Naomi Girma tipped to be cornerstone of US defence for years

The centre back first played for the senior US team last year and quickly settled in to earn a place in Vlatko Andonovski's (43) 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 (40) told Reuters.

"She’s playing well ahead of her time for the little experience she’s had. It’s really impressive," added Lloyd who is now a Fox Sports analyst.

Girma has overcome problems on her journey to soccer's biggest stage, forced to withdraw due to injury from her first senior call-up in 2019 and suffering a serious knee problem in 2020.

"For me it feels like a lot of hard work coming together," she told Reuters.

"There was like a lot of work that went behind the scenes, because I went out injured and not playing... it was really gratifying and rewarding to feel like it was paying off and putting me in a better position."

Girma will be particularly crucial for the US after veteran Becky Sauerbrunn (38), long-time bedrock of the defence, announced last week she would miss the World Cup due to injury.

"Her potential is one of the highest bars of potential I've seen in a person in a long time," said Briana Scurry, the goalkeeper in the United States' 1999 World Cup-winning team.

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.

"She can read the play really well so she knows where to be in advance. And that's not something that a younger player normally possesses," said the twice Olympic gold medallist.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she were a captain at one point in time."

Girma is also keenly aware of her potential to inspire the next generation, as the daughter of Ethiopian immigrants whose father instilled in her a passion for the game and started a local soccer program where she and her brother could play.

"When I was younger, seeing someone who had a similar background as me, looked like me in any high position - it didn't even have to be football-specific - competing at a high level was always so inspiring," she said.

"I'm hoping that kids can see me and get that similar feeling and that same excitement."