Who Is U.S. Teen Sensation Following in Erling Haaland’s World Cup Footsteps?

When Sweden took a 5–0 lead over Cuba at the 1938 men’s World Cup in France, French journalist Emmanuel Gambardella shut his typewriter and declared: “Up to five goals is journalism. After that, it is statistics.”

Gambardella would have stopped typing inside the opening half-hour of the U-17 U.S. women’s national team’s World Cup opener against Samoa on Monday. Had everyone else watching on in Morocco followed suit, they would have missed 12 more goals and the full scale of Maddie DiMaria’s remarkable achievement.

The 17-year-old high school prodigy kickstarted the scoring inside 63 seconds and would eventually end the match with six goals (plus one assist). No U.S. player has ever bagged a double hat trick in a competitive match at any age level, while DiMaria became the first individual since a certain Erling Haaland to score half a dozen goals at a World Cup.

Haaland, who starred for Norway’s senior men’s side at this summer’s World Cup on North American soil, famously rattled in nine goals against Honduras at the U-20 World Cup in 2019.

Erling Haaland celebrating. — Erling Haaland could not be stopped by Honduras. | Alex Livesey/FIFA/Getty Images

“That means everything—he’s an inspiration,” DiMaria gushed when confronted with this startling statistic. “Watching him play, watching him score goals and just his desire and ruthlessness around the box, he’s an amazing player and to be the next player behind that is just such an honor.

“I feel super, super excited and grateful just to be in this place. I don’t think I would be here, have been able to do it, without my teammates. Going out there, our goal is to just give it our best and I think we totally did that. Just go straight from the start and I think scoring early set us up for success for the rest of the game.

“I’m just super blessed to have all those girls behind me, supporting me, finding me in the right places and just celebrating me.”

While Samoa’s unwitting players clearly weren’t capable of stopping DiMaria (or her teammates) during the 17–0 rout, they would have known all about the threat she poses.

Who Is Maddie DiMaria?

A record breaking night for Maddie DiMaria 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6FquYvO8UT
— U.S. Soccer YNT (@USYNT) October 19, 2026

“Maddie’s awesome.” U-17 USWNT manager Ciara Crinion had plenty more to say about her prolific striker, but those two words got the point across.

DiMaria has been a poorly kept secret for years. The proud native of Missouri became the first freshman ever to be crowned Gatorade National Player of the Year after racking up 30 goals and 21 assists en route to the state championship title with Cor Jesu Academy. DiMaria has only improved since—and at a rapid pace.

After rattling in a frankly ridiculous 67 goals on top of 25 assists while winning all 25 matches for Cor Jesu Academy her junior year, DiMaria transcended soccer. The 17-year-old was crowned the 2026 Gatorade Best Female Player across all sports, an honor she would later describe to NBC Chicago as “the best moment of my life.”

Previous winners of this cross-discipline recognition include Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Allyson Felix, who have 11 Olympic gold medals between them, as well as two-time World Cup winner Morgan Gautrat.

It’s a lofty reputation to live up to, but DiMaria has been born for this sort of scrutiny. The St. Louis kid, now committed to play collegiately for the North Carolina Tar Heels, comes from a long line of soccer stars.

The lineage can be traced back to DiMaria’s grandfather, Tom, a former goalkeeper who sits in the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame. Jeff, Maddie’s father, made it to MLS while her mother, Sara, ranks as one of the most prolific creators in the history of Division I Loyola-Chicago. DiMaria’s siblings, Ana and Jack, have also played college soccer.

“They’ve always pushed me to be the best version of myself on and off the field,” DiMaria told TopDrawerSoccer. “We’ve always played soccer in the backyard together, and I’ve grown up with them supporting me always.” That support has certainly paid off.

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