Sophia Smith will celebrate her 24th birthday on 10 August and, if she sustains her electrifying form, it could well be one to remember.<\/p>\n
The Women\u2019s Olympic Football Tournament gold medal match will be contested in Paris on that date \u2013 and Smith\u2019s USA are among the favourites to battling it out for one of the sport\u2019s greatest prizes.<\/p>\n
The Americans displayed their title credentials with a resounding 4-1 victory over Germany on Sunday, which secured their place in the knockout phase. Smith was the star of the show, scoring twice in a thrilling individual performance which underlined her status as one of the world\u2019s most feared attackers.<\/p>\n
She applied the finishing touch to an incisive move to open the scoring at Stade de Marseille. And while her second strike was aided by a deflection, the fact she attempted the shot \u2013 outside the box and off balance \u2013 was reflective of her soaring confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel really good,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThe first one was a great team goal. I just had to finish it off, but we\u2019ve been working on things like that all week. With the second, I got a little luck, but any time I get the chance to shift and shoot, I\u2019m going to take it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith has already amassed more than a half-century of international caps and scored 24 goals for her country. She is convinced, however, that new USA coach Emma Hayes can help her accelerate that scoring rate and develop her overall game.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmma\u2019s biggest goal for me is playing in this No9 position. I tend to shift away from the box, but it\u2019s about getting me to stay in the box and get those tap-in goals \u2013 the ones I tend to score. She wants me to be that No9 that\u2019s in those areas and putting away finishes here and there. She\u2019s always teaching us so many things. We absolutely love Emma.\u201d<\/p>\n
The feeling, Hayes revealed, is mutual.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love Soph to bits,\u201d the Englishwoman told FIFA. \u201cShe\u2019s my type of player. She does so much for the team. She gives everything. She\u2019s having to learn as a No9, when to hold [her position], when to stretch, when to come short. Coaching her is so much fun because she absorbs what you say.\u201d<\/p>\n
A broad smile rarely left Smith\u2019s face when she spoke enthusiastically to reporters post-match. The Portland Thorns forward \u2013 who got engaged last month to NFL player Michael Wilson \u2013 opened up on how feeling so content off the pitch is helping her flourish come matchday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI play my best soccer when I\u2019m happy,\u201d she said \u201cIt\u2019s so important to have that balance. We are athletes, but we\u2019re so much more than that. If you\u2019re not happy going to training and going into the games because of things off the field, it\u2019s hard to focus. Being happy just translates to enjoying every moment on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
She is particularly savouring linking up with her fellow Colorado-born attacker Mallory Swanson. Swanson has made a sensational return to the national team after almost one year out with injury, and is the joint-top scorer at the Olympics with three goals. She was also on target against Germany, showcasing her predatory instincts to tap home after goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger parried a 20-yard Smith effort.<\/p>\n
When asked about her growing understanding with Smith, Swanson said: \u201cIt starts off the field. We came from the same club [Real Colorado] growing up, and we would always train together.<\/p>\n
“To be able to build that relationship [in the USA team] over this past couple of months has been special. Honestly, we\u2019re kind of like sisters. But that goes for everyone in the group. We\u2019re having a lot of fun\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight\u2019s game was just Soph was doing Soph things! Scoring goals, that\u2019s what she does. Her first goal felt really good. It was a team goal and it was directed straight from the training ground into our play. Her second one, I\u2019ve seen her take those shots a million times \u2013 and I know they\u2019re going to go in!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sophia Smith will celebrate her 24th birthday on 10 August and, if she sustains her electrifying form, it could well be one to remember. The Women\u2019s Olympic Football Tournament gold medal match will be contested in Paris on that date \u2013 and Smith\u2019s USA are among the favourites to battling it out for one of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":1009431,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20966],"tags":[9648,27192],"class_list":["post-1009430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fifa-news","tag-fifa","tag-fifa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1009430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009430\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1009431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1009430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1009430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1009430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}