Maiara Carolina Niehues (born 11 August 2004) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Brazil national team.
Born in Itapiranga, Santa Catarina, Niehues began her career with Chapecoense, where she managed to play for the first team at the age of 15. After leaving in the following year, she spent a short period at Iranduba. She then played for Internacional, appearing in matches for their senior, under-20, under-18, under-17, and under-16 teams from 2020 to 2022. She compiled a combined eight goals and four assists in all competitions while helping the club's under-20 section to a 2022 National Championship appearance.
Niehues joined Portuguese club Sporting CP in September 2022. During her time at Sporting, she appeared in 57 matches in all competitions, scoring 18 goals and three assists in 3,214 minutes on the pitch.
In March 2025, Angel City FC acquired Niehues for an undisclosed transfer fee, signing her to a three-year contract. Niehues scored her first goal for Angel City on September 1, 2025, which was the eventual game winner to secure a 2âÂÂ1 victory over Bay FC.
Niehues represented Brazil at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. She had an unfortunate senior international debut as she was sent off in the 33rd minute after committing two bookable offenses against Venezuela as Brazil lost the friendly 2âÂÂ1 on March 4, 2026.