In many ways, it was just a routine substitution in the 91st minute of New Zealand’s first group game against Iran.
Defender Tyler Bindon came on for midfielder Marko Stamenic as they tried to close out a pretty good 2-2 draw for the Kiwis. Pretty standard stuff, nothing to get too excited about.
But this was actually a moment of World Cup history. Why? Because Bindon’s introduction meant this was the first ever time that a mother and son had both played at a World Cup.
Goalkeeper Jenny Bindon was born and raised in Illinois, but met New Zealand volleyball player Grant Bindon at Lewis University, moved there after getting married and went on to play 77 times for the New Zealand national team. Three of those appearances came at the 2007 Women’s World Cup in China.
“It’s a funny one because [before this World Cup] I said to people, ‘I think this is happening,’” Jenny tells The Athletic. She tried to figure out if anyone else had done this. “I was trying to think ‘OK, who had kids when I was playing?’ But I couldn’t think of anyone, so I was like…this might actually be a thing. So [when we found out] it was really cool, and we’re pretty stoked.”