“First cap”
/ˈfɜrst ˈkæp/
noun · soccer
Definition
A player’s first appearance for his national team. Every game after that earns another cap, so “58 caps” means 58 games for your country. The USMNT record belongs to Cobi Jones, with 164.
Origin
In 1886, the FA (English soccer’s governing body) agreed to give every England player a white silk cap with a red rose on the front. Most countries stopped handing out actual hats. The name stuck.
Used in a sentence
“He’s 16, he’s in the squad, and if he gets off the bench Saturday, that’s his first cap. At 16, I was just happy to make JV.”
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