Emma Hayes' side are pursuing a fifth-successive league title this season, and the young American can help massively in that, as her debut showed
When Chelsea manager Emma Hayes sat down for her post-match press conference on Sunday, after the Blues had opened their new Women’s Super League season with a 2-1 win over Spurs, one journalist wanted to talk about Lauren James. The England star has captured the attention of a nation in the past year and showed her quality again at the weekend when she netted Chelsea’s second.
Hayes, though, wanted to talk about others. She wanted to talk about Niamh Charles, James’ England team-mate who assisted both goals, and she wanted to talk about Mia Fishel, the lesser-known American forward who scored on her debut, having led the line in the absence of Sam Kerr.
“She is so coachable and malleable,” Hayes said of the forward, who joined the Blues this summer from Mexican side Tigres. “Whatever instruction we're giving her she is just picking it up right away. I think she's very thoughtful about her intention. She really wanted to come to Chelsea and she knew the squad. She wants to be there training with the best and learning.”
Fishel was excellent on her debut, playing brilliantly with her back to goal as Chelsea’s starting centre-forward. Her neat footwork, strength to hold off Spurs defenders and link-up play with her new team-mates all stood out, the latter particularly impressive with James despite this being the pair’s first competitive outing together.
The moment the 22-year-old will remember most, though, came in the 28th minute when she headed Charles’ cross beyond goalkeeper Becky Spencer to give Chelsea, the club she has supported since she was eight years old, the lead at Stamford Bridge.
“It’s a dream come true,” she told the cameras afterwards. It’s a dream that has so much more to come, too. It’s early days but Fishel looks to be exactly what Chelsea – and Kerr – need as they pursue a record fifth-successive WSL title.
GettyAn unorthodox path
Fishel’s path to joining one of the biggest clubs in the world, her childhood team and the dominant force in English women’s football, has been by no means ordinary. As a 20-year-old, she was one of the top attacking prospects in the 2022 NWSL Draft and it was no surprise to see the Orlando Pride jump at the chance to select her as the fifth overall pick in December 2021. The club had just seen Alex Morgan leave for the San Diego Wave and the coach, Amanda Cromwell, worked with Fishel at college.
But the young forward wanted something that the draft couldn’t give her. “I wanted to take control of my own destiny,” she told GOAL in early 2022. Instead of moving to Orlando, Fishel crossed the border into Mexico. She signed for Tigres, one of the top teams in Liga MX Femenil, a league massively on the up that had only allowed foreign signings for the first time in 2021, having been founded just four years prior.
“What I did was historic,” she said. “You don't see U.S. players coming to Mexico. This hasn't been done yet. The rate at which the league has been growing was very appealing. They've only been here for five years or so and the global media recognition, the passionate fans, playing in [large] stadiums, you just don't get that in the U.S. I think that I deserve to be in a place where I would be appreciated and seen.”
AdvertisementGettyA force in Mexico
Fishel’s comments upon joining Tigres showed the belief she had in herself and also her ambition. If anyone had any doubts as to why, then she exhibited all the reasons with her performances in Mexico. The forward netted 47 goals in 64 games across two seasons, those contributions helping her team to win two major titles and herself a Golden Boot.
“On the absolute rise, not because of hype, but because of true genuine desire to grow and be the best version of herself day in and day out,” Tigres head coach Carmelina Moscato said of Fishel earlier this year. “I mean it when I say it’s her driving the bus. I’m just there for guidance. She’s vision clear.”
GettyFlying under the radar
But despite Fishel hitting the back of the net at a remarkable rate in a league that was regularly proving that it was constantly growing in quality, one thing was missing: a call from the United States women’s national team.
She had been involved in a training camp in late 2020 while still at college, but onlookers were left surprised time and time again that head coach Vlatko Andonovski otherwise opted against bringing Fishel in to evaluate her in the national-team environment, even while she was on fire for Tigres.
“We do follow her form and her performances,” he said in August 2022. “But I also have to say that there are a lot of players in the NWSL that are performing as good as or maybe better than Mia that we’re very happy to see.”
Back in January, the message was the same. “Mia is a very good young player,” Andonovski said, before adding: “Right now, after looking at everything, we decided the players that we have in camp are going to give us the best chance to be successful.”
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GettyMoving on up
Sadly, that never changed in Andonovski’s tenure or while Fishel was in Mexico. Whether that was about the player, the coach or the league, it’s unclear, but things have changed dramatically in the last few weeks.
On August 4, Fishel completed her dream move when she was announced as a Chelsea player. “I’m excited to know London, to meet the people and get to know everybody,” she said. “I’m blessed and excited to start this journey with Chelsea.”
A few weeks later, before she had even kicked a ball competitively for her new club, Fishel was called into a USWNT camp by interim coach Twila Kilgore, the 43-year-old taking the position after Andonovski left his role following the team’s shock last-16 exit at the 2023 Women’s World Cup. On September 24, against South Africa, Fishel made her senior international debut.
“Dreams to reality,” she wrote on social media. “And it’s just the beginning.”