Published: 17:56, 31 March 2026 | Updated: 17:56, 31 March 2026

Hanging up on Alyssa Thompson’s wall is a picture of her playing football alongside her younger sister Gisele at Angel City.

It was a time before one of Europe’s biggest clubs came knocking to take her away from her family and from the sunny streets of her hometown Los Angeles to where the freezing days never end and derby rivalries are the talk of the town.

‘I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to how cold it is,’ she tells Daily Mail Sport, who reminds her that the warmer days are coming.

‘That's what everyone's been saying,’ she replies, with a hint of a smile.

The picture from her Angel City days – hanging alongside a framed album cover of R&B singer Sade – is also a reminder of how far the young forward has come in such a short amount of time.

At just 21 years old, Thompson is already three-and-a-half years into making her national team debut, coming on for Megan Rapinoe in a friendly match against Sarina Wiegman’s...