Alyssa Thompson remembers getting the text message: U.S. women’s national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski wanted to talk. She could not call him for a few hours, however. It was, after all, a school day.
When Thompson finally called Andonovski after her high school classes that day in late September, she couldn’t believe the news that she would be making the trip to Europe for games against England and Spain. From shocked to speechless, her emotions ran the gamut. Her dad was thrilled. Her mom cried through the joy.
“I think everything that I’ve done has been leading up to trying to be on this team,” Thompson told ESPN.
Thompson, 17, made her debut for the U.S. senior side Friday against England, entering the game in the final minutes as the U.S. looked for an equalizer in an eventual 2-1 loss.
As the youngest player to debut for the U.S. since 2016, when Mallory Pugh joined the squad also as a 17-year-old, Thompson has taken one big step forward on what may be a long path ahead of her as part of the national team.
Rising through the ranks to the USWNT
Thompson is one of the brightest prospects in the pool of young Americans. She is a forward with the technical control to outsmart defenders and the pace to leave them behind in a one-on-one duel, drawing inspiration from players like France and PSG forward Kylian Mbappe.
“I think that’s what’s really dangerous in my game, taking people on one-v-one,” Thompson said. “His speed of play, how fast he is, it kind of relates to me because I’m a pretty fast player.”
This camp is her first taste of what she and U.S. Soccer hope is a bright future ahead. Trinity Rodman, 20 years old, is the next-youngest player on the USWNT’s current roster. Thompson is used to being the youngest and smallest player on a team by some measure; putting herself in those positions led to this opportunity.
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She first played for a semi-professional team, which lately included former professional players, when she was in the eighth grade. She recently began playing for a U-19 boys’ team in MLS Next because she needed a greater challenge.
At first, Thompson and her sister, Gisele, who is one year younger, were just supposed to train with Total Futbol Academy’s boys’ teams in Los Angeles. The COVID-19 pandemic had limited the ability of their girls’ team to train and play matches. Quickly, however, it was clear that the sisters belonged and could contribute. They also welcomed the benefit of increased competition from older, bigger players.
“Honestly, the speed of play is just really fast,” Thompson said of the challenge. “It kind of replicates the full [U.S.] team’s game, so that’s why I was trying to push myself to get to a higher level as well. And then the physicality, if you don’t get that one touch, you’re going to get hit or tackled. That also helps with my awareness and being able to know when to take players on, when to do one-touch.”
Of course, there are areas in which she could improve. She’s 17, after all, and there is ample evidence that no journey is linear.
Pugh scored in her senior U.S. debut at 17 and made the Olympic roster later that year. She was on the 2019 World Cup-winning team, but all the while, she has had to manage the hype of being a teenage phenom or the next big star. Combined with injuries, it caused Pugh to have some self doubts and dips in form along the way before putting in MVP-caliber seasons with the Chicago Red Stars in 2021 and 2022 and locking down a starting role for the United States.
Thompson says she could still be more confident taking on players, and she needs to work on the consistency of her crosses. Marroquin sees an opportunity for Thompson to further refine her finishing skills and her timing on the ball.
At 5-foot-4, she has some growing to do, which is to be expected. She previously competed in high school track and plans to again this year. Events like the 100m sprint help her with her explosiveness, she says, even if she finds the individual events more stressful than the team environment soccer offers.
Stress comes with the territory for a young star. Thompson is trying to take it all in stride. She and others know that this is only the beginning.
“For Alyssa, I want to say: This camp is not make it or break it,” Andonovski said before the camp. “It’s a first experience for her. It’s just something that she shouldn’t even worry about. I think it’s a great experience, great exposure for her, and it’s a good experience for us to have an opportunity to work with her. What happens from there, we’ll see.”
