USWNT’s Sophia Smith: Chasing records and rewriting history

There are few more in-form strikers in world football right now than Sophia Smith.

The American forward is firing on all fronts for club and country of late, etching her name in the history books one step at a time.

With two more goals to her name on Wednesday 1 May, as Portland Thorns narrowly edged NWSL newcomers Bay FC in a 3-2 thriller, the 23-year-old is already on course to have her best season yet in terms of goal return.

It’s not only the domestic stage she is taking by storm either.

A mainstay in the USWNT attack, she is all but certain to be in Emma Hayes’s squad for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Time is still very much on the side of Smith, who will no doubt continue to break records throughout her career at the top.

• Can USWNT’s Sophia Smith become the best in the world?

Sophia Smith: Rewriting NWSL history books

In the 27th minute of the Portland Thorns’s 4-1 victory over the Houston Dash, on the 21 April, Sophia Smith registered her 50th goal contribution since her NWSL debut.

In doing so, she became the youngest player to achieve this feat aged 23 years, 254 days.

Smith succeeded star striker Sam Kerr, who reached this tally back in 2017 when she was 23 years, and 308 days old.

Made up of 40 goals and 10 assists, her arsenal of contributions is indicative of her prolific nature up top.

Last season, netting 11 times - and registering five assists - in 17 games was enough to see Smith collect the Golden Boot as the Thorns finished two points behind shield winners San Diego Wave.

This term she is on course to match, if not better, her previous feat with seven goals and three assists in seven outings so far.

Her most recent feature with the Thorns saw her score a brace - one of which was the winning strike.

With that, it marked the 10th time Smith has scored more than once in a league game, something only two players have done more often.

Kerr, unsurprisingly, has done so 14 times, while recently retired Megan Rapinoe has achieved this feat on 11 occasions.

On a determined pursuit to become the best in the world, the Wambach-inspired striker is continuing on the right path to gain such a status.

USWNT: Leader of the next generation

The USWNT has enjoyed a real influx of young talent over the last few years, and it is not a stretch to say that Smith is among the leaders of the next generation.

In fact, four years ago - November 2020 - she starred in her first national team game against the Netherlands.

That debut saw Smith become the first player born in the 2000s to star for the USWNT.

After a disappointing showing at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, the Americans are back on the trophy hunt having picked up the CONCACAF W Gold Cup and SheBelieves Cup already this year, their star forward picking up MVP for the latter.

This summer, under the guidance of new manager Hayes, they will be looking to continue their winning ways in Paris.

Smith will no doubt be a catalyst for potential success if she can replicate her club form at the international level in their pursuit of gold.

But for a striker of her quality, and yet to even enter her prime years, history feels inevitable.