Albert played for the national under-20 team before making her senior international debut in 2023. She won the gold medal with national team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Early life
Albert was born in Grayslake, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and rose to prominence amongst the USYNT player pool while playing for Eclipse Select Soccer Club[3] and the summer of 2019 with WPSL club FC Milwaukee Torrent.[4] During this time period, Albert represented the US's youth national set-up at various age groupings and was also named the player of the season for Eclipse's league in her area twice (2018–19 and 2020–21).[5][6]
College career
Albert reclassified and joined the University of Notre Dame a year early in 2021.[7] During two seasons with the university, Albert received a number of individual honors for her performance. For the 2021 season, she was named as part of the nationwide freshmen Best XI while also being named third-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).[8]
In her second and final season in 2022, Albert was a first-team All-American and All-ACC selection.[9][10] Albert was also named the ACC's Midfielder of the Year and was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy given to the best collegiate player in the country.[11][12] Albert scored three times in four knockout stage matches of the 2022 NCAA Tournament, but her team were eliminated by conference rivals North Carolina at the quarterfinal stage.[citation needed]
Club career
Paris Saint-Germain (2023–present)
On January 31, 2023, Albert officially gave up her final two years of eligibility with Notre Dame to sign for Paris Saint-Germain on an initial two-and-a-half-year contract.[13] Albert scored her first goal with her new club on December 20, 2023, in a UEFA Champions League game against AS Roma.[14]
International career
Albert has been an American youth international at various different levels. In June 2022, Albert was part of the squad that represented the United States at the Sud Ladies Cup where the team were crowned champions.[15] On July 25, 2022, Albert was named in the US' squad for the U-20 World Cup in Costa Rica.[16] She started two matches at the tournament though the United States was eliminated in the group phase.[17] In total, she made six appearances for the U-20 team.[18]
In November 2023, Albert received her first call-up to the senior national team,[19] and made her international debut against China in a friendly on December 5, 2023. She earned her first start and second cap on February 20, 2024, against the Dominican Republic in a group stage match of the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup.[20]
Albert was selected to the 18-player roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics in France.[21] She scored her first international goal to help defeat Australia 2–1 in the third Olympic group stage game on July 31.[22] She started in the gold medal game against Brazil, which the United States won 1–0 on a goal from Mallory Swanson assisted on a through pass from Albert.[23]
Social media controversy
In March 2024, Albert re-posted a video of a sermon on TikTok that suggested being gay or transgender was "wrong".[24] Albert's social media history also revealed she had liked a meme celebrating Megan Rapinoe's injury in the 2023 NWSL final.[25][26][27][28] Albert later posted an apology on her Instagram account.[29]
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