Sebastian Soto announces retirement from professional football at 25

Goal reports on Jan 06, 2026 that Sebastian Soto has announced his retirement from football at the age of 25, with a statement on Instagram confirming the California native will be hanging up his boots.

Once billed as a future USMNT starlet, Soto earned two senior caps and impressed at youth level, scoring four goals in five games at the 2019 U20 World Cup, including a brace against France. He made his Bundesliga debut at 18 in 2019 after moving to Hannover from the United States, later joining Norwich City in 2020 and spending loan spells — most productively with Telstar. Soto scored twice on his senior debut for the United States against Panama in 2020, becoming the fifth USMNT player to record a brace on debut and the second to do so as a substitute.

Injuries affected his career during spells at Telstar, Porto and Livingston; he joined SK Austria Klagenfurt in 2022 and made 19 appearances before his contract was terminated in October 2024. Having been out of the game for some time, Soto has formally announced his professional career is over via Instagram and is said to be seeking new challenges, with further plans not detailed in the statement.

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Sports, Sebastian Soto, Usmnt, Hannover, Norwich City, Telstar