Carrying the Legacy Forward: Tobin Heath’s USWNT Journey Comes Full Circle

On June 19, 1999, the U.S. Women’s National Team began its historic World Cup run that put the second star above its crest. Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Kristine Lilly secured the 3-0 win against Denmark in front of a record crowd of 78,972 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Somewhere up in the stands was 11-year-old Tobin Heath, alongside her youth club teammates, captivated and inspired by the players down on the field.

“That stadium was completely full,” Heath said. “I had never seen women athletes being celebrated in this way, and it was powerful. The success of the National Team has been driven by these legendary wins, and the ‘99 World Cup was by far the most pivotal because it showed the future of women's sports.”

Heath played a role in that future with the USWNT, earning her first senior team cap in 2008 before becoming a mainstay with the squad for the next 13 years. She played her final game for the U.S. in 2021 before officially announcing her retirement last summer. She will be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame on May 1, 2026.

In a full circle moment, the Basking Ridge, N.J., native will return to her home state on March 7 for a retirement celebration ahead of the USA’s SheBelieves Cup match against Colombia at Sports Illustrated Stadium. The self-proclaimed “Jersey girl, through and through” noted the significance of this return, considering she spent most of her professional career on the West Coast or internationally.

“It was important for me to do my [retirement celebration] in New Jersey, just because of how much it means to me and my roots as a footballer,” Heath said. “It will be really special to go back to my stomping grounds and to be able to involve people that were within the beginning of my career to celebrate.”

New Jersey built the foundation of the winger’s career, which included 36 goals and 42 assists in 181 international appearances. She won two Olympic gold medals (2008, 2012), one bronze (2020) and back-to-back FIFA Women’s World Cup titles (2015, 2019). She also won two NWSL championships with the Portland Thorns, and before that, was a three-time NCAA champion with the University of North Carolina Tar Heels.

“Always being in that culture of expecting to win and waking up each day with the goal that you have to win is really exciting and thrilling, and it never lets you settle for a second,” Heath said. “I always say that the National Team isn't a place that you stay. You're lucky if you get as long as a career as myself and a bunch of others have had, but it's really a place that you pass through, and you want to make the biggest mark and be as additive as you can to the legacy of the program.”

Tobin Heath celebrates scoring during an international friendly between the women's national teams of the United States and New Zealand on May 16, 2019 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Brad Smith/Getty Images)

One of the defining moments of the WNT and Heath’s legacy was the 2015 World Cup. She started in five of the seven matches, including the Final where she scored the last goal in the 5-2 win over Japan to secure her first World Cup title and the team’s third, a feat no other country had achieved.

But according to Heath: “You have to go back to 2011 to understand 2015.”

Heath made her World Cup debut in 2011, entering as a substitute in four matches. She came on for Megan Rapinoe in the 114th minute of the World Cup Final, also against Japan, mere minutes before the Nadeshiko netted the equalizer to send the match to a penalty shootout.

The U.S. had missed the first two kicks when Heath stepped up to take the third. Her shot was read the whole way by Japan’s Ayumi Kaihori as she made her second save of the shootout. Japan went on to win 3-1 on penalties.

“That loss and that pain of 2011… we were almost over-prepared for [2015] because we didn't want to have a similar situation,” Heath said. “So, we came out really fast, almost like rabid animals. We took that game over from the get-go.”

A 13-minute hat trick from Carli Lloyd and a spectacular volley from Lauren Holiday put the USA ahead 4-1 going into halftime of the 2015 Final. An own goal by the U.S. started to shift momentum in Japan’s direction, but the Americans earned a corner kick and Heath sent a pass from Morgan Brian first-time into the back of the net for what she called “the nail in the coffin.”

Tobin Heath celebrates with Morgan Brian after Heath scores in the second half against Japan in the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 Final at BC Place Stadium on July 5, 2015 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

While Heath admitted nothing in her career tops that goal – and despite ranking in the top-20 of all USWNT scorers – she still doesn’t consider herself a goal scorer.

“When I come off the field, it's just a matter of if I felt good about my performance, and I don't really judge performance by goals,” Heath said. “That just wasn't really my role. But it's always fun to score goals. If I'mgoing to score goals, I want to do it in a creative, cool way.”

That skillful fluidity was more of Heath’s calling card. She was mesmerizing with the ball, never afraid to take on a player 1-v-1 even if it meant embarrassing them in the process. During a match early in her National Team career, she nutmegged two Canadian defenders back-to-back. In her final game in a U.S. jersey, her hesitation move sent a Korean defender to the ground before Heath played a pass that was the last assist of her international career. She had found the balance of contributing to the team’s success while making it exciting to watch.

“At the end of the day, football is supposed to be fun,” Heath said. “I always wanted to play the game in a fun way, but you still have to win. When you get to be really honed in on your craft, you can make the two dance together.”

Tobin Heath navigates past Gema Simon of Australia at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on April 4, 2019 in Commerce City, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)

Heath was still doing that when she played her last professional match in August of 2022. She was placed on Seattle Reign’s season-ending injury list shortly afterwards, not knowing it would become career-ending. When she announced her retirement nearly three years later on her podcast, The RE—CAP Show, she discussed her knee problems, multiple surgeries and the journey of trying to return to play while processing the reality that it wouldn’t happen.

Getting to compete alongside USWNT legends like Lilly, Lloyd and Christie Rampone, the three most-capped players in program history, Heath wanted to replicate that longevity. She said she never expected 2019 to be the last World Cup she would play in, especially when she felt like her game was still ascending.

“I don’t look at life through a rearview mirror at all, but I just want to play more football,” Heath said. “I want to play more important games and win more trophies because it was thrilling in a way that I felt was a big purpose in my life.

“But also, not losing the passion, that's almost harder than losing the physical ability,” she added. “The U.S. Women’s National Team, you can't take your foot off the gas for a second and still be there. I didn't have any of those feelings in 2019. My foot was fully on the gas. I was just stoked for the next iteration of my game, and I was frothing at the idea of getting better at certain things. The hard part is when you still want to hone your craft, but you can't do it anymore. That was part of my hardest mourning, losing the thing that I love to do the most.”

While her passion can no longer be executed on the pitch, Heath remains heavily involved in the soccer world through other means. Her podcast, which she hosts with her wife and USWNT teammate Christen Press, is part of their company RE, a global sports media brand that seeks to improve the world through the unifying power of sport. In just this past year, she was part of the Technical Study Group (TSG) at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 while also leading the Player Advisory Council for World Sevens Football, a new 7v7 women’s soccer tournament.

“I'm obsessed with every part of this game, and I know that the rest of my life will be dedicated to continuing to nurture it and grow it and make it better,” Heath said. “There's so many unique avenues to do so, and I love all of them.”

Heath’s mentorship of current USWNT players is another avenue that is already making an impact. Midfielder Sam Coffey said Heath is the team’s biggest supporter and revealed that the veteran often messagesnew players to congratulate them after they earned their first cap. Coffey called Heath the “perfect example of someone who's left this program better than she found it.”

Tobin Heath talks with members of the USWNT during training at Dignity Health Sports Park on January 21, 2026 in Carson, California. (Photo by Brad Smith/USSF)

What the 99ers were to Heath, she has become to this current squad. And while no one else will quite replicate what she brought to the game, her legacy will continue in the next iteration of the U.S. Women’s National Team.

“When I get to see a little glimpse of myself on the field, I think that's pretty cool,” Heath said. “Ultimately, I just want the performance on the field to keep getting better. I think that's our legacy. I hope one day this next generation is lifting a World Cup trophy, hopefully sooner rather than later, and they're all talking about when they were watching ‘15 and ‘19. That would be amazing.”

Click here to read article