Lily Yohannes is already where the world expected her to be

It took less than one season to cement her name in OL Lyonnes’ best starting XI. Lily Yohannes is on her way to start a UEFA Women’s Champions League final at 18-years-old. The American-born and Amsterdam-bred attacking midfielder was one of Jonatan Giraldez’s first signings with the eight-time UWCL champions. She scored on her debut for the club and was awarded player of the match, she wasted no time making her stamp with the French champions.

The US international started both of Lyonnes’ UWCL semi-finals against Arsenal and scored a crucial goal in the quarter-final against Wolfsburg, opening the scoring at home early to level the aggregate score. 

Record breaker

Yohannes first caught attention playing for Ajax, shining in the UWCL playing against teams like Chelsea, Bayern Munich and PSG. She became the youngest ever player to sign a professional contract with Ajax, male or female, at 15. Later that season, she became the youngest player to start a UWCL group stage match.

A player with innate flair and talent on the ball, having been brought up by one of the best clubs in the world at developing talent, she shines in the midfield and the wing, combining intelligence and playfulness. She’ll bring goals and goal scoring opportunities to any given team, having tallied four goals and five assists in the league this season. 

The maturity she shows when making decisions on the pitch is way ahead of her years, executing passes into spaces to give her teammate and team an important advantage on the pitch. Even with that maturity, her youth shines through in the way she enjoys showing off her tricks on the ball and as a spectator, you can’t do anything else but smile. She has been one of the greatest revelations in women’s football over the last few seasons, but now playing alongside some of the best in the world and one of the biggest clubs, she is now amongst the elite. 

Playing directly with the likes of Ada Hegerberg, Melchie Dumornay, Lindsey Heaps, Kadidiatou Diani, Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Jule Brand in Lyonnes’ attack, Yohannes’ style of play is only intensified and topped off. The level of her teammates exceeds her and it only makes her rise to their level, being 12 years younger than her striker partner. 

We are only seeing the start of her career and she is already shining on the biggest stages. There is no doubt that she will catch new attention in the UWCL final against FC Barcelona, but playing with the USWNT, next year at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, she will undoubtedly make her mark on the world’s biggest stage.