Tactical breakdowns, expert commentary, and neutral analysis of games, teams, and league trends in women’s soccer.
Published August 22, 2026 United States U-20 head coach Vicky Jepson named her 21-player roster for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup on Wednesday, and eight NWSL players made the squad — but some of the most talked-about news belongs to who’s missing. Claire Hutton, Lily Yohannes, Kimmi Ascanio, Alex Pfeiffer and Jordyn Bugg, … Read more
Published August 22, 2026 Tobin Heath signed a ceremonial one-day contract Saturday to officially retire as a member of the Portland Thorns, the club she helped win the first-ever NWSL championship in 2013. The pre-match ceremony at Providence Park came roughly four months after Heath’s induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame on May … Read more
Published August 17, 2026 Cameroon won its first-ever Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title Sunday, beating tournament debutants Malawi 3-0 in the final in Rabat, Morocco. The bigger headline from WAFCON 2026’s final week, though, belongs to Nigeria: the 10-time African champion officially missed out on the 2027 World Cup for the first time since … Read more
Published August 13, 2026 The USWNT 2026 Concacaf W Championship kicks off Nov. 27 in Mansfield, Texas, with the Americans opening against El Salvador — a team they’ve never faced in women’s soccer history. The tournament, running through a Dec. 5 final in Houston, doubles as Concacaf’s qualifying event for both the 2027 World Cup … Read more
Published August 12, 2026 NWSL stars at WAFCON 2026 face their biggest week of the tournament, with two semifinals Wednesday, an elimination playoff Thursday and the final on Sunday all deciding who reaches the 2027 World Cup — and when several Washington Spirit and Chicago Stars players make it back to their NWSL clubs. Kansas … Read more
INTRODUCTION Denver Summit’s 2-0 loss to North Carolina Courage on Wednesday cost more than three points: it’s the latest sign the expansion club’s playoff hopes are fading in its inaugural season, and it came with prized new signing Gemma Bonner still stuck on the bench, four days after joining specifically to help stop results like … Read more
INTRODUCTION Utah Royals FC jumped to No. 1 in ESPN’s latest NWSL Power Rankings after routing Portland 5-1, while Washington Spirit tumbled following a 1-0 home loss to San Diego. But the swing is more a shift in form-based rankings than an actual changing of the guard — Washington still leads the real NWSL standings … Read more
INTRODUCTION The NWSL Victory+ deal has ended after less than a full season, with the league terminating the agreement on July 30 over missed rights payments and shifting every affected match to its own free streaming platform, NWSL+, starting this weekend. Fans lose nothing in terms of access — but the collapse exposes how fragile … Read more
INTRODUCTION The 2031 Women’s World Cup, set to be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica, has been pulled into the biggest governance fight in soccer in years. On July 30, CONCACAF’s 41 member federations — including U.S. Soccer — formally rejected a FIFA plan to sell private investment stakes in … Read more
INTRODUCTION The USWNT vs Spain October friendlies are official: the U.S. Women’s National Team will face the world’s top-ranked side on Oct. 10 at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., and again on Oct. 13 at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania. It’s the last FIFA international window before the USWNT enters Concacaf W Championship qualifying this … Read more