Born to a father from Gujarat, India, Mia Bhuta becomes the first-ever Indian-American woman to score in a world cup. The irony is, Mia scored the historical goal against his father's country India. In fact, her grandparents still live in India and Mia has already visited them in India a few times before coming to play in the ongoing FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022. Mia Bhuta scored the 8th goal of the INDvsUSA match which was literally the best goal of the match.
WHAT A CURLER FROM @USYNT'S MIA BHUTA ??? pic.twitter.com/Y6I4FB0QMv
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) October 11, 2022
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"The Indian culture has influenced me a lot. I am very proud of my heritage," Mia had told the press a day before the first day of the U17 Women's World Cup. Mia's father was only 16 when he had flown to the USA to play tennis and get a better education.
Mia now lives at Mt Lebanon, in Pittsburg and plays for Internationals. In addition, she is one of the most experienced players on the USA squad. The 16-year-old player now wants to inspire young girls from India and USA to take up the sport as a career and believe that nothing is beyond reach.
"I know Indian culture. I really hope that my team and the Indian team can inspire the young girls in this country to take up to football. I want them to dream big and think that nothing is beyond reach if they worked hard. I have seen how much these girls have potential to do well."
Mia said in the press conference one day before the match.
62' | First player of Indian descent to represent the USA at the World Cup AND she scores against the country of her ancestry. ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/16Ao8U8Yaa
— U.S. Soccer YNT (@USYNT) October 11, 2022