World Cup pundit Nadia Nadim has vowed to make her mum proud after she returned to ITV just a week after her mum was killed in an accident.
Former Manchester City forward Nadim was part of ITV's coverage of the goalless draw between Denmark and Tunisia last Tuesday. But the 34-year-old Denmark international was absent from the panel at the final whistle, with host Mark Pougatch telling viewers she had been forced to leave.
The following day, she revealed on Twitter that she left the studio because her mum, Hamida, had been killed after being hit by a truck while on the way to the gym. She was just 57.
Exactly one week later, Nadim was remarkably back on our screens to return to her punditry duties for the final Group A game between the Netherlands and Qatar on ITV. Ahead of the game, she said: "My mum unfortunately passed away last Tuesday, very unexpectedly, in an accident. She was a very strong woman who inspired not only me but a lot of people around here. I am sad, but on the other hand, she raised us to be strong and I think this is how I will show her to be strong.
"And also I want to make her proud. I know she wanted me to be here. I remember when the accident happened she said she was going to go early to the gym so she could see the show [on ITV during which Nadia was a pundit]. So, the reason I am here is to make her proud and have my mind on football, work and try to build something instead of laying at home and feeling sad for myself."
Presenter Laura Woods called her "an inspiration" and thanked her for being in the studio to deliver analysis on the match.
You can watch the video below in full:
Nadim was born and raised in Afghanistan before her life changed in the blink of an eye when the Taliban stopped her going to school aged 11 and then murdered her father, an Afghan National Army general, in 2000. Thanks to her mum, Nadia and her four sisters fled Afghanistan and settled in Denmark where they were granted asylum.
She then fell in love with football at a refugee camp. She played her 100th match for Denmark in June 2022 and has scored 38 goals during her international career. She speaks nine languages, and qualified as a reconstruction surgeon in January 2022 after five years of studying to become a doctor.
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