Mal Swanson looked to the sky in thought, as if reliving a visualization in her mind. "I feel like I've seen that goal happen before."
The 26-year-old had just scored a brace against South Korea in her home state of Colorado as the USWNT prepared for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Swanson has replayed this script in her head for years, forced to sit and wait for her chance to prove to the world she is one of the best players in the land.
Swanson has been a world champion before — she was part of the 2019 Women's World Cup squad that won the title, but as a 21-year-old, she was just a budding star at the time. The 2023 tournament in Australia was meant to be her time, her breakout, her tournament.
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It was trending that way, too — Swanson was in blistering form heading into last summer's FIFA showcase, scoring eight goals in six straight games from November 2022 to February 2023. That's what made the cruel patella tendon tear in April so cruel, so unfair. Last summer was supposed to be Mal Swanson's time.
Yet the story played out how it did, and Swanson missed the Women's World Cup as the USWNT crashed out in the quarterfinals, its worst finish at the event in history.
As Swanson looked toward her next opportunity, just a year away, but the narrative had shifted. Instead of being the next in a long line of stars, Swanson now has the opportunity to be the hero the USWNT hoped it would never need — she could be the one to lift them back to global dominance, back to the top of the women's football ladder.
"There's something I'm going to get out of this, something I can't even wrap my head around right now," Swanson told The Sporting News after her injury last summer. "What could be better than not going to the World Cup? Something really good will come out of this, and only time will tell."
Well, the time is now telling. After a pair of goals in the opening win over Zambia, Swanson has placed herself as the leader among the U.S. attack. With Catarina Macario out injured, Jaedyn Shaw battling a leg injury, and Sophia Smith facing a scare in the opener, as well, Swanson is again a titanic figure in the U.S. attack, and the team's Olympic hopes rest squarely on her shoulders.
She proved game-changing again against Germany in their second group match, heavily involved in the first U.S. goal scored by Sophia Smith before bagging one herself to go 2-1 up thanks to killer reactive instincts.
Mallory Swanson is ON. FIRE.
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) July 28, 2024
Three goals in two #ParisOlympics games!
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There's no debate now that Mal Swanson is a world-class player, and she could be headed toward a Ballon d'Or if she continues to register superstar performances. She has seven goals and three assists for her NWSL side Chicago Red Stars in 15 appearances amidst a playoff push.
Her football skills are undoubtedly exceptional, but her best skill set is the one you can't really teach — off-ball movement. Swanson not only finds space for herself with excellent runs, but she also has a sensational feel for the game by pulling defenders out of position to create opportunities for her fellow forwards.
"Mal's a tremendous football player, she really is," said USWNT head coach Emma Hayes during the pre-Olympic friendlies. "She's someone who can play out wide, cover touchline wide, she plays in the pockets really well, she plays off the nine really well, she creates overloads in a clever way, and I've said it before she can be a nine because she finishes."
Hayes knows it will be her job as head coach to find out how to get the best out of Swanson up front in the USWNT setup, needing to find ways to prop up the Colorado native's best attributes.
"While she has unbelievable attributes, it's important for us to give her the support around her so that she can be successful at the level we all know she can be," Hayes said.
Suffice it to say, that looks to be playing out already. Swanson's three goals have her tied for the tournament lead with Smith and Zambia's Barbra Banda, and she's combining well with teammates.
There are a host of critical pieces on the USWNT, but Swanson may be the most vital of them all. The USWNT can only go as far as a revitalized Swanson can take them, and as it appears so far, she's ready to take them back to their old heights.
