Lily Yohannes, a top young soccer prospect, commits to the USWNT

The 17-year-old midfielder was born in Virginia and moved to the Netherlands at age 10, giving her a choice between two women's soccer powers. She picked what she called "my homeland, my birthplace."

Lily Yohannes playing for the U.S. women's soccer team in her debut in June.Read moreAdam Bettcher / Getty Images

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Published Nov. 11, 2024, 12:22 p.m. ET

A few weeks before the U.S. women’s soccer team’s last games of the year, it got some good news Monday when marquee young prospect Lily Yohannes committed to the program.

The 17-year-old midfielder was born in northern Virginia and moved to the Netherlands at age 10 when her father got a job in Amsterdam. She played on an amateur boys’ team there, and played so well that she drew attention from scouts at the city’s (and country’s) most famous team, Ajax.

Yohannes began playing for Ajax’s reserve squad at age 15, signing a professional contract in April 2023. She quickly rose up the ranks of a club that has produced men’s soccer stars for decades, such as Johan Cruyff, Dennis Bergkamp, and Zlatan Ibrahimović.

Last November, Yohannes debuted in the UEFA women’s Champions League, and made an immediate impression. U.S. fans quickly started watching her, and wondered if the national team program was watching, too.

It was, and had been for a while. Yohannes was on U.S. youth teams in 2022. But there was no guarantee that Yohannes would stay with the program, especially once the Netherlands started recruiting her. The Dutch knew she was working toward getting a passport, and this past February its manager Andries Jonker said he’d heard Yohannes wanted to play for his team.

Whether or not that was true — Jonker has long had a reputation as a big talker — it so happened that a month later, U.S. Soccer called Yohannes up to the SheBelieves Cup squad. She didn’t have to commit at that point because the games were friendlies, and only official competitions formally tie players to national teams. Still, it was clear that the race was on.

The U.S. program didn’t push her too hard, between Yohannes’ young age and U.S. Soccer’s long-standing belief that dual-national players should follow their hearts. Emma Hayes clearly wanted her, though, and called Yohannes in for her first games on the U.S. sideline.

In the second of those games, on June 4 against South Korea, Hayes gave Yohannes her debut as a second-half substitute. What happened after that was storybook: Yohannes scored a well-taken goal to cap a 3-0 win, then was swarmed by her teammates in celebration.

“She knows what I think about her … I have really pushed and wanted her in this squad,” Hayes said afterward. “You could see what not only it meant for her — and I’m sure her family, who I’ve spent time talking with — but also what it meant to her teammates.”

Hayes also paid Yohannes a high and specific compliment, calling her “a press-resistant player.” That’s a key quality in any midfielder, but especially notable in one so young.

It wasn’t enough for Yohannes to commit at the time, though. When Hayes picked her Olympic team, which would have required a formal commitment, she announced that Yohannes “wasn’t ready to make that decision, and I fully support it.”

Hayes also didn’t call up Yohannes for the Americans’ first games after the Olympics, a three-game slate last month. At the time, Hayes said she didn’t have an update.

But there was a sense that something would have to happen soon, because the U.S. will play the Netherlands in the Hague in its last game of the year on Dec. 3. Either Yohannes would have to commit or both teams would have to agree to not call her up.

Now the decision is done.

“After much consideration, I have decided to commit to represent my country, the United States,” Yohannes said in a statement on social media. “The U.S. is my homeland, my birthplace, and where my extended family resides. These strong connections have driven me to honor my roots and proudly commit to U.S. Soccer. I am excited and eager to continue putting in the work and earn my place on the U.S. Women’s national team.”

Yohannes will almost certainly be on the U.S. squad for that game and an even bigger one three days earlier: the Olympic champion United States vs. reigning European champion England at London’s famed Wembley Stadium. Over 70,000 tickets have been sold for the game so far.

Then the Americans’ road to the 2027 World Cup will begin, with Yohannes likely to play a big role in it.

“I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the United States and Dutch Football Federations for their unwavering support and patient guidance as I made my decision regarding my international future,” Yohannes said. “Their dedication and encouragement have been invaluable, and I extend my heartfelt thanks to both federations.”