San Jose’s Naomi Girma providing steady presence for shaky USWNT at Women’s World Cup

It has been a frustrating and underwhelming performance for the U.S. women’s national team so far at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

But as the offense struggles to score and the midfield struggles to possess the ball, one player has been vital, anchoring the American’s solid defensive performance: San Jose native Naomi Girma.

Girma has been a big part of the U.S. only allowing one goal through three matches in New Zealand, using her intelligence and quickness to anticipate opponents’ movements and cut off opportunities before they have gotten dangerous.

To those watching the women’s game closest, it’s pretty clear what path the 23-year-old Girma is heading on.

“Naomi Girma is going to be the best center back in the world,” Aly Wagner, Fox’s lead analyst at the Women’s World Cup, said before the tournament. “I think the potential is limitless for her.”

That potential has been building for a long time. Born in San Jose as the child of Ethiopian immigrants, Girma attended Pioneer High School and earned a scholarship to Stanford.

Once there, Girma was named a captain as a sophomore, earned Pac-12 Defender of the Year honors in 2019 and helped lead her team to that year’s national championship — which the Cardinal won at PayPal Park in her hometown, no less.

The following year, challenges hit: Competitive sports shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic and Girma tore her ACL in October 2020 in a training session. Girma recently wrote in The Players’ Tribune about the struggles she endured trying to rehabilitate during the pandemic and how teammate Katie Meyer helped Girma keep pushing through physical therapy.

The push worked. She once again earned Pac-12 Defender of the Year in 2021, even scoring four goals, and became the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 National Women’s Soccer League Draft by the expansion club San Diego Wave.

In her first full professional season, Girma won NWSL Rookie of the Year and Defender of the Year, finishing in the top five of NWSL MVP voting and helping the Wave reach the playoffs in its first season of existence.

She also quickly earned her way into the national team conversation and made her debut on April 12, 2022 in a friendly against Uzbekistan. She has been in head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s starting lineup for almost every big match since.

“She reads the game so well and understands the game and seems like she’s always a step ahead of the game,” Andonovski said before the tournament. “That allows her to be successful in her actions.”

Her importance only grew larger once the Americans’ longtime center back mainstay, Becky Sauerbrunn, was left off the World Cup roster because of an injury. Girma has been paired with Santa Clara alum Julie Ertz through the group stage, though Ertz is typically a midfielder.

Sophia Smith has played alongside Girma for years, both on youth national teams growing up and then at Stanford. Now starting together at the World Cup, Girma’s ascension is less surprising to Smith, who calls Girma her best friend.

“I’m happy to see people finally realizing what I think a lot of us have known her whole career,” Smith said. “I think Naomi is amazing and I think she’s only going to continue to grow and get better and be a leader and I can’t wait to watch her do that.”

In the eyes of Fox’s lead play-by-play commentator and longtime women’s soccer broadcaster J.P. Dellacamera, Girma’s club coach in San Diego has helped accelerate her development.

“Casey Stoney played at the highest level for England at that position. There’s no question in my mind that she has been very helpful to Girma,” Dellacamera said. “I think that’s been a plus, and the fact that she’s been a regular for club and country now for two years, so her confidence is good.”

Beyond her confidence, the thing that continues to stand out to Wagner is the presence Girma brings to the back line. When things are going wrong — for San Diego and for the U.S. — it’s Girma who’s there to make them right.

“She has the physical tools, but at such a young age, she’s already one of the most mature and calm players on the field,” Wagner said. “I just think that the maturity that she has, her ability to read the game and make the right decision at the right time, is really remarkable for someone at such a young age.”

It’s certainly something that will make her a superstar for years to come —  and has already earned her a three-year maximum salary extension with the Wave, taking the Bay Area native out of the potential options for Wagner’s Bay FC once they can begin acquiring players.

Girma’s future is secure thanks to the work she’s already done, but she is mainly focused on the present.

“This past year has been great, but it’s been building towards this summer,” Girma said. “I think now, it’s all eyes on New Zealand and Australia and going out and performing at the World Cup.”

Through the group stage, she’s done exactly that.

And she’ll need to keep performing in order for the USWNT to win its third consecutive World Cup.