USWNT defender Gisele Thompson is reuniting with her sister Alyssa as they prepare for a match against Japan. The sisters, who have been separated by club commitments, are now able to compete together on the national team.
USWNT defender Gisele Thompson is finding her way alongside sister Alyssa
USWNT defender Gisele Thompson is finding her way alongside sister Alyssa
Before the U.S. womenâs national teamâs first of three games against Japan on Saturday, head coach Emma Hayes played âBack Together Againâ by Roberta Flack featuring Donny Hathaway for Alyssa and Gisele Thompson.
It was an ode to the sistersâ reunion. Ever since the elder Alyssa split from their hometown team, Angel City FC in Los Angeles, to sign with Chelsea last year, the Thompsons, separated by 13 months, now only compete together when theyâre in national team camp.
In the chorus of the duet is the line: ââCause you, you and I back together again // got the world in a spin.â
But at just 20 years old, with eight caps on the national team, Gisele is steadily proving herself worthy of a spot on the 2027 World Cup roster and a chance to be back together again with her sister on footballâs biggest stage.
âI mean, how nice is that?â Hayes said. âYouâve got your sister playing in front of you, and theyâre going to die for each other on the field.â
For this weekâs âThree Wordsâ âŠ
Younger Thompson rising
Gisele earned her first call-up to senior national team camp in November 2024, but her first cap didnât come until February 2025 at the SheBelieves Cup. As tempting as the storyline has always been to thrust the Thompson sisters into the spotlight as the faces and futures of the USWNT, once Hayes took charge, she set all players on developmental paths that havenât always aligned with marketable narratives.
Gisele, now 20, wove in and out of senior camps last year, at times spending the international window with the under-23 squad. Even so, Hayes has been keen to bring her into the USWNT. When center-back Tierna Davidson sustained an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in March 2025, Gisele was plucked from the younger team.
She did not play in last Februaryâs U.S. loss to Japan, which makes her progression in that timeframe even more striking. During the 2026 SheBelieves Cup (in which Japan did not participate because they were competing in the Asian Cup), Hayes said she wanted to test Giseleâs endurance across multiple matches.
âGiselle knows that my goal with her is that I need her to be more durable,â Hayes said after the USWNTâs 1-0 victory over Canada in March. âSo I told her, âYouâre playing 90 minutes. Donât look at me. Youâre not coming off.ââ
Japan is an even bigger test.
The U.S. relies on its full backs to have the pace and discernment to propel themselves into the attack without sacrificing their defensive responsibilities. Adding to the challenge of playing Japan was the fact that U.S. center-back Emily Sonnett was pulled from the lineup at the last minute due to an injury from the previous dayâs training. Considering Hayesâ plan to utilize two primary rosters across the three fixtures â letâs call them Team A (which will play twice) and Team B â itâs telling that Gisele earned the start on Saturday in a lineup that looked mostly like Team A.
If you look at the Japan match as a continuation of Giseleâs growth from the SheBelieves Cup, her performance was a natural and positive progression. She has figured out how to account for her slight physical size when matching up against opponents, becoming an expert in spatial awareness. Captain Lindsey Heaps had the game-winning goal and Rose Lavelle the assist, but the counterattack that generated the play came from Giseleâs high press that forced a turnover for her sister Alyssa to pick up.
Thatâs the other factor. The Thompson sistersâ intuitive understanding of each other on the pitch canât be taught.
At best, it can be manufactured from years of repetition, but with just four starts together (the most of any sister duo in the U.S. programâs history), Gisele and Alyssa already match and elevate each otherâs shine. Itâs only a matter of time before they are consistently putting the world in a spin like Flack and Hathaway sang about.
But Giseleâs game isnât without its flaws.
âI think sheâs got to develop a couple of things defensively,â Hayes said. âLike second half, she stepped out in situations where sheâs got to stay in the back line, otherwise itâs a lot of running for Kennedy (Wesley), which it was.â
There was also an error (apparently due to a lapse in concentration) in the 61st minute when Giseleâs positioning during a Japanese counterattack kept striker (and Asian Cup Golden Boot winner) Riko Ueki onside as she dinked a header past U.S. goalkeeper Claudia Dickey, sullying their clean sheet.
âFrom a defensive perspective at the highest level, these are details that are going to really, really matter,â Hayes said. âI say that because I know she is not only capable of it, but she has to learn these things because when you play an opponent like Japan, if you watch the goal back, not getting pressure on the service is whatâs required at the highest level.â
With two matches against Japan remaining, the competition for a starting left full-back spot has taken on a new complexion. Defenders Avery Patterson and Lilly Reale have been in and out of recent national team camps due to illness and injury, respectively. They will likely get minutes in this window, and Emily Foxâs starting status at right back is essentially secured. Hayesâ assessment on the opposite side has become even tougher, courtesy of Gisele.
Of the three, Patterson has the most comprehensive attacking qualities as a full back. Realeâs delivery into the box is exceptional. And Gisele, for all of her own skills, also knows exactly how to unlock Alyssa, an edge that no other defender â or player â could come close to. The Thompson sisters have lost just once in the four matches theyâve started together: a 2-1 friendly against Brazil that also took place at PayPal Park last April.
Singers Flack and Hathaway are not siblings, but they were both Howard University students when they met on the historically black college campus in the late 1960s. They became creative co-conspirators and have featured on several of each otherâs projects, as well as an eponymous collaboration in 1972.
One of the tracks on that album is a cover of Carole Kingâs âYouâve Got a Friend.â Hayes didnât play that one for the Thompson sisters, but it could also hint at the potential for their partnership on the USWNT.
âYou just call out my name // And you know wherever I am // Iâll come running, running, running // To see you again.â
US Women's national team, Angel City, NWSL, Women's Soccer
2026 The Athletic Media Company
Q&A
What is the relationship between Gisele and Alyssa Thompson?
Gisele and Alyssa Thompson are sisters, with Gisele being the younger defender for the USWNT and Alyssa the elder.
Why did Alyssa Thompson leave Angel City FC?
Alyssa Thompson left Angel City FC to sign with Chelsea last year, which separated her from her sister in club play.
When is the USWNT's first game against Japan?
The USWNT's first game against Japan is scheduled for Saturday.
What song was played to celebrate the reunion of the Thompson sisters?
The song played to celebrate the reunion of the Thompson sisters was 'Back Together Again' by Roberta Flack featuring Donny Hathaway.
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