What's Next for the USWNT? 🇺🇸

Happy Tuesday, TWG readers!

What a weekend of NWSL action to bring us back from the international break… we saw Lynn Biyendolo and Midge Purce both return from injury and wreak havoc on defenses. We watched Gotham’s Lily Reale score her first rookie goal, Leicy Santos land a perfectly-placed free kick in the back of the net for Washington Spirit, and the Brazilian Ludmila grab a brace to seal Chicago’s first (and much needed) win of the season. Here at The Women’s Game, we covered it all on social and are breaking it down with Becky Sauerbrunn this afternoon on today’s episode of Good Vibes.

We also dropped a special episode with Orlando Pride head coach, Seb Hines, last Friday, which you can watch below. As Orlando cruises on this season at 4-0, this is your chance to get into the mind of the 2024 NWSL Coach of the Year. And coming up later this week, we have an interview with Vancouver Rise FC midfielder, Quinn. The Northern Super League is launching this week so it’s a great time to hear more about that from one of the league’s star players.

I’m heading to Seattle for Good Lives LIVE! Presented by Olipop at Victory Hall tomorrow night. I can’t wait to spend the week with Lynn, Becky, and all of our friends in one of America’s best soccer cities. Are you coming to the show? Send me an email and let me know what we’re all thinking of wearing. If you can’t make it to the show in person, it will be up on our YouTube channel afterwards.

Thank you all so much for being here!

Love,
Sam

After Two Losses in the Past Month, Emma Hayes’ Young USWNT Squad Continues to Evolve 🇺🇸

In 2024, Emma Hayes guided the USWNT to the program’s fifth Olympic gold medal just 76 days after her first training practice, scooping up multiple coach-of-the-year accolades for the remarkable feat. But 2025 brings new challenges and lingering questions.

With injured and absent stars (including, until this window, all three members of the famed ‘Triple Espresso’ forward force who scored 10 of the team’s 12 goals in Paris), as well as notable retirements (cries in Alyssa Naeher nostalgia), Hayes has debuted or re-introduced a lengthy list of dynamic talents that are learning her system on the fly against elite international teams. 

For example, in last Tuesday’s 1-2 loss to Brazil in front of a sold-out crowd of 18,000 fans at San Jose’s PayPal Park, Hayes made seven changes to the starting lineup, running out an XI with just 17.9 average appearances between them. Judged solely by total caps, that’s the least experienced starting lineup we’ve seen since 2001.

More: Sam went live at the final whistle with New Zealand captain and Angel City star Ali Riley. Watch the full conversation here. 

Beyond Some Recent Results, the Future Looks Bright ☀️

While the USWNT closed out the April window with one 2-0 win and one 2-1 loss against the reigning silver-medalists, there’s still a lot to be excited about – despite some lingering questions – for when the team suits up next against China in late May:

• Trinity Rodman is back and is just as brilliant as we remember. The 22-year-old Washington Spirit star scored five minutes into her first appearance since Paris.

• The goalkeeper search remains wide open, but Manchester United keeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce had a blistering shutout debut in the team’s first friendly against Brazil.

• Angel City forward Alyssa Thompson and Chelsea midfielder/forward Catarina Macario got back-to-back starts and impressed in both games, including this excellent goal that both players contributed to:

🥤 Olipop power everything we do here at The Women’s Game. You can use code TWG20 for 20% off your first order at drinkolipop.com/TWG20.

A Huge Weekend of Domestic Action in NWSL and Abroad 🏟️

NWSL Returned in Full Force After the International Break 🇺🇸

• Three of the league’s top four teams – Orlando Pride, Kansas City Current, and Angel City – all remain undefeated after victories this weekend.

• Ashley Hatch can’t stop scoring for third-place Washington Spirit, as she knocked in another header in a 2-0 win against Racing Louisville (below).

• Gotham picked up a much-needed first win of the season after defeating North Carolina Courage 3-1 at Red Bull Arena to finish the weekend fifth.

• A sight for sore eyes: Gotham forward Midge Purce subbed into the second half, marking her first appearance since tearing her ACL one year ago.

The Latest from England’s Women’s FA Cup 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

In Saturday’s FA Cup semifinal, Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-1 with goals from Erin Cuthbert and a stoppage-time match winner from Aggie Beever-Jones (both just returning from international duty with Scotland and England, respectively). They’ll play Manchester United in the FA Cup Final (May 18) after the Red Devils beat their intracity rivals, Manchester City, 2-0, booking their spot in a third-consecutive FA Cup final.

Worth a watch: This elite double save from United’s American goalkeeper, Phallon Tullis-Joyce, which helped her keep another clean sheet in her first match back in Manchester after collecting a seismic first cap for the USWNT. 

Bayern Munich All but Seal Another Frauen-Bundesliga Title 🇩🇪

Germany’s Frauen-Bundesliga has seen a fierce top-of-the-table battle this season. But Saturday in Frankfurt, Bayern Munich secured their hold on first place with a 3-0 victory against third-place Eintracht Frankfurt. After second-place Wolfsburg settled for a 1-1 draw with Freiburg, the back-to-back title holders now have a nine-point lead with three weekends to go.

Reporting for International Duty 🌍

UEFA Nations League 

Belgium 3 - 2 England 🇧🇪 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

In their second straight meeting (following a 5-0 win for England in Bristol), Belgium beat England 3-2 at home in matchday four of the Nations League. The Lionesses were absent multiple key starters to injury, and trailed 3-0 within the first 30 minutes. Beth Mead pulled one back from the penalty spot and 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang, who replaced Alessia Russo in the squad due to injury, scored this golazo one minute after subbing in. But it wasn’t enough for the Lionesses to collect a point in Belgium. With the loss, England dropped into second in Group Three, with Spain reclaiming the top spot after beating Portugal 7-1. England and Spain will face one another in the final matchday on June 3, after one final test each against the other remaining teams in the group.

Netherlands 3 - 1 Austria 🇳🇱🇦🇹 / Germany 6 - 1 Scotland 🇩🇪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

While Spain and England battle it out in Group Three, Germany and the Netherlands are the only two teams tied on points at the top of Group One after the Dutch beat Austria 3-1 and Germany bested Scotland 6-1 last week. Germany is in first place on goal differential, but the two will meet next in what could be a group-deciding game on May 30. One massive blow to the Dutch (and football fans all over the world): Manchester City striker and former WSL top scorer Vivianne Miedema picked up what looks to be a season-ending hamstring injury.

Canada Makes History this Week with New Professional League 🇨🇦

Canada’s Northern Super League, the first top-flight professional women’s football league in Canada, kicks off this week. The much-anticipated inaugural season sees six sides commence campaigns across Canada, with teams based in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Halifax. The clubs will play 25 matches each (with the teams meeting one another five times a piece) in a season that culminates in a two-round playoff series that includes a two-legged semifinal and a Championship match scheduled for November 15. Fans in the U.S. can watch all the games on ESPN+.

Canada’s national team stars have made a name for themselves in professional leagues around the world, from the U.S. to Europe and beyond. But with the historic launch of a professional league in Canada, national team veterans like former Seattle Reign stalwart Quinn has signed to play for Vancouver, and formerly-retired CNT midfielder Desiree Scott re-emerged from retirement to help usher in history for Ottawa Rapid FC. 

More: The Northern Super League Brings Professional Women’s Soccer to Canada: Here Are 18 Players to Watch.

📧 Enjoying The Women’s Game? Check out our other MiB newsletters here.

Matches Worth Setting Reminders For 📺

Canada’s NSL 🇨🇦

Vancouver Rise vs. Calgary Wild FC (Wednesday, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

A new era in women’s football north of the border begins tomorrow night at BC Place when Vancouver Rise host Calgary Wild FC for the inaugural match in Canada’s first top-flight women’s professional soccer league, the Northern Super League.

NWSL 🇺🇸

Orlando Pride vs. Washington Spirit (Saturday, 5 p.m. ET, ION)

First-place Orlando Pride host third-place Washington Spirit in Florida for a test between two of the top teams this season. This meeting marks the first regular season re-match of last year’s NWSL Championship (which Orlando won 1-0 with a goal from Zambian forward Barbra Banda) following a Challenge Cup victory that Spirit clinched on penalties in March. 

UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) 🏆

Arsenal vs. Lyon (Saturday, 7:30 a.m. ET, DAZN)

North London’s Gunners will play in their eighth UWCL semi-final against the record eight-time champions, Lyon. They’ll host the French juggernauts in the first leg, with a spate of Americans on either side. Right-back Emily Fox has had a momentous impact since moving to Arsenal this past winter. She’ll host fellow USWNT teammates, Lyon midfielder and U.S. captain Lindsey Horan, as well as right-back Sofia Huerta, in her new home. 

Barcelona vs. Chelsea (Sunday, 12 p.m. ET, DAZN)

Reigning champions Barcelona welcome London’s second team left standing, Chelsea, in the first leg of this matchup. The Catalan giants are typically the team to beat, but Chelsea are having an all-time season, as former Lyon manager Sonia Bompastor hopes for a historic quadruple (or four-title sweep) in her inaugural campaign with the Blues.

News, Notes, and Good Reads 🗞️

• The 2028 L.A. Olympics will expand the women’s football tournament from 12 to 16 teams. This means there will now be more women’s teams than men’s teams at the upcoming summer games, contributing to an event that will see more female athletes than male athletes overall. 

• NWSL’s 16th team—set to enter the league next year in Denver—became the fastest to reach 10,000 season ticket deposits last week. The new club also recently hired their first employee in new president (and former Bay FC COO), Jen Millet.

• Canada’s Northern Super League is partnering with hummel on kits for every team in the league during their inaugural season, and let’s just say that they are gorgeous.

• From Michael Voepel in ESPN, ‘From Lobo’s 1995 Champs to Buecker’s 2025 Crown: Rankings all 12 UCONN title teams.’

What’s the Story? 🗣️ Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines on How He Started His Managerial Journey

Sam Mewis: Well, shout out to Ali Krieger.

Seb Hines: Yeah, Kriegs played a big part in me getting to this position. Tom Sermanni was the head coach here (in Orlando). I knew Alex (Morgan), I knew Kriegs, and when I spoke to Kriegs, I was like, “Yeah, I'm not doing a whole lot.” So then Kriegs spoke to my wife, my wife spoke to Kriegs, and Kriegs then spoke to Tom Sermanni, and I managed to, you know, start a chain of communication and said, “Yeah, Tom, I'm not doing a whole lot. Are you good with me coming in and just seeing if this is what I want to do?” And he was like, “Absolutely, come in.” Tom would throw me in training if they needed an additional number and yeah, I'd turn up for home games, you know, give my opinion on a few things. I wasn’t getting paid, but I was getting the experience of working with the high-quality players that we had here in Orlando at that time.

Watch the full conversation here.

It’s TWG Trivia Time 🤔

Welcome to our new weekly trivia game, we’re thrilled you could join us.

This week’s question: Seventeen players have made their USWNT debuts in Emma Hayes’ first 20 matches as U.S. manager. There’s only one head coach who saw more debuts in their first 20 matches in charge. Who was it?

Respond to this email for a chance to win a coveted TWG patch.

Last week’s answer: Congratulations to our winner, Marisa Patton, who correctly identified which Brazilian player scored a goal that was called offside in the USWNT/Brazil gold-medal match in last year’s Olympics. It was, of course, Ludmila.

The patch is on its way, Marisa. 🚚

Moment of Joy 🤸

Nat writes:

Hi Sam!!

I am SO excited to hear the Friendlies episode with Quinn! Women’s soccer is one of my favorite things and I absolutely love your podcast and live for the episodes you put out (especially since my partner and friends get tired of just listening to me talk about soccer things they’re not hip to lol). I think Quinn is so cool and it makes me so happy to have a nonbinary player to watch like me on TV doing the coolest thing ever - playing soccer! I also am nonbinary and grew up playing soccer. I would love to meet Quinn one day, although idk if that will happen since I don’t live in Canada, but one can dream. 

Thanks for all you do for women’s soccer <3. Also, here’s a pic of my dog, Joey - he is a little noodle guy and I love him so much. He enjoys basking in the sun, zoomies on the beach, and a delicious bone. Please never stop talking about Finn, also. 

Nat (they/them)

Sam writes:

Hi Nat! Thank you so much for writing in and sharing photos of Joey! He’s so cute. 

I’m glad you’re looking forward to Thursday’s episode with Quinn. I loved chatting with them and am so excited to watch them play in the Northern Super League!

📝 Want to be featured in next week’s TWG newsletter? Send Sam an email! All your questions, comments, and dog (or wedding) photos can be sent to [email protected]

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