Sometimes, soccer just boils down to confidence.
You could be the best player in the world, but if you're in a rough patch, a one-on-one opportunity may not be as easy as it seems.
For U.S. women's national team star Sophia Smith, it wasn't always easy to become the skillful player she is today. And that's because she let outside noise influence her.
"Everyone's not going to be happy with you all the time," Smith said in an interview with NBC. "People aren't going to like you. If someone said something about my game, like 'She's not good at this,' it would obviously take a toll on my confidence.
"Then you get to the game ... now I'm stressed when I have to finish because I want to prove people wrong."
The 23-year-old hasn't logged eight goals and six assists in 10 starts for the Portland Thorns in 2024 without changing her mindset.
It's excellent form to be in with the Paris Olympics swiftly approaching. Smith said understanding her strengths and weaknesses have played a holistic part.
"Now, I feel like I'm in a good place confidently to be like, 'I know what I can do, I know what my strengths are, I know what my weaknesses are,'" Smith said. "And that's not a bad thing, that I have weaknesses. It just means I have room to grow."
Smith credited her parents for helping to control her confidence, especially when it comes to blocking the outside noise she previously let filter in.
"Something my parents always told me was no matter what, you can't let someone else control your confidence," Smith said. "When you control that, other factors at least don't affect how you feel about yourself."
The 2024 Olympics in Paris will mark Smith's first time representing the USWNT for a chance at the prestigious gold medal, a result the team hasn't claimed since 2012.
There are no age limits in women's soccer at the Olympics, but the youngest USWNT player in Tokyo was then 21-year-old forward Catarina Macario. Smith was even younger, so making the squad at the time wasn't likely.
Now, though, Smith has several USWNT accomplishments under her name, from Concacaf W Gold Cups to the US Soccer Female Player of the Year award (2022).
Adding an Olympic gold medal next would surely boost her resume — and her confidence.
The 2024 Olympic soccer tournament begins before the Opening Ceremony in Paris on July 24. For the first time in Olympic history, the women’s final concludes the tournament on Aug. 10.
Venues for soccer at the 2024 Olympics include: Paris, Nantes, Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Saint-Étienne and Lyon.
