Rising star Mia Fishel finally is getting her second chance with the U.S. women’s national team.
The 22-year-old forward received her first call-up to the senior national team in October 2020, when she was called into a 27-player, 11-day training camp in Colorado. She is still waiting on her first international appearance, but after years of waiting, she is getting her second call-up from the USWNT.
This comes after Fishel signed a three-year deal with Chelsea in August, joining the English club from Liga MX Femenil.
Why it took three years for Fishel to earn her second shot with the USWNT is anyone’s guess. She proved herself as a standout prospect in the youth system, having played on the U-15, U-17 and U-20 squads. At UCLA, she had 32 goals in 59 games, and her 14 goals as a freshman helped lead the Bruins to the national semifinals.
In 2020, she helped the U-20 USWNT squad to the CONCACAF U-20 Championship. She had 13 goals in that tournament, the most by a U.S. youth national team player in a single tournament.
Upon joining Liga MX, Fishel became a standout prospect while playing for Tigres. She joined the club after forgoing the NWSL following the 2022 draft, in which she was selected fifth overall by the Orlando Pride. For Tigres in 2022, Fishel scored 33 goals total, including 17 times in 17 games. The rookie star also captured the league’s Golden Boot award and won a championship.
Still, she remained waiting in the wings for the USWNT.
“Mia is a very good young player,” Andonovski said in January. “Right now, after looking at everything, we decided the players that we have in camp are going to give us the best chance to be successful.
“We analyze every goal that she scores,” he continued. “And analyze the difficulties of the goals, and compare to the players that we called up, and try to see how they would fit or how they would replicate [performances] on the team that we have.”
But Andonovski has resigned following a disappointing showing at the 2023 World Cup. General manager Kate Markgraf also has departed from her post. Interim head coach Twila Kilgore is tasked with leading the team during its September friendlies.
And with Fishel’s move from Liga MX to the Women’s Super League, she potentially increased her standing in the USWNT pool.
Fishel had returned to the national team ranks in February after being named to the U-23 roster. And now she’ll see her first USWNT camp in almost three years.