Naomi Haile Girma (born June 14, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center back for Women's Super League club Chelsea and the United States national team.
She attended Hacienda Elementary School and YMCA after-school basketball matches, following in her brother's footsteps in sports.
[8] Girma joined local youth club Central Valley Crossfire in 2010, after impressing coaches during a practice to which a friend invited her, and played there until its dissolution in 2017.
Playing under Crossfire coach Bob Joyce, Girma was encouraged to participate in Olympic Development Program events and was called into the United States under-14 national team camp.
She subsequently became a guest player for De Anza Force,[4] and also played for the California Thorns Academy[3][10][8] and Pioneer High School.
[11] She was ranked by TopDrawerSoccer as the fifth-best college prospect of the 2018 class and part of Stanford's top-ranked cohort alongside Sophia Smith.
[12] Girma played all but one game for the Stanford Cardinal in her freshman season in 2018, making 23 appearances (22 starts),[3] featuring alongside senior Alana Cook in central defense.
[13] The reigning national champions finished the regular season undefeated, claiming the Pac-12 Conference for the fourth time in a row.
1–seeded Stanford,[3] scoring her first two college goals in their 4–1 win against Ole Miss in the second round,[15] as they reached the semifinals, losing 2–0 to eventual champions No.
[4] She made her professional debut in the Wave's inaugural game on March 19, 2022, starting in a 1–1 draw against Angel City FC in the group stage of the NWSL Challenge Cup.
[25] She started 19 games in the 2022 regular season,[26] featuring primarily alongside Kaleigh Riehl in central defense after Abby Dahlkemper was injured.
[38] Girma helped the Shield holders win the season-opening 2024 NWSL Challenge Cup, shutting out defending playoff champions NJ/NY Gotham FC 1–0 on March 17, 2024.
[39] She played in a career-high 20 games in the 2024 regular season,[40] but the Wave struggled to repeat their success, finishing 10th of 14 teams and missing the playoffs for the first time.
[4][46][47][48] Girma received her first call-up to the United States senior team in December 2019 but had to withdraw due to injury.
[55] During the first half, she started the sequence that led to the U.S.' second goal by lobbing the ball into the box to Alex Morgan who headed it to scorer Sophia Smith.
[60][61] She was the only field player to play every minute of the tournament through to the gold medal game against Brazil, which the United States won 1–0 on a goal from Mallory Swanson.