United States defender Naomi Girma completes her meteoric rise from national team debutant to the Women’s World Cup stage next month and many are predicting she will be a key player for the four-times champions for many years. The 23-year-old centre-back first played for the senior U.S. team last year and quickly settled in to earn a place in Vlatko Andonovski’s World Cup squad. “She’s threading balls down the middle of the field, skipping, bypassing the midfielders, playing it into the forwards’ feet,” retired two-time World Cup winner Carli Lloyd told Reuters. Article continues after advertisement“She’s playing well ahead of her time for the little experience she’s had. Scurry, the host of the “Counterattack” podcast, told Reuters it is “almost blinding how quickly” Girma has improved and believes the Stanford graduate is a future team captain.

Source: Ethiopian News June 22, 2023 20:10 UTC