Sophia Smith is hoping to use the upcoming World Cup as a platform to being considered the best player in the world.
Smith has begun to build a strong case over the past year. The Portland Thorns star was named the youngest NWSL MVP ever in 2022, and then scored the winner in the NWSL championship game.
A couple months later, Smith was named the 2022 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year — becoming the youngest player to win the award since a 22-year-old Mia Hamm in 1994.
Heading into her first World Cup, Smith is expected to be a vital member of a USWNT side looking to make history by becoming the first country to ever win the competition three times in a row.
In a conversation with USA Today’s “Sports Seriously,” the 22-year-old attacker said she is expecting big things for herself heading into her first major tournament.
“I am very content with where I am and what I’ve done, but at the same time I want more,” Smith said. “I’m always trying to prove to myself more than anyone that I am the best in the world.
“I don’t think that is an end goal. I think that’s a constant, just like day-to-day life of how I go about things. I want to be the best in the world in how I carry myself.
“So this World Cup, I think it’s a great opportunity for the world to see who I am every day. It’s different than the NWSL because it is a global stage, more people are watching, more people are invested. So I’m excited for the World Cup in that sense, but I do feel like all I have to do to prove myself is be myself, and that’s what I plan on doing.”
Smith and the USWNT will have their final World Cup tune-up this Sunday when they face Wales in their send-off match at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif.
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