da 888casino： The 22-year-old striker has already proven herself a star in the NWSL, and she's now putting on a show on the global stage in New Zealand

da prosport bet： When it comes to the United States women's national team, Alex Morgan's words carry weight. She's a two-time World Cup winner, after all, one of the most famous and feared strikers this sport has ever seen. When Morgan says something the world takes notice.

And, if you've been following along, Morgan had plenty to say about Sophia Smith. Not so much 'plenty' as in quantity of words, but more as in what those words mean.

"She's THAT girl." Morgan's post-game tweet was, of course, referring to Smith, the player that was the star of the show in the USWNT's World Cup-opening win over Vietnam. Two goals and an assist in her World Cup debut wasn't bad for a player who is just 22 years old and, scarily enough, still getting better.

Smith headed to the World Cup as a young player poised for a breakout, or already in the midst of one depending on how you look at things. She's emerged as one of the NWSL's best players, if not the best, and is now taking her game to the global stage.

Just one game into the World Cup, it isn't crazy to say that the USWNT's World Cup hopes may rest on the shoulders of Smith, a player that, despite her age, has the ability to lead this team from the front. At 22, Smith has the chance to cook up something special at the World Cup and everything she's shown so far indicates that she will.

She is THAT girl, after all…

Please enable Javascript to view this contentGetty ImagesRapid rise

If you haven't followed Smith's rise, it can be simplified pretty quickly: she's ridiculously good. A top performer in college at Stanford, Smith was drafted first overall in the 2020 NWSL Draft. It was in 2022, though, that her breakout truly began, as Smith almost instantly went from young prospect to superstar.

NWSL MVP, NWSL champion and U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year were all accolades that Smith picked up in 2022. She scored 18 goals for the Portland Thorns to lead them to that NWSL title, all the while scoring 11 in 17 to emerge as a USWNT regular. By the time the year came to a close, it wasn't about Smith would be headed to the World Cup, but rather how much damage she would do there.

Just one game in, she's already done some damage, leading the U.S. past an overmatched Vietnam.

AdvertisementGettyWorld Cup debut

We'll get the obvious caveat out of the way early: yes, this was Vietnam, a team the U.S. was supposed to beat, supposed to dominate, really. The win was dominant to an extent, but a bit of a letdown at times. However, there was no letup in Smith's performance.

The USWNT forward, starting on the left-hand side, contributed to all three girls in the 3-0 win. The first saw her latch on to an Alex Morgan assist before rifling a shot to the back post. The second came just before half-time as Smith narrowly beat the offside trap to make it 2-0. And then the third, which saw Smith tee up captain Lindsey Horan to put the game beyond any doubt.

"I don't usually get nervous, but I was nervous," Smith admitted post-game. "I was nervous before this game." If that was a nervous Smith, the U.S. will be in a pretty good place once she calms herself down.

"I felt good," Smith she continued. "It was good to just get a game under my belt. I was feeling all the emotions going into it and not really knowing what to expect. So to start off on a good note, it feels good and it makes me just more excited for the next game."

GettyMeaningful celebration

Adding to the emotions of it all was a special moment for Smith, who honored a late team-mate after her second goal in the opener. Katie Meyer, who tragically died from suicide last year, played alongside Smith, as well as USWNT team-mate Naomi Girma, at Stanford. Meyer rose to fame in 2019 after making a title-winning save in a penalty shootout.

In the year since Meyer's tragic passing, Smith and Girma have made sure to honor their friend and team-mate, with both speaking out to promote and increased focus on mental health.

"That was for Katie," Smith said after the win. "Nai and I talked about it before the game. We were like, 'What can we do for Katie?' It was pretty iconic what she did in the College Cup, and we just want to honor her in every way."

"With a lot of players, us included, speaking out on mental health, we see this as an opportunity to shed light on a lot of things that are important to us," Girma added. "That's been something that's been at the core of this team for so long and for us to come in now and carry on that legacy is something that's really important to us."

So good it's scary

Smith's rise from up-and-comer to star really began before the USWNT landed down under. She's already becoming the next face of this national team. She was the subject of one of a series of Nike commercials promoting the World Cup, with Smith's, in particular, going viral on social media.

In the commercial, Smith is depicted as some sort of horror villain who, behind her smile, is out to terrorize defenders. It's what she does best, after all. Anyone who has seen her play over the last year or so know what she does to anyone in her way.

As things stand, Smith is likely the USWNT's best pure goalscorer. Morgan's role has evolved in recent years, with the veteran striker dropping a bit deeper to facilitate. Trinity Rodman, meanwhile, is a dangerous weapon out wide, whose pace should open up even more space for the other two in the attack to operate.

So far, Smith is one of four players to score multiple goals at this World Cup, joining Brazil's Ary Borges, Germany's Alexandra Popp and Japan's Hinata Miyazawa. She's already being asked about a potential Golden Boot, too, just one game into the tournament.

“I tell everyone: I want to win a World Cup," she replied, "and whatever comes with that comes with that."