On October 21, 2022, Sixteen-year-old, Amalia Villarreal (Number 16), played in the U17 USYNT vs. Nigeria game in India during the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
Photo courtesy of US Soccer
By Rina Risper
The New Citizens Press
LANSING, MI – Sixteen-year-old, J.W. Sexton High School junior, Amalia Villarreal, recently played in The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,
abbreviated as CONCACAF, U-17 World Cup qualifiers. It is one of the Federal International Football Association’s (FIFA) six continental governing bodies for association football. FIFA controls the international sport of football, commonly known as soccer in the United States.
Villarreal played magnificently scoring five goals in one game. At the games held in the Dominican Republic, the United States team needed to place in the top three to qualify for the World Cup. Through hard play, skill, teamwork, and determination the team won first place.
Villarreal is used to traveling globally- ly. Soccer is a very competitive sport on the international level from traveling nationally to the US Soccer Complex in California to Dubai and Spain globally, she is a natural.
Before each game, Villarreal sweeps her hair into a ponytail and readies herself for the opponent. Operating from a place of knowing speed and talent along with working with her teammates anyone watching can tell that she has a natural skill. One of her most vital attributes is a passion for the game. She brings that compelling dedication, emotion, and commitment to the field.
“Soccer is so dynamic and fluid,” said Villarreal. “There are really no plays to memorize, but everything happens in the moment. It’s all about one’s ability to be able to step up and perform and make a difference.”
Mario Villarreal, the father of the soccer phenom, said that Villarreal was three years old when she first picked up a soccer ball. She started playing on a Lansing Parks and Recreation team. Her father, a coach of many sports, helped her fine tune and find her love for the sport. He added that even though she was involved with other activities like karate and flag football, she found her niche in soccer at 6 years old.
Her father said, “I did not play soccer myself but that was the one sport that stayed constant with her. Amalia was always pushing the
boundaries of success.”
Locally, Villarreal is currently on the roster for the Michigan Jaguars based in Novi, Michigan. She is also rostered on the Solar Soccer Club located in Dallas, Texas.
She mostly plays as a striker or center forward. Stated multiple times at the website, www.foresightsports.com. In soccer, strikers aim to convert passing plays ultimately into a goal. Most strikers need to be good and frequently keep their heads up to scan, and their feet quick enough to turn the defenders inside out. They’ll also need to be in the right place at the right time to receive passes and cause chaos as a result.
Dreams of the Future
As a child, Villarreal wrote about what she wanted to see in The Mirror of Erised from JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series. The Mirror of Erised was a magical mirror, which, according to Albus Dumbledore, showed the “deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts.”
The Mirror of Erised By Amalia Villarreal
“What I will see in the mirror is me with the US National jersey on. In the background will be the rest of the team and the stadium packed tight with fans cheering their hearts out since we won the FIFA World Cup. We will also have gold medals glimmering in the beaming sunlight that is half blinding. But most of all I will be seeing my family in the stands. My mom crying because how proud she is and how it reminded me of how on Mother’s Day we had won the Jag’s Cup in PK’s. I will see my dad partically (sic) crying but not enough to let me see and giving me his signature thumbs up. And Martina well she’s next to me already crying since she’s the team medical doctor.”
Now, Villarreal, the 5-foot-2 spitfire teenager is ranked nationally in the 2024 class by Top Drawer Soccer. She is a role model on and off the field, has a positive leadership mindset and a commitment to excellence that will lead her to the Olympics.
