FIFA Women’s World Cup: US prodigy awaits final rematch, four years after watching as a fan

FIFA Women’s World Cup: United States v Netherlands; Where: Wellington Regional Stadium; When: Thursday, 1pm; Coverage: Live on Sky Sport 1, Prime, Stuff; live updates on Stuff

The last time the United States played the Netherlands at a FIFA Women’s World Cup, Alyssa Thompson had no idea she would be part of the American matchday squad four years later.

That previous meeting was in the final of the 2019 event in France, played in front of a crowd of 57,900 in Lyon. It finished 2-0 to the US, goals from Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle ensuring they clinched their second title in a row and a fourth overall.

At the time, Thompson was just preparing to start her freshman year of high school at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles – a prestigious prep school once attended by Football Ferns captain Ali Riley, her club team-mate at Angel City FC in Los Angeles.

“I think I was at my aunt’s house and I was watching the game,” the 18-year-old said this week, ahead of the rematch between the US and the Dutch at Wellington Regional Stadium at 1pm on Thursday.

“I don’t have a TV at my house, so we would always go to my aunt’s or grandparents’ house to watch games and stuff.

“I was surrounded by my whole family. We were watching the game and I just remember how intense the game was and how back and forth it was.

“It was a tough game and I was really nervous for the team, but we pulled through with the win, so I was super excited that we got to win another World Cup.

“In that moment I wasn’t really thinking about, oh, the next one I’m going to be at, because I felt so young and it felt so far away.

“Being here now is crazy to me, because I didn’t think about it in the moment.”

Thompson played the final 15 minutes and earned her fifth international cap as the US eased past Vietnam 3-0 in their group E opener and will be hoping for more action against the Netherlands, though coach Vlatko Andonovski might decide it’s not the right match for the prodigal teenager.

Thompson has, however, risen to every challenge in front of her during her short international and professional careers to date, which overlapped with her final months as a high school student in the lead-up to the World Cup.

Ferns co-captain Riley has taken her young Angel City team-mate under her wing, and even went back to Havard-Westlake to visit during one of Thompson’s English classes after a team training.

“It was fun,” Thompson said. “I had a presentation during that class, so lucky her. She got to see me present and she asked questions and was asking questions of the other presenters.

“It was really funny, but it was fun. She was really into it.”

The Riley that is working day-in, day-out to build something special as the captain Angel City, Los Angeles’ first professional women’s football club for almost two decades, isn’t one that New Zealand gets to see a lot of.

Thompson, who is almost half her captain’s age, said she is “just such an amazing person”.

“I can’t describe how cool she is. She’s an amazing captain and she has really helped me come into the team as a new player. She is kind of like a mother figure to me too, because she just has been really helpful.

“We went to the same high school, so we’ve connected on that a lot. It’s just been fun being able to connect with her on that level and she always has my back. She has everyone on the team’s back.

“You can really feel that and she’s so genuine about everything that she talks about and believes in, so it’s so cool just being able to have a role model like that.”

Riley will be spending Thursday focusing on the Ferns’ final group A match against Switzerland in Dunedin on Sunday, one they likely need to win to advance after losing to the Philippines in Wellington on Tuesday.

But she will surely be paying a bit of attention as the US take to that very pitch, waiting to see if Thompson gets another chance to show why she was the first teenager selected in an American Women’s World Cup squad since 1995.