Sophia Smith is a name that you should be familiar with if you are a soccer fan. She is one of the best players on the USWNT, and arguably one of the best strikers in the entire world. She has shone ever since she was in college, breaking records at Stanford and showing why she should be the first-draft pick in the NWSL.
Her rookie season was easy — she didn’t even look like a rookie on the pitch with girls, or women, who had been there for a decade or more. She is fast, technical, smart, and fit, which is everything you could want in an attacker. And on the big stage, she shines. Sophia Smith has done extremely well this Olympics, helping guide the USWNT, along with Trinity Rodman and Mal Swanson, to score goals and be a more attacking-minded team.
Sophia Smith in the Olympics
The USWNT is proving doubters wrong and performing extremely well at the Olympics so far this year. They won a big game against Germany, one of the top-ranked teams in the world, and soared to an easy win against Zambia without letting in one goal.
Part of the reason they are doing so well is because of their front line of attackers, featuring Swanson, Rodman, and Smith. They are a dynamic trio that provides play-making options, assists, and goals for one another. They are fast, smart, quick, and technically proficient, being able to thread passes, whip in crosses, and shoot from anywhere on the pitch.
Sophia Smith is the epitome of the attacking style of the USWNT. She had a fantastic two goals in just the first half, which was the first of the tournament — to keep her fit due to an ongoing injury that had the management team worried — and showed why she should be starting when she is fit to play. She scored one goal from an open look on goal and the second from a distance that took a nice deflection over the keeper.
Tactical mastermind
Her two goals led the USWNT to win their group and soar to a nice three points over Germany, making the 4-1 victory look easier than many would have thought. After a horrible showing in the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, when many fans wondered why the attacking players were not as effective as their club teams, Smith and the other two up front are really shining.
We can thank Emma Hayes for her tactics and the ability to let the players be more free and creative on and off the ball. Hayes let’s Smith, Rodman, and Swanson overlap, underlap, and dynamically move between one another, giving them the chance to get the ball in different positions, drive at players, and take defenders on 1v1.
USWNT Looking Forward
We can easily see that Sophia Smith loves doing that. She scores many of her goals from getting the ball outside of the box, turning, taking on a defender, and ripping a shot from any angle. Her technical ability to shoot with both her left and right foot makes her impossible to defend. Plus, her smart awareness to cross the ball against the back line to one of her other teammates is a great quality to have.
Next up, the USWNT faces off in the quarterfinals. They have already made it through the group stages, along with Spain. And will play in the quarterfinals this upcoming weekend to see if they will progress to the semis. If Sophia Smith keeps playing like she has, we have no doubt they will.
For More Great Content
Check out all the great content Total Apex Sports has to offer. Check us out on X @TotalApexSports and our other sites: Total Apex Sports Bets and Total Apex Fantasy Sports.
