One of the leading franchises in the NWSL is the Portland Thorns and Sophia Smith leads the line from the front. She strikes fear for her opposition with her brilliant finishing qualities and link-up. However, the player is out injured after suffering a nasty ankle injury, which caused the team’s performance to falter in recent times. Likewise, the USWNT will play three friendlies on October 24th, 27th and 30th. And guess what? Emma Hayes has an update regarding the player.

With the player crucial to Portland Thorns and USWNT’s setup, Emma Hayes gave an update regarding the player’s fitness. In an update from Jonathan Tannenwald of the Inquirer, he posted a tweet featuring Hayes’ update. She stated, “I’ve been assured by Portland and by Soph that if she comes through this weekend, there should be no problems.”

That’s promising news for a player looking to make a difference for her club and country. Her club would love to get her back on the pitch with the Thorns in playoff contention. She links up play for the team by dropping into the midfield and spraying passes all over the pitch. We may call her role as a deep-lying forward.

The player suffered an ankle injury in the defeat to San Diego Wave in the CONCACAF W Champions Cup. Although she scored the first goal in the 3-2 defeat, Smith left the pitch at halftime. Portland Thorns assistant coach Sarah Lowdown mentioned, “She has an ankle injury that resurfaced from San Diego. We want to make sure we get her healthy so she’s available for the rest of the season as we push for playoffs.”

Is Sophia Smith returning for the USWNT friendlies?

Before she went out injured, the player had a devastating impact on the team. She scored 11 goals in 17 games while also showing her playmaking side by providing 6 assists. For the USWNT, though, she plays a different role. Leading the line with Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson, Smith becomes the fox in the box with the creative responsibilities solely down to Croix Bethune and Rodman. Hence, in Emma Hayes’ system, one may call her Ruud Van Nistlerooy for her predatory instincts.

The USWNT will be keen to show their gold medal-winning team’s prowess in the upcoming friendlies. They won the gold medal, shocking everyone, with Emma Hayes at the helm just 2 months before the Olympics. They play two back-to-back matches against Iceland, which we expect them to win. After that, they have a game against Argentina, who are struggling to find form.

With Emma Hayes’ juggernauts coming to face them, Argentina would face a team, brimming with confidence. If Sophia Smith returns, they have one hell of a team to disrupt any soccer team worldwide.