Three years ago, Sophia Wilson never could have dreamed she’d be in this position.
It was the spring of 2023, and Wilson was participating in a U.S. women’s national team media day ahead of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. One of the many questions she was asked that day was about the moms on the roster. There were three: Alex Morgan, Crystal Dunn and Julie Ertz.
At the time, Wilson looked at them as examples of what she aspired to be — an athlete in the prime of her career who was also a mom.
Now here we are in 2026, about a year out from the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, and Wilson is one of those moms she always looked up to.
“It’s so special,” Wilson told a group of reporters via Zoom on Thursday. “I don’t think I could have imagined it. I think I knew I always wanted to be a mom. I’ve always been very maternal and I love kids and feel like that’s my biggest calling in life is to be a mom. So I just feel very fortunate that I’m in the position I’m in, having players like Alex go through it was just the coolest thing to see.”
Wilson, 25, was just named to her first national team roster in 15 months after her pregnancy and giving birth to her daughter, Gigi, in August. Her last appearance for the U.S. was Oct. 24, 2024 in a 3-1 win over Iceland. The superstar forward — and one third of the USA’s famous “Triple Espresso” — is a massive re-addition to a squad that’s preparing for World Cup qualifying later this year, and she will likely feature in three upcoming April matches against Japan.
When Wilson steps on the field next, she’ll be the 18th mom ever to play for the USWNT, and the next time she scores a goal, she’ll be the ninth mom to do so.
“Being that player that I once viewed Alex as is pretty surreal,” Wilson said. “And I hope that I carry myself in the same way that Alex did where it showed younger girls and athletes that it is very possible to do both — have a family and play at a high level and just do all the things.”
(Photo by Michael Miller/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
Coming back from pregnancy is an experience unlike any other. For Wilson, it was a balancing act of tempering her competitive juices with being patient with herself. She missed the entire 2025 NWSL season while pregnant, and recently returned from maternity leave. She played in her first game for the Portland Thorns on March 13 vs. the Washington Spirit.
Wilson has been building minutes with her club, but has yet to play a full 90. That day is coming though.
“Getting back to playing at a high level is not just a straight path,” Wilson said. “It’s not going to happen with the snap of my fingers. A lot of work went into it behind the scenes that a lot of people didn’t see and a lot of work is still going into it.
“It’s just being gracious with myself and going into it with the perspective of, look at what my body has done for me and what it’s still continuing to do for me and knowing that it is very possible to be great at both things: be a great mom and be a great athlete.”
Wilson understands that women — be them athletes or not — may feel pressure to come back to regularly scheduled programming after pregnancy sooner rather than later. But she is happy with how she’s been able to take her time and go about in her own way.
“I think just knowing myself, knowing my body, knowing that it will take time to get back — I wouldn’t even say normal because what is normal? — but just get back to feeling like 100% myself,” Wilson said. “But I feel like I’m in a really great place right now. I think I’ve taken this journey the right way. I think I’ve gone about it the right way. I’ve had so much support, so much help, and I haven’t felt pressured in any way.”
(Photo by Amanda Loman/NWSL via Getty Images)
