younger girls were looking up to her as a role model, noting that she still felt very young, but has also described inspiring the next generation as one of the reasons she plays and said she wants younger players to know that they can "dream as big as you want".

International

Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Grosso goal.

Honours Juventus Serie A: 2021–22 Coppa Italia: 2021–22, 2022–23 Supercoppa Italiana: 2021–22, 2023

Canada U15 CONCACAF Girls' U-15 Championship: 2014

Canada Summer Olympics: 2020 CONCACAF W Championship Runner-up: 2018, 2022

Individual CONCACAF W Championship Best XI: 2022 Serie A Best Midfielder: 2022–23 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship Best XI: 2016 Vancouver Whitecaps FC Showcase All-Star: 2016 Vancouver Whitecaps FC Most Promising Player: 2016 Canada Games All-Star: 2017 BC Soccer Youth Player of the Year Female: 2018