With the Fifa Women’s World Cup in Australia drawing near, just after the Qatar World Cup, soccer in America has never been bigger. And with a big tournament coming, comes a big star.

Alyssa Thompson is only eighteen years old, but has accomplished something many won’t be able to do in a lifetime. On January 12, 2023, Thompson was chosen as Angel City FC’s first pick for the NWSL draft, making her the first player to be drafted straight out of high school. Not only this, but on her debut, Thompson contributed to the 3-0 win over Club America by scoring in the first five minutes of the game. In this season so far, Thompson has already proven herself ready to play officially for the USWNT, but it still came as a surprise when the offer came after a US friendly game against Ireland. 

Before we go further into her debut, we should address USWNT first. This team has paved the way single handedly for women’s sports, especially in America. They won the women’s world cup two times in a row (in 2015 and 2019), a ton of she-believes-cup (including one this past year), and are, once again, the favorites to win the upcoming World Cup in July. However, they no longer have Carli Lloyd’s versatility, Tobin Heath’s fancy footwork (although she technically isn’t “retired”), Julie Ertz’s strength, nor Meghan Rapinoe’s prime (she is still on the team roster, thankfully, but is not a starter). The Guardian even goes so far as to tell its readers that, “The realistic expectation is that the US will make it to the semi-finals…[but] I think this could be the year we finally see it happen and the US exit in the quarter-finals.”

Clearly, the hopes for the USWNT are not high. And they suffered another blow, when their star Mallory Swanson suffered a tendon injury in her left leg. This is an injury, which, even with surgery, can put a player out for a minimum of six months, but a maximum of life. The injury came during the friendly match between the US and Ireland in preparation for the upcoming World Cup. With another friendly between the same team only four days later, the U.S scrambled to find a replacement.

Enter Alyssa Thompson. With only three games for Angel City, two of which she scored, Thompson was fresh out of the oven and ready to play. However, we should keep in mind that Thompson does have two caps (appearances) for the USWNT. The first cap was when she played in the second half of the game against England in October of 2022. The second when she was subbed in for Rose Lavelle. Sadly, both of these games were disappointing since we lost 1-2 to England, and 0-2 to Spain. However, this time, Thompson was in all 90 minutes, and contributed immensely to our 1-0 win.

Not only did she play because of Mallory Swanson’s injury, but also because the USWNT coaches are trying to create a roster for the 2023 Women’s World Cup. According to Just Women’s Sports, coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “We wanted to explore every possible option before we make the final decision, and one of those [decisions] was Alyssa Thompson…We felt like we needed to see Alyssa start a game and showcase her abilities as well.”

Alyssa Thompson’s accomplishments have already broken records, but she even admits that she has a long way to go. “I don’t want to not reach my full potential and just be another one of the upcoming people who get forgotten…” She told ESPN. “and [that person where] people say ‘Oh remember when she was good?…I wanted to show people I belong. I feel like I belong.”