The striker faced disappointment in 2023 World Cup, but now seems poised to dominate in her second major tournament
Ahead of the 2023 World Cup, many outlets, including GOAL, declared it the Summer of Smith. And seemingly with good reason.
Sophia Smith looked poised to be women's soccer's next superstar. She was the reigning NWSL MVP, having established herself as one of the game's most dangerous goalscorers. As she prepared for her first USWNT tournament, greatness was certain to be on the horizon.
It turned out, though, that the World Cup was neither a coronation, or a fall from grace. It was a speed bump.
The hype train didn't derail, but it did slow down. Smith and the USWNT had a difficult World Cup, one which led to a program-wide reset just one year out from the Olympics. The U.S. didn't go back to square one, but this program did take a long, hard look at itself after the worst World Cup finish in team history.
Smith did the same. Though she missed a crucial penalty in 2023, Smith has seemingly put that behind her. She's found her form, and at the perfect time, too. The Paris Summer Olympics begin next week, and the U.S. will need Smith now more than ever.
The Summer of Smith may not have happened in 2023, but there's a reasonable chance it wasn't canceled, just delayed. With the USWNT chasing Olympic glory, Smith is stepping into the spotlight once again and, this time around, she's even more ready for those bright lights.
Getty ImagesA nightmare World Cup
It all started so well.
Smith scored a brace against Vietnam while also providing an assist in a 3-0 win in the 2023 World Cup. After months of hype, Smith was immediately living up to it. This was the start she needed in her first international tournament; what would come next?
However, for Smith and the rest of the USWNT, it was all downhill from there.
She failed to score in the USWNT's final two group-stage matches and then played 120 minutes in the Round of 16 clash with Sweden. In the shootout, Smith stepped up … and missed. She was one of three who failed to convert their spot kicks, leading to the USWNT's stunning elimination
"I just told her, the best players in the world miss PKs," captain Lindsey Horan said after the World Cup loss to Sweden. "It sucks. Absolutely sucks. But you got to remember, this is part of football. You get back up. And it's going to hurt. It's going to hurt, forever. … Soph will get through it. She's strong. She's strong-willed. And she's one of the best players in the world right now, at her age. She's going to be perfectly fine."
AdvertisementGetty ImagesFirst tournament lessons
For the first several years of Smith's career, a rocket had been strapped to her back. She'd dominated in the NWSL and, somewhat quickly, rose to prominence with the USWNT thanks to an 11-goal 2022 calendar year. By the time of the World Cup, she was just 21, and that tournament was far and away the biggest setback of her professional career.
For a while, it felt like Smith was wearing the weight of it, too.
"I learned a lot about myself," she told the Women's Game. "I learned how different types of pressures affect me, how I respond to those, what I need to listen to, what I need to let go in one ear and out the other. And just kind of how to navigate the outside world in big tournaments like that."
The months after the World Cup were, at best, up and down.
After missing the September camp altogether, Smith played 14 minutes in one game and 45 in another against Colombia in October. December camp saw her back on the scoresheet against China, but she still didn't look quite herself.
Getty ImagesRebounding in 2024
It wasn't until the USWNT's Gold Cup clash with Canada in March that Smith really seemed to rediscover her confidence. She scored in that semifinal match and then, perhaps more importantly, converted a penalty in the ensuing shootout win. It was essentially a signal: the World Cup was behind her.
Since then, she's scored four goals on the road to Paris this summer. She put two past Canada again in the SheBelieves Cup, scoring both of the USWNT goals in a 2-2 draw that ended as a 5-4 shootout win. She then scored against South Korea in June and Mexico in July.
It's starting to feel like she's back.
"I've said it before — since the World Cup it's been a rollercoaster of emotions," she told ESPN after that Gold Cup turning point. "I'm a goal-scorer and I pride myself in that and so getting that goal for my team in a big moment like this really meant a lot to me.
"But it meant the most to me that I could help this team and progress us forward. A PK is not easy to step up and take one after the last one you took in a big tournament, [you] missed. And ultimately, we came short of what we want to do but I was confident in that moment of taking a PK and it feels good."
GettyHayes tasked with unlocking Smith
The USWNT is entering a new era, and Smith is set to be a key part of it. She's just on piece of the puzzle though, and Emma Hayes is the one assembling it.
Hayes finally took over as USWNT coach this summer after finishing out her duties with Chelsea. Following Vlatko Andonovski's inglorious exit, the federation took a big swing to bring in Hayes, widely seen as one of the best coaches, if not the best, in the game. That's why the U.S. waited. That's why they risked the Olympics a bit to make sure they got her on board.
"Anyone in the soccer world knows Emma Hayes," said Smith. "She's a legend and her resume speaks for itself. We all just trust her. Obviously trust is something you build. What she's done for the game and for the sport, we all trust her and are excited about her. I'm sure we'll learn a lot in the next week. We already have learned a lot in the first few days."
Smith is set to be a key figure at the Olympics, but the USWNT has to make an admission this summer: this group is far from a finished product. It's a young team, one led by several budding stars nowhere near their prime. And, given Hayes' short runway, expectations need to be tempered.
"The goal is to win a gold medal, but right now we have a new coach, we have a new system," Smith said. "The main goal and priority is the process and just learning and adapting and growing and taking each day as a chance to get better and grow with this group.
"We aren't really results-focused right now. It's more process-focused. I think with that results will come. But right now it's just about getting the group together, getting the chemistry going and, yeah, preparing us for the Olympics, but for the future after that, too."
