Latest news with #SophiaWilson
The Guardian
29-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
‘Triple Espresso' led the USWNT to Olympic gold. Now, they must move forward
The first time we saw the free-flowing force of Mallory Swanson, Sophia Wilson (née Smith) and Trinity Rodman starting together was 1 June 2024 – Emma Hayes' first match in charge of the national team, with little more than a month to go before the Olympics. Their mutual arrival to the US frontline was delayed by injuries and other uncertainties, but they emerged just in time for a blistering gold medal run. The self-styled 'Triple Espresso' trio combined for 10 of the USA's 12 goals in Paris. They were dynamic. They were fun. They were each capable of match-saving heroics, sparks of individual radiance that propelled the team to the next round: Rodman's heroic quarter-final strike in the 105th minute against Japan; Wilson's goal 95 minutes into a grueling semi final against Germany; then Swanson with the decisive gold medal goal against Brazil. That was the last time we'd see them together for quite some time. On 5 March (one week after the US lost to Japan in the SheBelieves Cup final), Wilson announced she was expecting her first child. On 8 May, Swanson shared news of her first pregnancy as well. Rodman dealt with back issues, making her first appearance for the US since the Olympics in April (she took just five minutes to score). The winger has since has stepped away, focusing on rehabbing her chronic back pain. Given their youth and unique talents (Rodman, Wilson and Swanson will be just 25, 26 and 29, respectively, at the next World Cup) it seems improbable they won't eventually return as a trio. But the adage Steinbeck made famous from a Robert Burns poem certainly rings true in soccer: the best laid plans of sports and its stars oft times go awry. Right now, Hayes is focused on building the team she'll need to make a trophy-contending run at the 2027 World Cup. We're two years out, wading through the 'build depth' and 'experiment' phase, but Hayes can't wait too long to prepare the team she'll need to contend with the world's elite on the most competitive international stage in soccer. Nor can she hang her managerial hat on the expectation that Triple Espresso will be available and healthy when Brazil 2027 arrives. Last week, Hayes named the 24-player training camp roster that will face Fifa's No 17-ranked China this Saturday, and No 40 Jamaica next Tuesday. The squad includes an interesting array of goal threats aspiring to stick around while Triple Espresso is unavailable. In this way, the trio's absence can be seen as a good thing. It forces a talented player pool to identify and perfect replicable goalscoring moments, while whittling down a wider range of players who can provide those goals. It also provides a young, emerging generation of players the opportunity to accrue valuable minutes against top competition, and potentially claim a lasting role. Nobody has taken firmer hold of that opportunity than Alyssa Thompson. After missing the '24 Olympic team, the 20-year-old winger played her way back into the national team picture with a series of statement performances with Angel City in the NWSL. She's kept up the pace in 2025, scoring five goals with two assists in nine matches for ACFC, averaging 0.8 goal contributions per 90, the highest such mark any NWSL player in camp. Alyssa's 19-year-old sister Gisele joins her this window, and though she plays fullback for Angel City (and was placed there in previous call ups) the younger Thompson sister that loves to get forward is listed as one on this roster. Given Gisele's ability to contribute in the attack (the right back has three assists and one goal in 10 appearances for Angel City, with the highest assists per 90 of any NWSL player present) it seems Hayes' penchant for helping to mold young players could be in effect with the younger Thompson. Of the seven forwards on this US roster, four are aged 22 or younger. The Thompson sisters are joined by 22-year-old Michelle Cooper, who returns to camp with two goals and one assist in five games for first-place Kansas City, and 21-year-old Utah Royals midfielder/forward Ally Sentnor. Cooper and Sentnor both collected their first USWNT goals in the SheBelieves Cup. 24-year-old Emma Sears also returns to the roster with five goals in ten games for Racing Louisville, one among many examples that club output matters a lot for Hayes in this era. Trusted veterans like 32-year-old Lynn Biyendolo are also present, bringing the intrepid experience of 78 appearances and 22 goals for the USWNT with her, alongside 25-year-old Cat Macario, who was coached by Hayes at Chelsea, where she scored 11 goals across all competitions this year. Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion It seems likely Hayes will deploy those one of those two more experienced forwards as strikers atop her preferred 4-2-3-1, with some degree of rotation among the wingers around them while she experiments. Of course, replicating the output of Triple Espresso will be a team effort. In midfield, Kansas City veteran Lo'eau LaBonta has earned her first USWNT callup at the age of 32, where she is joined by three teenagers (Claire Hutton, Lily Yohannes, and Olivia Moultrie) and gold medalists Sam Coffey and Lindsey Heaps. A mix of athleticism and ball skills pervades that midfield group, where perhaps even bigger questions linger than among the Espresso-less forward formation. With multiple outside backs present that like to play an attacking role (including veterans like Emily Fox or Crystal Dunn, as well as first time callup Kerry Abello and Houston Dash defender Avery Patterson, who has two goals for the Dash this season), we can expect them to play a part in what looks like an aggressive attack that may need to unlock compact defenses. By no means are any of these players secure in their spots. Hayes has emphasized the importance of club form; that seems evident in this camp. Olympians Korbin Albert and Jaedyn Shaw, as well as Mia Fishel (who recently returned from ACL injury) have all been semt to the concurrent U23 camp, but are each notable talents that can return to the senior squad. Other players in the U23 camp, like NWSL rookie standout Riley Tiernan – who is tied with her teammate Alyssa Thompson for seven goal contributions, the second-most in NWSL – have plenty of time to work their way in through the league or youth national team performances. Hayes noted in her roster drop that, 'As has been one of our focuses this year, this camp and the following camp are going to be two amazing opportunities to develop squad depth.' There's nothing quite like Triple Espresso. But the coming week of tests promises continuation of the year's theme: experimentation, rotation, and essential experience for a broader player pool that will help form the foundation of any trophy-contending team.
Daily Mirror
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
EA FC 25 Serie A TOTS – Napoli and Inter dominate as three huge names miss out
The EA FC 25 Serie A TOTS promo squad is now available in Ultimate Team packs, featuring some of the best players from the 2024/25 Serie A campaign. We're starting to approach the latter stages of the TOTS promo, with EA Sports releasing the EA FC 25 Serie A TOTS squad into Ultimate Team packs. The seemingly never-ending TOTS content keeps on coming in EA FC 25 Ultimate Team, with EA Sports following the Ligue 1 TOTS, Premier League TOTS and Bundesliga TOTS releases with the EA FC 25 Serie A TOTS. Featuring the best players from Italian football over the last year, the EA FC 25 Serie TOTS squads include some huge names, just as we guessed in our Serie A TOTS predictions. But, there are also some noticeable omissions, with Inter's Lautaro Martinez and Milan's Rafael Leao and Theo Hernandez not in the squad, though these could potentially come later on as SBCs. EA has also released two more TOTS squads into Ultimate Team packs, with the EA FC 25 Serie A TOTS being joined by the NWSL TOTS and Rest of Europe TOTS squads. The EA FC 25 Serie A TOTS squad is now available in Ultimate Team packs until Friday, May 23 at 10am PDT / 1 pm EDT / 6 pm BST, when the highly anticipated La Liga TOTS will take its place. EA FC 25 Serie A TOTS revealed 23 players have been released as part of the EA FC 25 Serie A TOTS squad, with 18 of these TOTS items and three TOTS highlights. Inter and Napoli dominate the squad, but it's Atalanta striker Mateo Retegui who steals the headlines, with the league's top scorer receiving a 97-rated card with four PlayStyle Plus'. Elsewhere, there are some fantastic players released as part of the NWSL TOTS and Rest of Europe TOTS, with Sophia Wilson, Xherdan Shaqiri, and Temwa Chawinga the standouts from the two squads. Here are all the Serie A TOTS, NWSL TOTS and Rest of Europe TOTS players now available in Ultimate Team packs, along with official ratings: EA FC 25 Serie A TOTS ST: Mateo Retegui (Atalanta) - 97 OVR* CB: Alessandro Bastoni (Inter) - 97 OVR* CM: Scott McTominay (Napoli) - 96 OVR* RM: Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna) - 96 OVR CM: Nicolo Barella (Inter) - 96 OVR ST: Moise Kean (Fiorentina) - 96 OVR LB: Federico Dimarco (Inter) - 95 OVR CM: Tijjani Reignders (Milan) - 95 OVR ST: Romelu Lukaku (Napoli) - 94 OVR CB: Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli) - 94 OVR RB: Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli) - 94 OVR LW: Mattia Zaccagni (Lazio) - 94 OVR CAM: Ademola Lookman (Atalanta) - 94 OVR RM: Christian Pulisic (Milan) - 94 OVR GK: David De Gea (Fiorentina) - 94 OVR CB: Amir Rrahmani (Napoli) - 92 OVR CDM: Manuel Locatelli (Juventus) - 92 OVR CB: Evan Ndicka (Roma) - 91 OVR LM: Kenan Yildiz (Juventus) - 91 OVR ST: Marcus Thuram (Inter) - 95 OVR (TOTS Highlights) CM: Khephren Thuram (Inter) - 95 OVR (TOTS Highlights) CAM: Nico Paz (Como) - 93 OVR (TOTS Highlights) ST: Che Adams (Torino) - 92 OVR (TOTS Highlights) *Four PlayStyle Plus' EA FC 25 NWSL TOTS LM: Temwa Chawinga (Kansas City Women) - 97 OVR* ST: Sophia Wilson (Portland Thorns) - 96 OVR* CAM: Marta (Orlando Pride) - 96 OVR ST: Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride) - 96 OVR CAM: Croix Bethune (Washington Spirit) - 96 OVR CB: Emily Sams (Orlando Pride) - 95 OVR GK: Ann-Katrin Berger (NY/NJ Gothams) - 95 OVR RM: Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit) - 95 OVR CM: Lo'eau LaBonta (Kansas City Women) - 93 OVR RB: Ryan Williams (NC Courage) - 92 OVR CB: Kaleigh Kurtz (NC Courage) - 92 OVR CB: Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit) - 94 OVR (TOTS Moments) CM: Haley McCutcheon (Orlando Pride) - 92 OVR (TOTS Moments) CAM: Allyson Sentor (Utah Royals) - 91 OVR (TOTS Moments) *Four PlayStyle Plus' EA FC 25 Rest of Europe TOTS CAM: Xherdan Shaqiri (Basel) - 96 OVR* RB: Rodinei (Olympiacos) - 95 OVR CAM: Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge) - 95 OVR LW: Daizen Maeda (Celtic) - 94 OVR RM: Vaclav Cerny (Rangers) - 94 OVR ST: Toluwalase Arokadare (Genk) - 93 OVR CM: Otar Kiteishvili (Stum Gratz) - 93 OVR CDM: Patrick Berg (Bodo/Glimt) - 93 OVR GK: Senne Lammens (Royal Antwerp) - 92 OVR CB: Tomas Holes (Sparta Prague) - 92 OVR CB: Stratos Svarnas (Rakow) - 91 OVR ST: Cristiana Girelli (Juventus Women) - 93 OVR (TOTS Moments) ST: Promise David (Union SG) - 92 OVR (TOTS Moments) CDM: Adrian Sut (FCSB) - 91 OVR (TOTS Moments) *Four PlayStyle Plus' More players from the three TOTS squads will be released as SBCs and Objectives in the next week, while TOTS-themed Evolutions, Rush events and Friendlies cups will also be available.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
USWNT star Sophia Wilson and NFL husband announce pregnancy with sweetest photos
Sophia Wilson is having a baby! On Wednesday, Sophia, who married Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson earlier this year, shared the sweet news in a joint announcement. Wilson posted two simple pictures to her Instagram account with the caption "Life just keeps getting sweeter." Sophia's right. Life has been pretty pretty sweet for her. She's had a magnificent few months, which include several signature moments on the USWNT and a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics alongside Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson. Here are the adorable photos of Sophia and Michael and their baby announcement. Baby Wilson on the way! Congratulations to Sophia and Mike on THE BEST NEWS ❤️🍼(via Sophia Wilson/IG) — National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) March 5, 2025 View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sophia Wilson (@sophiawilson) This article originally appeared on For The Win: USWNT star Sophia Wilson, husband announce pregnancy with sweet pics
Fox Sports
05-03-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
USWNT, Portland Thorns forward Sophia Wilson announces she is pregnant
Portland Thorns and United States women's national team forward Sophia Wilson has announced she is pregnant. Wilson, who previously went by her maiden name Smith, posted a photo of herself on Instagram on Wednesday holding a strip of sonogram photos while being embraced by her husband, Michael Wilson, a wide receiver for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals. "Life just keeps getting sweeter," her caption said. Wilson, 24, was on the national team that won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics last summer. Fans dubbed the front line of Wilson, Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson "Triple Espresso." Wilson, who was also on the 2023 Women's World Cup squad, has played in 58 games with the national team, scoring 24 goals. She was named U.S. Soccer women's player of the year in 2022 and young player of the year in 2017. Wilson was the top pick in the National Women's Soccer League draft in 2020 after helping Stanford to a victory over North Carolina in the 2019 NCAA College Cup championship. She scored three goals in the Cardinal's semifinal victory over UCLA and was named the College Cup's most valuable player. In five seasons with the Thorns, she has scored 44 goals across all competitions. She was named the NWSL's most valuable player in 2022 after helping Portland win the league title. "We are overjoyed to share that @sophiawilson and her husband Michael are expecting their first child! The Thorns are proud to support her through this incredible new chapter," the team posted. The Thorns open their 2025 season on March 15 at the Kansas City Current. Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily ! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience Sophia Smith United States NWSL Get more from United States Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
USWNT forward Sophia Wilson announces she is pregnant
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland Thorns and U.S. team forward Sophia Wilson has announced she is pregnant. Wilson, who previously went by her maiden name Smith, posted a photo of herself on Instagram on Wednesday holding a strip of sonogram photos while being embraced by her husband, Michael Wilson, a wide receiver for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals. 'Life just keeps getting sweeter,' her caption said. Wilson, 24, was on the national team that won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics last summer. Fans dubbed the front line of Wilson, Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson 'Triple Espresso.' Wilson, who was also on the 2023 Women's World Cup squad, has played in 58 games with the national team, scoring 24 goals. She was named U.S. Soccer women's player of the year in 2022 and young player of the year in 2017. Wilson was the top pick in the National Women's Soccer League draft in 2020 after helping Stanford to a victory over North Carolina in the 2019 NCAA College Cup championship. She scored three goals in the Cardinal's semifinal victory over UCLA and was named the College Cup's most valuable player. In five seasons with the Thorns, she has scored 44 goals across all competitions. She was named the NWSL's most valuable player in 2022 after helping Portland win the league title. 'We are overjoyed to share that @sophiawilson and her husband Michael are expecting their first child! The Thorns are proud to support her through this incredible new chapter,' the team posted. The Thorns open their 2025 season on March 15 at the Kansas City Current. ___ AP soccer: Anne M. Peterson, The Associated Press
