Talia Sommer

Talia Sommer (; born 19 February 2004) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Born in the United States, she plays for the Israel national team. She played college soccer for the Butler Bulldogs.

Early life Born in New York, Sommer moved from the United States to Israel at the age of six. She began playing football at the age of four, and in her early years she played for the boy's team of Maccabi Tel Aviv, before her family relocated to the United States, where she played youth football with the Manhattan Soccer Club. She attended Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium in Israel, where she won the Israeli High School Cup. She then attended Butler University in the United States, where she studied physics. Sommer obtained outstanding athlete status designation in the IDF when she was 18, allowing her to begin her NCAA Division I career. She cited the coaching staff at Butler as the primary reason for her choice to join the program. She earned All-Big East honors every year, including three straight first-team selections.

Sommer was named to the Scholar All-America Second Team and the All-North/Central Region Team in 2025, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Computational Neuroscience with a minor in Philosophy.

Club career

ASA Tel Aviv Sommer played for ASA Tel Aviv, making her Ligat Nashim debut at the age of 14. She is the first Israeli player to join the NWSL, and upon signing with Gotham she said "I’m proud to be the first Israeli selected to play in the best league in the world, and I promise that every time I step onto the field, I’ll represent not just myself and my family, who always support me with love, but also my country and the flag I love so much." Sommer made her professional debut on 1 February 2026, coming on as a second-half substitute for Mandy Freeman in Gotham's FIFA Women's Champions Cup third place win over AS FAR. Sommer was on the injury list and unavailable for selection for Gotham's opening game of the 2026 season due to a thigh injury. She made her first-ever start for Gotham on 23 May 2026, featuring in a 3–0 loss against CF Pachuca in the third-place match of the 2026 CONCACAF W Champions Cup. Sommer was part of the Gotham team which won the 2026 NWSL Challenge Cup. Sommer featured as part of Israel's squad in their 2027 World Cup qualification campaign. She was described by former Israeli national team captain Oshrat Eini as "one of the most talented players to have grown up in Israel".

Style of play Sommer mainly operates as an attacking midfielder. She was described as "one of the most promising players in Israeli women's soccer".

International goals No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 21 February 2022 Pampeloponnisiako Stadium, Patras, Greece 2–2 2–2 Friendly 2. 29 November 2023 Armavir City Stadium, Armavir, Armenia 1–0 4–0 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League C 3. 31 May 2024 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland 1–4 1–4 UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying 4. 21 February 2025 Stadion Aleksandar Shalamanov, Sofia, Bulgaria 2–1 3–1 2025 UEFA Women's Nations League C 5. 8 April 2025 Budaörsi Városi Stadium, Budaörs, Hungary 2–2 3–3 6. 3–2

Personal life Sommer is the daughter of a political science professor and clinical psychologist. In a July 2026 Kan interview on Yair Agmon's the Hitchikers program, when asked whether she identified as American or Israeli, Sommer said she identified as Israeli and that "My life revolves around Israel" and the national football team. In the same interview, Sommer discussed her closeness with the mother of Naama Levy, who she met through the Israeli national football team and how this shaped her views on Israel and the Gaza War.

Individual Fourth-team All-American: 2025 Big East Co-Midfielder of the Year: 2025 Big East Freshman of the Year: 2022 First-team All-Big East: 2023, 2024, 2025 Second-team All-Big East: 2022