Sisters Alyssa and Gisele Thompson know firsthand the pressure of playing on the World Cup stage, so they empathize with what the U.S. men’s team is feeling as they take the field on American soil and advance to the Round of 32.
“I think when you think about pressure, don’t let it affect you because you can rely on your practice and what you’ve done before is what’s really important,” says Alyssa, 21. muscle and health especially when partnering Verizon For its innovative loyalty program, Verizon Shine, which gives customers a chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime experience like watching the World Cup final. “And I think men are very prepared for what’s coming next.”
Both stars agree that pressure is inevitable at this stage, but how you react to it can define a performance.
“I think there’s always a lot of pressure playing for your country because you want to win,” says 20-year-old Gisele. Important.”
Alyssa played forward and winger for Team USA at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Earlier, the Chelsea FC star played at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica.
The younger Thompson sister, who plays as a defender for Angel City FC, played in Colombia’s 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup squad and was a key component in helping them advance to the knockout stage.
Sisters aim for 2027 Women’s World Cup
Both siblings have strong claims to make the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup squad.
Although neither sister got the chance to play their tournament games on American soil, they know what it’s like to play on home turf in Los Angeles and how important that advantage is to the men.
“I think having your fans there to support you and your country standing behind you gives you more motivation to work hard and win for your country,” says Gisele. “I think hearing the crowd cheering loudly for you, even when the other team turns the ball over, excites me. I know that gives everyone else more motivation to work hard and win. So, I think that’s definitely an advantage.”
For Gisele, the energy of the crowd not only fuels the performance — it also helps re-instill the pressure that comes with that moment.
“You have the fans behind you, and I know people will probably feel pressure, but it’s just about feeling the pride and passion from the fans,” Gisele says. “And that’s how you can prevent that pressure.”
Although the stakes are high in the tournament, both sisters admit that they did not do any separate training, but instead tried to focus on creating similarities for their respective tournaments.
“I feel like the thing that definitely helped was training in the environment that we were going to play in and getting used to what that was going to look like,” Gisele says. “Especially, the heat or the altitude, just getting used to those areas. And like playing in front of a big crowd for the first time was something that I think a lot of us haven’t experienced before. I think for a lot of us, because it was our first time doing it together, it was really important, but I think the overall experience was really fun.”
“I felt like training with Angel City, I was trying my best to get better, like 1% better every day,” says Alyssa. “I don’t think I’ve changed much before the World Cup, just because I think it was really up in the air for me. I was still a first-year professional and still learning a lot about what it means to play at this level.”
learning to stay calm before kick off
To calm their emotions, the sisters rely on self-talk while finding the perfect thing to listen to before game time.
“For me, I feel like I listen to quiet music before I play,” says Alyssa. “I don’t really like to get too excited before playing because then I get stressed and I feel like my body feels like I’ve just played a game before I even go on the field. So I try to calm down with the music and also my thoughts. Remind myself of my preparation, and just be confident in my abilities and what I bring.”
Like Alyssa, Giselle relies on a pre-game routine built around music and visualization to settle her nerves and keep herself steady.
“I feel like I get really nervous before games, so playing music and being in my own space really helps me,” says Gisele. “Visualizing the game and the things I want to do well on the field and the first simple pass and my first touch, I think I really focus on that. That’s kind of my routine before the game.”
Tournaments can last for several weeks, so the sisters advise that resting and refueling whenever possible is important for the team to peak at the right time.
“I think it’s very different every time because of the time of the game,” says Alyssa. “If I’m playing late, I have a routine about when I’ll eat, especially big meals in the morning, and then I’ll eat smaller meals throughout the day. But if it’s an earlier game, I’ll probably just have one big meal and then just have a snack. I like to take a nap earlier because I don’t want to be tired before my game. Or when I get into the game and rest my mind, and I feel like I’m thinking about the game too much, so Just resetting my mind and calming myself down in those moments when I can and, sometimes, distracting myself – watching a show or listening to music helps me calm myself down.
Gizelle replicates that game-day rhythm, relying on both smart fueling and strategic naps to make sure she’s at her peak.
“Fueling is really important to help you peak during sports,” says Gisele. Apart from this, sometimes I also take a nap to make myself feel energetic. I think it’s mostly just what you eat throughout the day to make sure that when game time comes, you feel your best and have enough energy to last through the entire game.
How to move on from World Cup disappointment?
While the USWNT was eliminated in the Round of 16 in 2023, Alyssa still has memories of what it was like to walk onto such a big stage in her career.
“To be honest, I was surprised during that moment,” Alyssa admits. “I was very young and I couldn’t believe I was at the World Cup. It was really cool, and I probably should think about it more, but I don’t because it feels like it happened so long ago and that tournament obviously didn’t go the way we wanted, so I honestly tried to brush it off.”
Looking back now, Alyssa says that experience reshaped the way she handles both disappointment and growth on the big stage.
“I think as players, we learn a lot to forget things that don’t serve us and kind of have a short-term memory because we can never get too high or never get too low on things,” she adds. I think it’s something that’s a learning lesson for our team, but also something that we don’t need to worry about going into the next tournament.
With the men’s final being held at the Met Life Stadium at the end of July, Thompson is hoping to fulfill some fans’ dreams with tickets to the game alongside football legend David Beckham. Verizon users should be prepared to head to their apps on Mondays throughout the summer and register for more sweepstakes like this one. Interacting with fans became more than just a game for this partnership as the conversation soon turned from winning tickets to more personal inquiries.
“It was so fun to talk to a group of people who were so passionate about soccer and I think that even though they were gifted tickets, I think they were also very interested in our story,” says Gisele, who along with Verizon is giving away thousands of golden tickets ahead of the World Cup. I keep telling this one story like, I told him, ‘Oh, you’re winning FIFA World Cup tickets,’ and then he said, ‘Can I ask you another question?’ He didn’t really care. They wanted to know more about my story, which I thought was really cool, but to see how much they cared and how excited they were, it was something we’ll never forget.
Both women admit they have their sights set on going to the next FIFA Women’s World Cup, but for now they are cheering on the men.
Alyssa says, “No matter the outcome, you will make us proud.” “Just win your battles, work hard and give it your all.”
Paying it forward, her sister keeps the faith focused on the work they’ve already done.
“I would say trust your preparation,” says Gisele. “They’ve been preparing for this tournament for a while, so just knowing that you’ve done everything you can to get to that point, and now, it’s just time to go.”
