Eastlake soccer player called up to El Tri’s U-17 women’s soccer squad

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – A star in the making, Eastlake High School girls soccer forward Chloe Del Real was called up by Mexico’s Under-16 Women’s Youth National Soccer team this past March.

Del Real, age 15, made the Mexican squad’s final roster cut at their training camp in Toluca, Mexico and earned the opportunity to represent El Tri (Mexico) at an international tournament in Montaigu, France.

After a convincing performance, she has been called up once again, but for Mexico’s Under-17 squad.

Del Real will be heading to El Tri’s training camp next week, where she will be competing for a final roster spot, and the chance to compete at the pinnacle of the sport in her category, the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup.

The World Cup will be held in the Dominican Republic later this year in October.

“I didn’t think I was going to get called up any time soon, and when I did, my goal felt accomplished. I have many other bigger goals, but to play for the Mexican national team, I’m very grateful for the call up,” Del Real said.

Del Real is a dual-citizen, and can still be called up by the U.S Women’s Youth National Squad, something she hasn’t discounted.

“I love Mexico, but if I were given the opportunity to play for the U.S team I would take it, because that’s an amazing opportunity as well,” Del Real said.

Del Real could play for either side in the youth categories, unless she were called up by the major national squads, where she would have to make a choice about which country to represent for the rest of her career.

But it has taken hard work and discipline for Del Real to finally open these avenues to achieve her dream of becoming a professional soccer player.

She said she began playing soccer when she was 2 years old but hated it. It wasn’t until she turned 6 years old that she began playing again, and fell in love with the sport.

Today, Del Real is nearly a full-time soccer player. Although she plays for Eastlake’s girls soccer team, she’s had to go outside of El Paso to improve her chances of getting scouted.

Del Real plays for FC Tucson of the Girls Academy national soccer league, the country’s leading youth developmental platform for women’s soccer, according to their website.

She travels across the country every weekend during the league’s season to play in either home games at Tucson, Arizona, or away games at other U.S cities. During the week, she trains individually and practices with Eastlake’s team, so she can be ready to go when she steps out into the field with FC Tucson.

A grueling demand, Del Real shared what drives her.

“I’m very competitive. So I just love knowing that I can beat someone. And if I can’t, I continue to work harder until I can beat them or until I get better myself. If I was better than myself yesterday, then that’s amazing. That’s good progress,” Del Real said.

As she tries to make a name for herself, Del Real spoke on the progress of women’s sports.

“Seeing the improvement of women’s sports, women’s soccer, it makes me feel more confident,” Del Real said. “It’s getting so much more recognition and it’s amazing. I love it because you see more of the hard work that women have been putting in the past few years, and it’s great.”

Born and raised in El Paso, Del Real is hoping to become one among a collection of Borderland sport stars that have surged over the past years, such as Ricardo Pepi, Alejandro Zendejas, and Santiago Munoz who all play in men’s professional soccer.

“To El Paso, continue to work hard because there’s some great talent here. I think competition-wise, it’s getting better and it’s getting competitive, and that’s what makes everyone better,” Del Real said.

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