KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Lo’eau LaBonta made history May 31 in St. Paul, Minnesota, when she subbed in during the 70th minute of the U.S. Women’s National Team’s comfortable win against China.
LaBonta — the Kansas City Current’s tough-but-effervescent 32-year-old midfielder, who has gained fame for her cheeky and varied goal celebrations — became the oldest player ever to make her debut for the U.S. women.
“It meant everything,” LaBonta said. “You grow up wanting to be on the national team. The fact that I was able to do it at 32 — obviously, I would have loved to do it when I was younger — but I finally made it. It just makes me want to be better and play in a World Cup as well.”
She subbed on in the 58th minute June 3 during a 4-0 win against Jamaica in St. Louis, giving her two national-team caps — and hope for more to come.
LaBonta, a native of California and NCAA champion at Stanford, was something of a late-bloomer. She only scored five goals in 91 appearances across her first six professional seasons.
Since returning to Kansas City, when the Current were founded in 2021, LaBonta has notched 17 goals in 85 games, but she admitted there were times she nearly gave up on her national-team dream.
“The amount of times where I've gotten so close and then they didn't call me in, obviously it just takes cuts at the soul; it hurts,” LaBonta said. “But I never fully gave up. I train every day to be the best that I can be, so I think the head coach (Emma Hayes) saw that and brought me in. And I'm going to continue to do that, so I'm hoping she continues to call me in. Like I said, I want to get to that World Cup.”
Her next chance comes in two years when Brazil hosts the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.
“Emma Hayes had that talk with me,” LaBonta said. “She's like, ‘It's not, not going to happen, so keep going, keep at the pace you're going.’ So, I'm like, ‘Oh, I have hope.’ I'm gonna have to find some youth somewhere, but it's definitely a goal.”
For now, LaBonta’s still basking in the glow of her national-team breakthrough, which she called the highlight of her career.
“Oh, right now — top, top, top, for sure,” LaBonta said.
LaBonta’s husband, former Sporting Kansas City all-star midfielder Roger Espinoza, played in the World Cup in 2010 and 2014 for his native Honduras.
She made an appearance Wednesday with the couple’s dog, Amigo, during a ceremony to mark one year until the start of FIFA World Cup 26, which includes six games in Kansas City at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
“As a huge soccer advocate, the fact that the biggest sporting event is coming here — there's a lot of stuff for football, but to have fútbol here is going to make our household very happy,” LaBonta said.
Populous and Purina were announced as the first two KC2026 host-city sponsors and LaBonta and Amigo appeared on behalf of Purina, which committed to “make Kansas City the most pet-friendly World Cup host city in history.”
“The fact that I can bring Amigo with me everywhere too just makes it amazing,” LaBonta said.
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