Sisters Alyssa and Giselle Thompson know first-hand the pressures of playing on the World Cup stage, so they empathize with the USA Men’s Team as they take the field on American soil as they advance to the Round of 32.
“I think when you think about pressure, don’t let it get to you because you can focus on your practice and what you’ve done before, which is really important,” 21-year-old Alice tells Muscles and fitness only when interacting with Verizon for its comprehensive loyalty program, Verizon Shine, allows customers to win a once-in-a-lifetime experience like watching the World Cup finals. “And I think the men are very ready for what’s ahead.”
Both stars agree that pressure at this level is inevitable, but it’s how you react to it that can determine performance.
“I feel like playing for your country is always a lot of pressure because you want to win,” adds 20-year-old Gisele. “You’re pressed for honor and you want to win and I think every game is going to be a tough game. So having that pressure to win and wanting to play your best, in front of your country and wanting to win, it’s not a big thing like this and I think it’s not a big thing. Controlling what you can control is really important.”
Alyssa played as a forward and winger for Team USA in the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Prior to this, the Chelsea FC star played in the 2022 FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup in Costa Rica.
Thompson’s younger sister, who plays as a defender for Angel City FC, played for Colombia’s 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup squad and was a key component in helping them reach the knockout stages.
The sisters are aiming for the Women’s World Cup in 2027
Both sisters are making a strong case for inclusion in the 2027 Women’s World Cup squad.
While neither sister has to play their tournament games on American soil, they know what it’s like to play at home in Los Angeles and how important that advantage is to the men.
“I think having your fans there supporting you and your country standing behind you gives you more motivation to want to do more and win for your country,” says Gisele. “I think even when the other team turns the ball over, just hearing your crowd cheer for you gives me a boost. I know everybody else gets more motivated to want to work harder and win. So I think that’s definitely an advantage.”
For Gisele, this energy of the crowd not only helps to get the job done, but it also helps to relieve the pressure that comes with the moment.
“You have the fans behind you and I know people will probably feel the pressure, but it’s more about feeling the pride and passion of the fans,” adds Gisele. “And that’s how you can stop that pressure.”
Although the stakes of the race are high, both sisters admit that they did not train differently, but tried to focus on creating similarities for their races.
“I feel like one thing that definitely helped was practicing in the environments we were playing in and what it would be like to get used to it,” says Giselle. “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 the first time we did it together, it was really important, but I think the overall experience was really fun.”
“I want to train with Angel City, I was just trying to get better, like 1% better every day,” Alyssa adds. “I don’t think I changed too much until the World Cup because I think it was really weather for me. I was still a first-year pro and still learning a lot about what it means to play at this level.”
Learn to calm down before you start playing
To calm their emotions, the sisters rely on their conversation and find the right thing to listen to before the game.
“For me, I feel like I’m listening to relaxing music before I play,” says Alisa. “I don’t really like to get too excited before a game because then I get stressed and I feel that my body feels like I’ve already played before I go out. So I try to relax with music and also my thoughts.
Like Alyssa, Giselle relies on a pre-game routine built around music and visualization to calm her nerves and get into it.
“I feel like I get really nervous before games, so just putting the music on and kind of staying in my own space, I feel like that really helps me,” Gisele adds. “Kind of figuring out the game and what I want to do well on the court and just kind of my simple first passes and first touches, I think that’s what I really focus on. That’s kind of my pregame routine.”
Competition can last for weeks, so the sisters recommend that it’s important to rest and refuel the team when possible to reach their peak in time.
“I think it’s very different every time because of what time the game is,” says Alyssa. “If I’m playing late, I have an eating routine, especially in the morning I’ll eat a big meal and then I’ll eat smaller meals later in the day. But if it’s a pregame, I’ll probably just eat a big meal and then a little snack. I like to sleep before I go to bed because I don’t want to be tired before the game. I think about the game a lot, so I just reset my brain and relax when I can, and sometimes some sort of distraction – watching a show or listening to music I find helps me relax.
Gisele replicates this game-day rhythm, relying on both smart fueling and strategic nighttime fueling to ensure she’s at her peak.
“Fueling is really important to help you peak during the game,” Giselle adds. Also, sometimes I take a nap to make me feel energized. I think it’s basically what you eat throughout the day to make sure that when it’s game time you feel your best and have enough energy to last the whole game. “
How to get over World Cup disappointment
While the USWNT was eliminated in the round of 16 in 2023, Alyssa still has fond memories of what it was like to reach such a big stage in her career.
“Honestly, I was shocked at that moment,” admits Alice. “I was so young and I couldn’t believe I was at the World Cup. It was really great and maybe I should think about it more but I don’t because it seems like a long time ago and the tournament obviously didn’t go the way we wanted it to, so I tried to brush it off to be honest.”
Looking back now, Alyssa says the experience is how she processes both disappointment and growth on the big stage.
“I think as players we learn a lot about forgetting things that don’t serve us and having a short-term memory because we can never get too high or never get too low on things,” he continues. I think it’s a learning lesson for our team, but it’s something we don’t need to talk about going into the next tournament.”
With the men’s finals at the Met Life Stadium at the end of July, Thompson are hoping to make some fans’ dreams come true with tickets to play alongside football legend David Beckham. Verizon users should be ready to go to their apps and sign up for sweepstakes like this one and more on Mondays all summer long. Meeting fans became more than just a game of this partnership, as the conversation quickly turned from ticket wins to more personal inquiries.
“It was fun just talking to a bunch of people who were so passionate about soccer, and I think even giving them tickets, I think they were really interested in our history,” says Giselle, who gave away thousands of golden tickets ahead of the World Cup with Verizon. I keep telling this one story where I said to them, “Oh, you’re getting World Cup tickets,” and they said, “Can I ask you one more question?” They really didn’t care. They kind of wanted to know more about my story, which I thought was really cool, but seeing how caring and excited they were was something we’ll never forget. “
Both ladies admit that they intend to go to the next FIFA World Cup, but for now they support the men with everything.
“You’re going to make us proud no matter what the outcome,” says Alice. “Just win your battles, work hard and give it your all.”
With that in mind, her sister remains focused on believing in what they’ve already done.
“I would say trust your preparation,” adds Giselle. “They’ve been preparing for this tournament for a while, so they just know that you’ve done everything you can to get to where you are, and now it’s time.”
