The USWNT's youngest player posted an adorable throwback photo with Abby Wambach, and the national team legend applauded her for being an inspiration

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Sophia Smith grew up watching Abby Wambach dominate on the pitch for the United States.

And now, it's the 20-year-old's turn to take over scoring responsibilities for the US Women's National Team.

A Windsor, Colorado, native, Smith is the youngest player on the current USWNT roster. Last week, she became the first woman born in the 2000s — and the first born after the USWNT's historic 1999 World Cup victory — to earn a cap for the national team.

Smith made her first appearance for the senior USWNT alongside her youth teammate, midfielder, and Florida State Seminoles standout Jaelin Howell. And after the official USWNT Twitter account shared a photo of the duo from their kindergarten days, Abby Wambach — the all-time leading scorer for the national team — replied, "this is the cutest thing ever!!!"

But to Wambach's surprise, Smith had even more cuteness in store. She replied to the tweet that the two-time Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion was "a big reason this moment happened for me." Smith added that Wambach "inspired me to follow my dreams" and attached a photo of herself as a young girl alongside Wambach as an active USWNT star.

Wambach replied with a screenshot of a message from her 14-year-old daughter, who saw the tweet and excitedly wrote that "SOPHIA SMITH TWEETED YOU." The 40-year-old former forward added that Smith is "inspiring the next generation" and encouraged her to "keep it going," to which the Portland Thorns rookie replied, "I can only hope to inspire the next generation like you did!"

Smith will likely hit the field next in January when the USWNT will convene for the first time in 2021 ahead of its annual SheBelieves Cup event. With the Tokyo Olympics set to begin in July, the young star will look to use the opportunity to earn a spot on head coach Vlatko Andonovski's roster for Japan.

• Read more:
• Former kindergarten teammates Sophia Smith and Jaelin Howell debuted for the US Women's National Team on the same day
• Sarah Fuller silenced critics of her Vanderbilt kick by sharing a clip of her incredible full-field goalkeeper assist
• USWNT star Sam Mewis said she's 'never been prouder to see Mewis on the scoresheet' after her older sister, Kristie, scored her first national team goal in 2,722 days
• College basketball's biggest star since Sabrina Ionescu said the paint is 'where I live' after an impressive 44-point, 16-rebound performance

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