Topline
Lily Yohannes, the youngest athlete to play for the United States women’s national soccer team in over two decades, captured global attention on Tuesday by scoring a goal during her international debut, making her the third-youngest scorer in squad history.
Lily Yohannes, No. 6, of the United States, celebrates scoring during the second half against the … [+]
Key Facts
Yohannes, a midfielder who will turn 17 next week, scored within 10 minutes of coming on the field in a friendly match with South Korea on Tuesday.
The Virginia-born athlete is the eighth-youngest player to make her debut for the women’s national team and the youngest person to play for the team since 2001.
Yohannes has been playing for Ajax, a Dutch women’s soccer club, since she was 15 years old and in November, she became the youngest player to ever start a UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage match, as well as the youngest American to compete in the Champions League.
The Yohannes family, who are Eritrean-American, relocated to the Netherlands when Lily was 10 in order to pursue her soccer career.
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Crucial Quote
“It’s a dream come true, really,” Yohannes said after the goal.
What To Watch For
If Yohannes continues to play for the United States, the young soccer player is currently in the process of applying for citizenship in the Netherlands, which would make her eligible to play for the Dutch national team. Since she has only participated in a friendly match for the U.S. team and not an official game, she is able to switch teams.
Key Background
Yohannes scored in the first game under U.S. women’s soccer’s new head coach, Emma Hayes. Hayes, who previously coached at Chelsea in England, signed a deal with the U.S. team in November to become the highest-paid coach in women’s soccer. She replaces Vlatko Andonovski, who stepped down as head coach after the United States was eliminated earlier than expected in the Women’s World Cup last year and fell short at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. These two international setbacks followed years of dominance by the Americans, who have four World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals.
Further Reading
