Isabella Sosa and Evie Estine are getting ready for the trip of a lifetime.
The 13-year-old soccer standouts were selected to represent the United States in the Gothia Cup in Sweden, also known as the Youth World Cup.
“I’m so excited because I want to get other opportunities to see how other girls play against me, other girls from other countries. I’m like really excited because, you know, you this is a once in a lifetime experience,” Sosa said.
Estine says she’s been working hard to make her dream a reality.
“It’s been my dream since I was really young and I never thought I’d be able to do that,” she said.
Both Isabella and Evie have dreams of playing in college and then for the United States women’s national team.
This will be their first taste of international competition.
“I’m looking forward to the new people I get to meet internationally, professional players and just learning more skills,” Estine said.
It’s a chance for scouts to take notice of top talent.
“My goal when I’m there is I get scouted by people from the United States or worldwide,” Sosa said.
They’re teammates and best friends, making this journey even more memorable.
“They really feed well off each other. Evie plays striker position and Bella plays Winger, which means that they drive the ball to each other so that they score,” said Isabella’s mom, Daniela Pinto. “A lot of the videos that you see of them together playing, they play so well because they know each other’s styles so well.”
Their moms have seen their dedication to the sport firsthand.
“They practice 6 to 7 hours a week in addition to playing both Saturday and Sunday’s, typically games back-to-back anywhere between 10 to 20 hours in addition a week to just play soccer,” Pinto said. “They are outstanding both in their skills and it takes those elite athletes to get invited to participate in this Youth World Cup.”
They’ve had to fundraise for their travel expense. The duo created their own website, including a GoFundMe page and made soccer tutorials to gain support.
They want to show that the United States is competitive on the field and kind off it. To do that, they’re making bag clips to gift to players of other countries, each with a positive message.
“They’ve supposed to make you feel empowered,” Sosa said.
They’re hoping the Gothia Cup is the first of many international tournaments.
“They’re so excited, they’re so talented, they both deserve to be there, this is hopefully just the stat of their ever-growing careers as soccer players,” Pinto said.
