The future is here, and her name is Lily Yohannes. The 16-year-old starlet, making her USWNT debut, scored a goal in the country’s 3-0 win over South Korea on Tuesday night. Crystal Dunn—making her first start at forward since 2017—and Sophia Smith joined her on the score sheet, while Emma Hayes earned her second win as manager in as many tries. The USWNT certainly looks like a team to be reckoned with ahead of this summer’s Paris Olympic. There were plenty of storylines on the night, but it’s hard to argue against Yohannes being the biggest one. Unsurprisingly, folks on social media were singing her praises: It’s hard not to be excited about the USWNT at the moment. Hayes was incredibly successful at the club level as a manager and it taking over the reins of a program with an abundance of exciting young talent. Those young players like Yohannes, Smith, Trinity Rodman and Jaedyn Shaw, among others—paired with more veteran players like Mallory Swanson—have the United States looking like the favorites heading into Paris. The USWNT should have a chip on its shoulder heading into the Olympics, a competition it hasn’t won since 2012. The country also had its worst-ever result at the World Cup in 2023, falling short in the Round of 16. That feels like the end of an era. Out went Vlatko Andonovski, in came Emma Hayes and a youth movement of enticing young talent. Yohannes isn’t going to be a major factor for the United States for a few years yet, given her age, but there’s no doubting that she’s next.
Subscribe
Login
0 Comments
