Nouhaila Benzina made history on Monday when she stepped onto the Womens World Cup pitch to warm up with her soccer team while wearing a hijab.

The Moroccan squad ended up facing a pretty brutal defeat at the hands of the two-time World Cup champions Germany , losing 6-0, when playing in Melbourne, Australia.

But the team had a victory in another sense because their player Benzina is the first player to ever wear the Muslim head covering at such a senior level of football.

Although she was benched for Moroccos Group H match against Germany, supporters are hoping her impact will still be felt around the world.

The co-founder of the Muslim Women in Sports Network, Assmaah Helal, said : Girls will look at Benzina (and think), That could be me.

Also the policymakers, the decision-makers, the administrators will say, We need to do more in our country to create these accepting and open and inclusive spaces for women and girls to participate in the game.

Benzina plays professional club football for Moroccos Association Sports of Forces Armed Royal a team which is the eight-time defending champion in Moroccos top womens league. She has played matches in a headscarf before but never at a World Cup.

She hasnt yet spoken to reporters, but has shared her excitement on social media about wearing the hijab during the World Cup.

Benzina shared a screenshot of a tweet which announced she would be the only hijab-wearing athlete out of the 736 participants of this years tournament.