Seventeen-year-old Alyssa Thompson described making her senior U.S. debut at Wembley Stadium on Friday night as “super cool,” as she became one of the youngest women to represent the current double world champions.
A member of one of Total Futbol Academy boys’ teams where she plays with players looking to make the grade into Major League Soccer, Thompson was a first-time pick by head coach Vlatko Andonovski, and he had no issue throwing Thompson on for the final 10 minutes in front of more than 76,000 fans at Wembley, the biggest crowd the U.S. has played in front of in a friendly match, only beaten by the 1999 World Cup final.
“I was very nervous, but I knew my capabilities and what I could do so and the coaching staff and everyone believed in me, so I was prepared to go on, but I was still super nervous,” said Thompson in the mixed zone after the match.
Speaking about what the feeling was like when Andonovski told her she would be coming on, as she did alongside Ashley Sanchez and Becky Sauerbrunn, the forward added: “Well, first of all, I was like, ‘Gosh, okay.’ And then I was like, ‘Okay, just don’t get in your head too much and you can do it. Just remember what we’ve been talking about in practice.’ I know my team has my…
