Enjoy The Lily Yohannes Victory Lap
The United States Women’s National Team is currently in Europe to play a pair of friendlies that will thoroughly stretch the meaning of that designation.
First up is a date with England at Wembley, both a homecoming for USWNT coach Emma Hayes and a fascinating opportunity to consider the dynamics of the transatlantic soccer exchange on both the Olympic champions and the European champions. Hayes, of course, made her name managing Chelsea for over a decade, though she got her start coaching in New York, a bit north of where Three Lionesses manager Sarina Wiegman played college soccer. USWNT vets have enjoyed short stints in England, and so many England players have tussled in the NWSL that The Athletic ran a long story with quotes from each payer about how physical and demanding the standard of play was stateside. The game is not exactly a referendum on whose development environment is better, though it does provide an occasion to think seriously about at the state of the best women’s club league and the second-best as it closes the gap. It’s also a serious test for both teams with close to their full rosters.
What comes next is revenge. A key part of the USWNT’s full roster is 17-year-old Ajax midfielder Lily Yohannes, the youngest member of the team and one of 10 players with two caps or fewer. Yohannes played once for the United States, against South Korea over the summer, and her 20-minute performance was jawdropping enough to simultaneously excite and worry the USWNT fanbase. She made a bunch of cool passes, including a hemispherically ambitious switch to Trinity Rodman, and scored a slick goal, which would have given her the highest rate of highlights per minute in USWNT history had she called it a national team career after that night. That’s why everyone was worried: Yohannes faced a choice between the USWNT, where she was born, and the Netherlands, where she’s lived since age 10 and where she plays for the country’s biggest club. Yohannes was even invited to the Olympics as an alternate but turned the invitation down.
Earlier this month, she made her choice, which was not an easy one. In February, Netherlands coach Andries Jonker boasted Yohannes was all but ready to swap red, white, and blue for red, white, blue, and orange. “[Yohannes] has indicated that she would like to play for the Netherlands,” Jonker told Dutch outlet NOS. “That procedure is now underway and all possible steps are being taken. Together we can see that she is doing remarkable and very beautiful things.” He was right about the last two, as he gave that quote while watching Yohannes help Ajax beat Roma in the Champion’s League with an assist. He got pissy when asked about Yohannes’s choice. “First of all, I read that she dreams of playing in an American shirt her whole life,” he said. “She could have said that right away. It would have saved [KNVB technical director] Nigel de Jong a lot of work. I think she should do what she wants to do. If that’s her dream, she should pursue it and live it. I don’t want a player who would rather play in another shirt.” Salty!
Both sides will have their chance to prove the other wrong, as the USWNT hops over to The Hague next Tuesday for a not-so-friendly. Both teams will want to win that match to prove Yohannes’s choice either right or wrong, and though the Netherlands didn’t make the last Olympics, they’re still an above average team in Europe. While that would theoretically make Yohannes’s path onto the field more difficult, the USWNT player pool is thinnest in the midfield.
Even in Paris, the USWNT was squarely outplayed in the most critical area of the field by Japan, Germany, and Brazil in the final. Yohannes is a more gifted passer than Sam Coffey, Korbin Albert, or Lindsey Horan. She has a huge passing range with both feet and is comfortable in tight spaces, too. The field looks smaller when she’s on it; she eats up the space. While she’s very young and relatively inexperienced, there’s plenty of reason to hope she’ll develop into a strong player. Yohannes has played across the midfield for Ajax, last year as more of a No. 10 and this year as more of a No. 8.
Hayes brought six midfielders along for the European trip: the three who started the Olympic final, veteran Rose Lavelle, defensive midfield prospect Hal Hershfelt, and Yohannes. One has to assume Hayes will play everyone for at least a half, and while I yearn for a Yohannes screamer against the Netherlands, I’m happy she’s here and I can’t wait to watch her play.
