Naomi Girma facts for kids

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Naomi Girma

Girma with the San Diego Wave in 2023
Personal information
Full name	Naomi Haile Girma
Date of birth	(2000-06-14) June 14, 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth	San Jose, California, U.S.
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Playing position	Center back
Club information
Current club	San Diego Wave
Number	4
Youth career
2010–2017	Central Valley Crossfire
2015–2018	Pioneer HS Mustangs
2016–2018	De Anza Force
2016–2018	California Thorns FC
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2022–	San Diego Wave	58	(0)
National team‡
2016	United States U17
2017	United States U19
2017–2020	United States U20
2022–	United States	42	(2)
Honours Women's soccer Representing the  United States Olympic Games Gold 2024 Paris Team CONCACAF W Gold Cup Winner 2024 United States CONCACAF W Championship Winner 2022 Mexico
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 19, 2024. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of October 30, 2024

Naomi Haile Girma (born June 14, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center back for San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team.

Girma played collegiate soccer for the Stanford Cardinal, captaining the team to win the 2019 Women's College Cup. The first overall pick of the 2022 NWSL Draft, she was named NWSL Rookie of the Year in 2022 and NWSL Defender of the Year in 2022 and 2023.

Girma represented the United States at the under-17, under-19 and under-20 level before her senior debut in 2022. She was named U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year in 2023. She won the gold medal with the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she played every minute of the tournament.

Early life and education

Girma was born in San Jose, California, to parents Girma Aweke and Seble Demissie, both Ethiopian immigrants who met in the Bay Area. She has one brother, Nathaniel, who is three years older. Her family speaks both Amharic and English.

As a youth, Girma played for a local club her father formed for the Bay Area Ethiopian community in 2005, dubbed the Maleda Soccer Club, and attended Hacienda Elementary School and YMCA after-school basketball matches, following her brother's lead in sports. She also practiced gymnastics for five years before settling on soccer in middle school. After impressing coaches in 2009 during a practice to which she was invited by a friend, Girma played for a local youth club, Central Valley Crossfire, from 2010 until its dissolution in 2017. At Crossfire, playing under coach Bob Joyce, Girma was encouraged to participate in Olympic Development Program events and was called into the United States U-14 national team camp. She subsequently became a guest player for De Anza Force, and also played for the California Thorns Academy and Pioneer High School.

Collegiate career

Girma (right) playing for Stanford in 2019

Girma played collegiate soccer for the Stanford Cardinal and captained the team to win the 2019 Women's College Cup. She missed the early part of the 2021 season after tearing her ACL. During her recovery, she applied to and was accepted into the Mayfield Fellows Program for entrepreneurship at Stanford. In December 2021, Girma decided to forgo her remaining collegiate eligibility and declared for the 2022 NWSL Draft. She graduated from Stanford in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in symbolic systems and continued pursuing a master's degree in management science and engineering at Stanford after becoming a professional soccer player.

Club career

Girma with the Wave in 2024

San Diego Wave FC selected Girma as the first pick of the 2022 NWSL Draft. She was named to the NWSL Best XI of the Month in May and June 2022 and earned NWSL Rookie of the Month honors in June. At the end of the season, she was named both NWSL Defender of the Year and NWSL Rookie of the Year, becoming the first player to win multiple end-of-year awards in her rookie season.

On June 14, 2023, Wave FC announced that it had signed Girma to a new contract through 2026. She led the Wave to the NWSL Shield in the 2023 season and was named the NWSL Defender of the Year for a second year in a row.

International career

Girma has competed on the United States under-17, under-19 and under-20 and senior national teams. She captained the under-20 team to win the 2020 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship under head coach Laura Harvey. In December 2020, Girma won the 2020 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year award.

Girma received her first call-up to the United States senior team in December 2019 but had to withdraw due to injury. She was called up again in October 2020. She debuted for the senior national team on April 12, 2022, in an international friendly against Uzbekistan. She also appeared in the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship, and registered an assist on a goal by Sophia Smith against Jamaica during the tournament.

In June 2023, Girma was named to the US squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. She was a starting defender during the team's first group stage match against Vietnam: a 3–0 shutout. During the first half, she started the sequence that led to the U.S.' second goal by lobbing the ball into the box to Alex Morgan who headed it to scorer Sophia Smith. Girma was named U.S. Soccer's 2023 Female Player of the Year, becoming the first defender to win the award in its history as she was a part of a defense that allowed an average of just 0.17 goals per game during the year, the best in team history.

In 2024, Girma was called up to represent the US at the inaugural 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup and 2024 SheBelieves Cup. Girma was selected to the 18-player roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics in France. She was widely praised throughout the tournament as the team's most important player. She was the only field player to play every minute of the tournament through to the gold medal game against Brazil, which the United States won 1–0 on a goal from Mallory Swanson. She scored her first and second international goals in a friendly match against Argentina on October 30, 2024, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Style of play

Considered one of the best center backs in the world, Girma is known for her composure, intelligence, and leadership. She was previously a central or defensive midfielder in her youth before being converted to center back at a youth national team camp. She anticipates play and positions herself well to thwart attackers and can use her speed to beat opponents one-on-one. She has good technical ability and passes well to set up plays.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals scored by Naomi Girma

No.	Cap	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	42	October 30, 2024	Lynn Family Stadium, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.	Argentina	1–0	3–0	Friendly
2					3–0

Honors

Stanford Cardinal

• Women's College Cup: 2019

San Diego Wave

• NWSL Shield: 2023
• NWSL Challenge Cup: 2024

United States U17

• CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship: 2016

United States U20

• CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship: 2020

United States

• Summer Olympic Games Gold Medal: 2024
• CONCACAF Women's Championship: 2022
• CONCACAF W Gold Cup: 2024
• SheBelieves Cup: 2023,2024

Individual

• CONCACAF W Championship Best XI: 2022
• U.S. Soccer Player of the Year: 2023
• U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year: 2020
• NWSL Defender of the Year: 2022, 2023
• NWSL Rookie of the Year: 2022
• NWSL Best XI: 2022, 2023
• NWSL Team of the Month: May 2022, June 2022
• NWSL Rookie of the Month: June 2022
• Women's College Cup Defensive MVP: 2019
• Pac-12 Defender of the Year: 2019, 2021

See also

In Spanish: Naomi Girma para niños