Introducing: The Women's Game

Welcome to The Women’s Game, the first edition of our new email newsletter, designed to deliver a concise, intelligent framing of every day of football during the World Cup so you can maximize your viewing pleasure. If you like what you read below, our only request is you forward it to a football-loving (or football-curious) friend.

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It’s Monday, July 10th. Give us four minutes, we give you everything World Cup.

MEGAN RAPINOE TO HANG UP THE BOOTS: “It is with a deep sense of peace & gratitude that I have decided this will be my final season playing this beautiful game. I never could have imagined the ways in which soccer would shape & change my life forever, but by the look on this little girl’s face, she knew all along.”

The Final Countdown: 🇺🇸 USA 2 - 0 Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 

It would be unwise to reveal too much in a World Cup warm-up, so perhaps leaving yesterday’s send-off with more questions than answers is an unintended good. With yesterday’s 2-0 victory, US Manager Vlatko Andonovski heads to New Zealand keeping them guessing in Group E.

The first lingering question is of course the line-up, as the World Cup XI remains highly debatable in a few spots. That’s in large part due to injuries. And while we went into yesterday hoping to see varying degrees of Rose Lavelle, Julie Ertz and Megan Rapinoe, the three were unused substitutes. Vlatko Andonovski had hinted we’d see some of Rose in particular (whose midfield brilliance haunts us all us with its absence) but following the match, said of the trio that Ertz was a “no brainer” if this was a serious game, whereas Lavelle and Rapinoe remain in “the build up phase.”

Beyond the variables of Rose & Co., the line-up Vlatko Andonovski trotted out to meet Wales feels just 70% sure. Eleven days from now, we could reasonably see a few changes on every line of the field.

As for the match, questions linger surrounding what the plan is, exactly, when we have the ball. And with 72% of it, one wonders how it took 76 minutes to break through with a goal.

Certainly, individual finesse and ability abounds. Those moments of brilliance lent themselves toward Trinity Rodman’s brace of late goals to salvage victory, 2-0. Nods are necessary to Lynn Williams and Sophia Smith’s incisive roles in the first goal. But the team remains wasteful in the final third, disorganized arriving there, and ineffectual when breaking down a neat block.

As ever, it bears repeating: this was just a friendly. And while the litmus test for USWNT success remains higher than simply a victory, a 2-0 victory it still was. World Cup tune-ups the world over have proven unpredictable, with serious tournament contenders held off by ostensibly less threatening teams. And perhaps the most important achievement, departing for New Zealand with everyone intact, was a success.

Zambia 🇿🇲 stun Germany 🇩🇪 in Fürth

Last Friday in Fürth, FIFA’s 77th ranked side, Zambia, hounded strong tournament favorite Germany 3-2. From Barbra Banda’s breakaway strike in the 48th minute to her stoppage time deathknell, Banda (Shanghai Shengli, rumored to be on Real Madrid’s radar) led her team on a statement making night that portends a diminished gap within the game globally, and a Zambian side that could surprise in Group C.

Portugal 🇵🇹 continue momentum against Ukraine 🇺🇦

The USA’s fellow Group E challengers, Portugal, followed up their respectable 0-0 test against England’s Lionesses with another strong performance Friday, defeating Ukraine 2-0 in Porto. Both goals came from Jéssica Silva (Benfica) in the first half, whose pressing power and skill on the ball could test the US backline.

South Korea 🇰🇷 top Haiti 🇭🇹 in Seoul

Haiti evinced a strong performance this Saturday in Seoul, but the tournament newcomers fell 2-1 to South Korea, who prepare for their fourth World Cup run. The debutantes were first to score, as Nérilia Mondésir (Montpellier) carried home a beautiful ball in from Melchie Dumornay (Lyon). But the hosts pulled level in the first half, before Jang Sel-gi (Hyundai Steel Red Angels) sealed a send-off victory in the 81st with a celly as sweet as her goal was ruthless.

New Zealand 🇳🇿 nick a win against Vietnam 🇻🇳

This summer’s co-hosts in New Zealand picked up a necessary victory Monday against the USA’s opening match foe, Vietnam. The 2-0 triumph is their first in 12 games, ending a winless rut for the Football Ferns stretching back to November, 2021. Jacqui Hand of the Colorado College Tigers doubled the lead in Napier, New Zealand, with this finish before the half.

Group A Preview:

As the start of a historic tournament looms closer, we’ll be rolling out previews to get you up to speed on the key groups, nations, and players.

One group a day, starting with Group A:

New Zealand 🇳🇿

The Kiwi co-hosts open Group A with the first match of the full tournament July 20 against Norway. The Football Ferns will need the weight of their home crowd behind them that night as, on paper, Norway should prove their toughest test. Should they nick something on a festive evening, holding the likes of Ada Hegerberg (Lyon) at bay, they’ll hang their hat on an ability to defeat World Cup newbies in the Philippines. They certainly shouldn’t take that for granted, especially given a run of form featuring goals that are hard to come by and a porous backline. With US-born defender Ali Riley (Angel City FC) as their leader, though, they’ll hope to prove capable of grinding it out. A final test against a mercurial Swiss side waits beyond, the final hurdle before what they’ll hope is a first ever appearance in the knockouts. If recent form is an indication, they’ll rely heavily on the home crowd to spur them on.

Norway 🇳🇴

Still one of just four nations to win the World Cup (1995), Norway has a recent way of falling short before expectations, given the incredible talent in their squad. Nowhere is that more evident than in last summer’s faceplant at the Euros, where the presumed contenders fell out of the group after losing 8-0 to England. Now equipped with a new manager in Hege Riise (who won that Norwegian star in ‘95), a team stacked with attacking talent will hope that defensive collapse is sussed out. Eyes will deservedly be on Ada Hegerberg (Lyon), the first ever recipient of the Ballon D’or Feminin, who plays in her first World Cup since boycotting her federation in 2017, causing her to miss the 2019 competition. Barring a catastrophe as jarring as last summer’s, they’ll almost certainly escape first in their group.

Switzerland 🇨🇭

There exists some real quality within this Swiss side, but recent results have proved lackluster. They greet the tournament without a single win in 2023 and for more than a year, seem to eke out draws against comparable or less experienced competition, while conceding enthusiastically to the top of the pack. On paper, the wagering watcher would still place them second to escape the group. But especially with the Football Ferns’ home momentum, this side could be leapfrogged. Much depends on the fitness of captain Lia Wälti (Arsenal), who is still returning from injury. Wälti was not quite fit for Switzerland’s send-off matches, though is expected to feature alongside the equally capable Ramona Bachmann (PSG) and Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic (Barcelona).

Philippines 🇵🇭

FIFA’s lowest ranked side in Group A (46) will contend for their first ever World Cup with a scrappy team reliant on defensive organization. But especially given recent tournament success in the Asian Football Confederation, the wise observer wouldn’t entirely rule them out. Equipped with a robust team of dual-nationals and former Matildas manager Alen Stajcic, part of the expressed mission is the foundational experience. And while escaping the group may be a tall order, the debutantes led by US-born top-scorer Sarina Bolden (Western Sydney Wanderers) could well nick a result before they bow out.

Parting Shots:

“PEACE OUT USA”: US co-captain Alex Morgan’s parting words before the crew boarded a flight across the wide-ranging sea to New Zealand last evening. The US now recover and prepare from Auckland, with just 11 days to go before they kickoff against Vietnam.