Japan Best U.S. for SheBelieves Cup 🏆

Happy Tuesday, TWG readers!

I’m back in Vermont after a brief, surprisingly sunny weekend visiting my sister in London. I’m trying to normalize quick trips to prepare myself for a new member of the family to join us in May. Kristie and I had a great couple of days together- we went for walks in Battersea Park, ate pastries, shopped for baby clothes, and watched The Traitors. A pretty perfect sister weekend and I’m so happy that I made the trip. 

Lots to talk about this week on Good Vibes, including the exciting WSL games this weekend and the upcoming Challenge Cup. Make sure to catch that episode dropping today with Lynn Biyendolo. Then on Thursday, we have a really wonderful interview with Tierna Davidson about leadership on the USWNT, how Gotham is feeling ahead of preseason, and Tierna’s recent run-in with an astronaut. You’ll find that wherever you get your podcasts and on TWG’s YouTube channel!

Finally, I need my co-hosts back in action for an all-new episode of Sammy Banana Phone for next week! Please give me a call with your questions ahead of the upcoming NWSL season: What do you want to know about your team? The coaching? The young players to watch? Ask me and your question could be featured on an episode. Call the Sammy Banana Phone at 855-611-4050.

Thank you all so much for being here with us, we’ll see you soon!

Love,

Sam

Japan Are 2025 SheBelieves Cup Champions 🏆

Last Wednesday, Japan won the 2025 SheBelieves Cup after defeating the United States 2-1 on the final matchday. They scored 10 goals in three games (five more than the U.S., who had the second most) while playing beautiful, fluid football, en route to a deserved SheBelieves Cup trophy. As one of just five nations to win a World Cup, Japan has long been one of the strongest international sides in women’s football, and they seem certain to be massive contenders in 2027. 

For the USWNT, Emma Hayes’s squad gained valuable experience as a roster filled with key vets and exciting newcomers made debuts, built partnerships, and tested themselves against elite international competition. Here are some highlights:

• The U.S. continued to show its incredible depth of options and versatility in their attacking lines. With the “triple espresso” frontline of Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman, and Sophia Wilson all absent, alongside key veteran midfielder Rose Lavelle, players like Lynn Biyendolo, Yazmeen Ryan, Cat Macario, Jaedyn Shaw, and Ally Sentnor (and well beyond) showed their skill. 

• The 21-year-old Utah Royals talent Sentnor (who was U.S. Soccer’s 2024 Young Female Player of the Year) was the team’s top scorer in the tournament. Her goal against Japan (assisted by Macario) marked her second international goal in just her fifth appearance. 

• There’s also a lot of young talent emerging in the midfield. 17-year-old Ajax product Lily Yohannes, who committed to play for the U.S. over the Netherlands last fall, continued to excite as she earned her first and second start in her third and fourth appearance for the USWNT. 19-year-old Kansas City midfielder Claire Hutton also impressed when she made her debut against Australia. 

More: Japanese forward Mina Tanaka, who plays for Utah Royals in NWSL, was named SheBelieves Cup MVP after scoring four goals and collecting three assists in the tournament. 

Also: Sam went live with beloved New Zealand Football Ferns captain and Angel City FC defender Ali Riley at the final whistle. Watch the full episode here.

🥤 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.

More International Football, Did You Say? 🌍

UEFA Women’s Nations League 🥇

In Europe, matchday two of the Nations League group phase took place last week:

• England hosted Spain (who they lost to in the 2023 World Cup final) at Wembley Stadium in London. The Lionesses beat La Roja 1-0 with a goal from Manchester City’s Jess Park. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇪🇸

More: Goal-shy Spain appear no closer to ending women’s Euros hoodoo.

• France were the only team to win each of their games in League A after beating Iceland 3-2. 🇫🇷🇮🇸

• Germany bested their neighbors Austria 4-1 in Nuremberg with four goals from four different players. 🇩🇪🇦🇹

You can view all the Women’s Nations League results here. 📊

Malawi vs. Zambia, Round Two 🇲🇼🇿🇲

In their second straight friendly, Malawi avenged their 2-0 loss to Zambia from a few days before with a 3-2 victory last week. With NWSL stars on both sides of the pitch, Bay FC’s Racheal Kundananji scored again for Zambia in the Copper Queens’ loss.

Our Fav European Leagues Return 🇪🇺

With the international break wrapped up, a number of domestic leagues resumed play this weekend: 

WSL: Matchday 15 of 22 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

• U.S. star Naomi Girma (who set the world transfer fee when she signed for Chelsea this winter) made her much-anticipated debut for Chelsea in a 2-2 draw against Brighton on Sunday. In a heart wrenching sight, Girma went down in the 59th minute and was subbed off with an apparent injury. However, according to reports, it appears to be a minor issue. Our thoughts are with Girma as she works back to full health. After their second draw of the season, Chelsea remain unbeaten and finished the weekend still in first place. 

More: Women’s first $1 million women’s footballer Girma has Chelsea debut cut short.

• Manchester United kept their hold on second place after beating Leicester City 2-0 with goals from Melvine Malard and Leah Galton. 

• In an absolute goal-fest of a contest, Arsenal beat West Ham 4-3 despite trailing 2-0 in the first 12 minutes. Chloe Kelly scored her first goal for Arsenal since rejoining the club and it's worth a gander. 

• Goal of the weekend? English striker Beth England scored a beauty in a 2-1 loss to Manchester City (see below). England is now tied with Arsenal striker Alessia Russo for second-most goals in the WSL. 

Division 1 Féminine: Matchday 16 of 22 🇫🇷

• USWNT’s Crystal Dunn was on the bench for her new club, PSG, but did not debut for the second-place Parisian club as they beat Dijon 1-0. 

• U.S. captain Lindsey Heaps was rested while American right back Sofia Huerta clocked a start for first-place Lyon in a 4-0 win against 11th-place Strasbourg. 

Liga F: Matchday 20 of 30 🇪🇸

• Top-of-the-table Barcelona beat 11th-place Eibar 8-1 with eight goals from seven different players. Salma Paralluelo scored a brace in the win, marking her fifth and sixth goals of the season.

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News & Notes 🗞️

• The 2025 NWSL season is almost here! The NWSL Challenge Cup, which precedes the first weekend of regular season matches starting March 14, is this Friday, March 7. It’s a rematch of last year’s championship, with 2024 NWSL Shield winners and Champions Orlando Pride taking on the Washington Spirit in Florida (8:00 p.m. ET, Prime).

• ‘A movement, not a moment’: SPORTFIVE, a global sports marketing company, published research into the growth and value of women’s football. They found that over half of those surveyed are interested in the sport, but most fans feel they don’t see enough coverage of it.

• Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL), which controls England’s top two divisions (the WSL and second division Championship), held a meeting Friday to discuss initiatives to grow the game domestically, including foregoing relegation. Moving forward, clubs will vote on whether to rethink the traditional system.

Parting Shots 🥃

“Playing with some of the best in the world... Has gotten them ready for this level. I think it's a testament to the NWSL." — Becky and Sam discussed the impact NWSL is having on USWNT players in the SheBelieves Cup.

Good Reads 📚

• From Julia Ranney in The Guardian, ‘How understanding the menstrual cycle is breaking new ground for women’s soccer’

• From Giri Nathan in Defector, ‘With everyone watching women’s sports, the WTA tries another rebrand’

• From Jenna Tonelli in Sports Illustrated, ‘NWSL secondary jerseys ranked worst to best’

Moments of Joy 🤸

First up, we have a terrific message sent to Lynn from Stephanie, Lauren, and Isabelle in Seattle:

Dear Lynn,

We had so much fun watching you play in San Diego at the SheBelieves Cup this past week. Thank you for being so kind and taking the time to sign our poster after the game. It truly was a highlight of our trip. We are SO excited to watch you play for Seattle – the queen has truly returned!!!

PS: Our secret Seattle recommendation for Marley and you to settle in is to walk onto the ferry, take it from Edmonds to Kingston, and have crêpes in Kingston. Maybe you‘ll even see an orca on the way!

We love you, Good Vibes FC, and The Women‘s Game!

Stephanie, Lauren, and Isabelle

We also wanted to shoutout our very own Good Vibes FC cohost Becky Sauerbrunn for trying something new recently and joining the broadcast team for the SheBelieves Cup. Becky smashed it and we at TWG are so proud! Lynn really conveyed how we all feel:

📝 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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