Swanson returns to US spotlight older and wiser ahead of World Cup

NEW YORK : With a blockbuster 2023 that shows no sign of slowing down, United States forward Mallory Swanson has shed her early "wunderkind" image and unveiled what she calls a 'Mal 3.0' version of herself ahead of this year's Women's World Cup.

The 24-year-old flicked her seventh goal of the year into the net at the SheBelieves Cup last month in an astonishing run that underlined her claim to a spot in the squad when the U.S. seek an unprecedented third straight World Cup title.

But her meteoric rise has come with hard-fought battles. She was hailed as the future of U.S. soccer when she made her national team debut aged 17 in 2016.

Months later, at 18, she became the youngest U.S. player to score at an Olympics during the Rio Games, a performance that saw enormous expectations placed on her young shoulders.

"I feel like (I was) labelled as something, when I first started playing soccer and I didn't really realise that as that was going on," she said.

Swanson earned a spot on the 2019 World Cup roster, helping her team to their fourth title in France and basking in a victory parade through Manhattan with her team mates.

But the job grew harder. She suffered injuries that kept her off the field for long stretches in 2020 and 2021. When she was on the pitch, her performances were labelled "inconsistent."

When head coach Vlatko Andonovski named his squad for the 2020 Tokyo Games, she did not make the cut.

"One of the toughest conversations that she probably had in her career was with me when the Olympic roster was announced," Andonovski recalled to reporters at last month's SheBelieves Cup. "I'm glad she took the direction that she did."

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Through the ups and downs, Swanson said she has learned to care less about