Mia Fishel’s heartbreaking setback: USWNT dreams on hold
The forward is touted to be one of the future USWNT stars but after her ACL injury she needs to be patient again.
Football
It was less than a year ago that Mia Fishel was left out of football’s biggest tournament.
Despite being in the USWNT squad conversation for a while, former manager Vlatko Andonovski opted to leave the now 22 year-old at home rather than take her to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
But that hasn’t stood in the way of Fishel’s strive for success.
Having dominated the Liga MX Femenil, the 22-year-old forward joined Women’s Super League club Chelsea in 2023 and made her debut in October, scoring her first goal for the club in the process.
She was hoping to be on the brink of a breakthrough year.
A call up to represent the United States at the inaugural CONCACAF W Gold Cup seemed to be the ideal place for Fishel to prove her worth ahead of this summer’s Olympic Games.
On top of that, her new national team manager will be her current club head coach: Emma Hayes.
It was not meant to be.
The Californian player is forced to watch the Paris 2024 Games from the sofa, after tearing the ACL in her right knee during practice on Monday (19 Feb).
Olympics.com takes a look at the career of Mia Fishel so far as she looks to put her stamp on the USWNT.
MONTERREY, MEXICO - NOVEMBER 14: Mia Fishel of Tigres UANL femenil kicks the ball during the final second leg match between Tigres UANL and America as part of the Torneo Apertura 2022 Liga MX Femenil at Universitario Stadium on November 14, 2022 in Monterrey, Mexico. (Photo by Azael Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Mia Fishel: Taking the road less traveled
After a successful college career with UCLA Bruins, Orlando Pride had their eye on Fishel. The club had an Alex Morgan-shaped hole to fill and Amanda Cromwell - Fishel’s old college coach - had just joined the team. It made sense that Fishel was Orlando Pride’s fifth pick in the 2022 NWSL draft.
But despite the lure of kicking her professional career off at a top-flight NWSL club, Fishel opted for a different route.
The then 20 year-old instead chose to sign for Liga MX side Tigres UANL. She put her decision down to many factors, one of which being her dislike for the draft system.
“I felt like I wanted to take control of my own destiny and where I want to play, and with the draft, you just can't do that,” she told the media. “You don't see U.S. players coming to Mexico.”
“Tigres reached out,” she went on to explain. “Their staff, their team, how they're built for champions, built for sold-out stadiums [have an] amazing fan base, have global media recognition. It was really hard to pass up this opportunity.”
And her risk paid off.
In the 2022 season, Fishel scored 17 goals in 17 appearances and became the first foreign player to win the Liga MX Golden Boot. Upon her departure from the club in the summer of 2023, she had managed 38 goals in just 48 appearances.
But it is not just at club level where Fishel has broken records. In 2020, at the age of 19, Fishel scored a new all-ages national-record during the CONCACAF U-20 Championships, before being named as a finalist for the US Soccer Young Female Player of the Year, so it comes as no surprise that in late 2020 she was awarded her first ever USWNT senior cap.
Mia Fishel: 2023 and beyond
Despite the successful youth career, the broken records, and the award nominations, Mia Fishel was left out of the USWNT’s 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup squad.
With the squad in the middle of a transitional period, fans expected to see Fishel travel to Australia at the very least.
What turned out to be a disappointing campaign for the USWNT could have been improved by the inclusion of the fierce, head-strong, goalscoring talent that is Fishel.
Instead, the forward sat patiently and watched on - all whilst WSL side Chelsea were preparing a competitive bid.
Fishel’s transfer to Chelsea in August 2023 was a career-defining move. Not only would the 22 year-old be learning from a top manager in Emma Hayes, she would be playing alongside one of the best forwards in women’s football, Sam Kerr.
And since that move, Fishel has grown from strength to strength.
In early 2024, Sam Kerr picked up a season-ending ACL injury and attention fell to the rest of Chelsea’s attacking talent. Fishel was relied on more than she would have ever expected to be in her first WSL season, but the 22 year-old has relished the opportunity having already netted her first goal for the Blues.
For now Fishel’s progression is on hold.
The forward will need to be patient once again.