Trinity Rodman returns for USWNT 🇺🇸

Plus, the UWCL semis are set.

April 01, 2025

Happy Tuesday, TWG readers!

This weekend’s NWSL action was highlighted by a beautiful goal from USWNT forward Alyssa Thompson, a catwalk celebration from Ashley Hatch, penalty kick drama from Marta, and perhaps most importantly, tons of Becky Sauerbrunn content, who returned to Portland to be honored by the Thorns with a retirement celebration. I loved seeing pictures of Becky from Providence Park and got to ask her all about her feelings from the weekend in today’s episode of Good Vibes FC, which you can check out this afternoon.

If you missed Ada Hegerberg’s interview from last week, please head to our Youtube channel and give that a listen or watch! Ada is one of the icons of women’s football and we got to speak about her commitment to making the game better and her upcoming Euros as captain of the Norwegian national team. We also got to meet her dog Sune!

This week marks the start of the international window where the USWNT will face Brazil twice (more on the team’s roster announcement below). To get ready, we’ve got U.S. and Houston Dash attacker Yazmeen Ryan on Friendlies this Thursday, who details her move from Gotham to Houston and shares her goals for the USWNT.

We have so much exciting content ahead and I can’t wait to share it with you all! Thank you for being here with us.

Love,
Sam

Only Three NWSL Teams Remain Undefeated 💪🏼

In matchday three of the NWSL season, Orlando Pride and Kansas City Current maintained their perfect starts to the year with three wins from three games. And after Angel City’s 2-1 win against Seattle Reign, just three teams remain undefeated with the league off until Friday, April 11:

Orlando Pride 2-1 San Diego Wave

San Diego gave Orlando a tough challenge in Florida. But Haley McCutcheon came in clutch once again (scoring for the fourth time in six NWSL games stretching back to last season, including two in the Pride’s trophy-winning playoff run) with a goal off Marta’s well-taken corner. And the Brazilian legend sealed a 2-1 win from the penalty spot, after 19-year-old Nigerian international, Chiamaka Okwuchukwu, scored for San Diego just 108 seconds into her debut.

Kansas City Current 3-0 Utah Royals

Last season’s record-setting Golden Boot winner, Malawian forward Temwa Chawinga, scored first for Kansas City in a 3-0 win over Utah Royals. With that, Chawinga has matched her own 2024 record of scoring in eight straight games. Michelle Cooper and Debinha added two more before the half in a resounding victory for the home team at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City. 

🗣️ Sam's Take: I'm starting to wonder if we all might have to stop touting "parity" as the NWSL's greatest asset. Orlando and Kansas City are looking levels above the rest of the league week in and week out.

Washington Spirit 2-0 Bay FC

Last year’s second-place Washington Spirit recovered from a loss to Kansas City with a 2-0 victory against Bay FC at home this weekend. Days after earning a USWNT call-up (where she could see her first appearance in a competitive game for the U.S. since December ‘23), Spirit striker Ashley Hatch scored a brace to secure the win. With that, Hatch also clinched the record for fifth-most regular season goals in NWSL history.

🥤 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.

Trinity Rodman Returns to USWNT Squad for Battles with Brazil 🇺🇲🇧🇷

Little more than a month since the U.S. placed second in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup, USWNT manager Emma Hayes named her 24-player roster for two upcoming friendlies against Brazil starting this Saturday, April 5 (5 p.m. ET, TNT, TruTV, Max, Universo, Peacock). FIFA’s No. 1 and No. 8 teams have met 41 times in their history with the U.S. winning 33 of those games, including their 1-0 win against Brazil in last summer’s gold medal match at the Olympics. Here are some highlights of the announced roster: 

  • Twenty-two-year-old Washington Spirit star forward Trinity Rodman is the first member of Triple Espresso (the USWNT forward trio that combined for 10 goals in Paris) to return to the squad since the Olympics. The other two members remain absent for now: On March 5, Sophia Wilson (née Smith) announced that she is pregnant with her first child, while Chicago Red Stars talent (and the game-winning goalscorer against Brazil in Paris) Mallory Swanson remains out at the start of the NWSL season. 

  • While 19 of 23 players from the SheBelieves Cup roster will be back in this window, a few exciting talents could make their competitive return after periods away from the national team. That includes Kansas City defender Alana Cook, who last appeared in October 2023, and Washington Spirit striker Ashley Hatch, who trained with the team in January, but last appeared in December 2023. Chelsea striker Mia Fishel will also join camp as a training player, after spending the past year recovering from an ACL injury.

🗣️ Sam's Take: I keep seeing quotes from Emma Hayes about how she's going to be tough on the team this camp and remind everyone what the standards of the USWNT are. I'm excited about this response to the loss against Japan and I think that Emma's messaging in the media is really well timed. These matchups against Brazil are a huge test and the USWNT will have to showcase what they learned during SheBelieves in order to get results.

The UWCL Semis Are Set 🏆

We officially have our 2025 UEFA Women’s Champions League semifinalists. After two comeback victories for Arsenal and Chelsea in the second leg of the quarterfinal, the four remaining teams are Barcelona, Lyon, Chelsea, and Arsenal.

  • In the penultimate round (with the first leg scheduled for April 19), Arsenal plays eight-time champions Lyon with USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps (née Horan) and right-back Sofia Huerta pitted against Gunners fullback Emily Fox in that matchup.

  • In the other semifinal, Chelsea (with three U.S. players in Cat Macario, Mia Fishel, and Naomi Girma in their ranks) will play the reigning champions, Barcelona.

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

All Around England and Europe 🌍

In England and on the continent, domestic leagues are hitting their final weekends. Here’s a look at how things stand ahead of any last-gasp relegation battles and title races:

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 WSL: Days after scoring two pivotal goals in Arsenal’s 3-0 win against Real Madrid, English striker Alessia Russo scored again for Arsenal in their 4-0 win against Crystal Palace. With four games left in the season, she is in a four-way tie for most goal contributions in WSL and trails Manchester City’s Bunny Shaw by just one goal in the Golden Boot race. Russo’s fellow England teammates Chloe Kelly assisted Beth Mead for her 50th WSL goal in the win. Elsewhere, Chelsea drew West Ham 2–2 to remain unbeaten, and lead the WSL table by six points ahead of second-place Arsenal and third-place Manchester United, who are tied on points.

🇫🇷 Première Ligue: U.S. star Crystal Dunn scored two goals for PSG (her first for her new club since departing Gotham in the offseason) in a 6-0 win against Saint-Étienne. With three weekends to go, Lyon beat Fleury 4-0 to lead the table by 10 points. 

🇩🇪 Frauen-Bundesliga: In Germany, Bayern Munich widened their hold on first place after beating fourth-place Leverkusen 2-0. The reigning title holders ended the weekend with a six-point lead over second and third place sides, Eintracht Frankfurt and Wolfsburg, who are tied on points.

Matches Worth Faking a Meeting For 📺

The upcoming international break features a number of exciting matches to keep an eye on. National sides across the world are preparing for big competitions in the coming months (think EURO 2025 and the Copa América Femenina), and this window provides a great opportunity to observe how teams look ahead of their summer-tournament runs. 

England vs. Belgium (Friday, 3 p.m. ET, Fubo) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇧🇪

England’s Lionesses are the reigning champions of Europe after defeating Germany at Wembley in 2022. In 2023, they finished second at the World Cup after losing to Spain. They’ve had some temperamental performances in recent windows, but beat reigning World Cup champions Spain 1-0 with a goal from Manchester City’s Jess Park in their last match. Belgium won’t be favorites in this one, but will be fun to watch as they prepare for their third straight EURO appearance, after first qualifying for EURO 2017 in what was their first major international tournament. 

Portugal vs Spain (Friday, 2:45 p.m. ET, Fubo) 🇵🇹🇪🇸

Spain won their first international trophy at the 2023 World Cup, and will be one of the favorites to take home another title this summer in Switzerland. That said, they’ve proven beatable in recent windows, while Portugal has emerged as an experienced and difficult team to play. 

Honorable mentions: Canada vs. Argentina (Friday, April 4), Mexico vs. Jamaica (Saturday, April 5), Japan vs. Colombia (Sunday, April 6)

News & Notes 🗞️

  • The records just keep breaking. After multiple attendance milestones were surpassed in England and Germany domestic competitions last weekend, Real Madrid vs. Arsenal set a new record for UWCL quarterfinal attendance in England with 22,517 fans.

  • According to a study conducted by Deloitte, revenue from women’s sports will surpass $23B in 2025.

  • NWSL’s Boston team, who originally launched as ‘BOS Nation FC’ to immediate backlash, has unveiled their new name: Boston Legacy FC. They’ll enter the league in 2026 alongside NWSL’s 16th team, based in Denver. 

    🗣️ Sam's Take: I am a fan of the new name! And as someone who grew up in the Boston area, I'm rooting for this club to get it right. Being an expansion team in the NWSL is hard and while speed bumps are unavoidable, I think this adjustment showed an adaptability from the club that is admirable. So... go Legacy!

Moments of Joy 🤸

Mal writes: Hi Sam, Lynn, and Becky!

I made some Wilma art for Rose this past weekend at Gotham’s home opener! 

My question is: Out of all the Wilma art Rose has been given over the years, do you guys have any favorites that you can remember? 

Love the pod, especially the new sick and tired segment 🤣. Keep it up!

Best, Mal

Sam writes: Hi Mal! Thank you so much for sharing these photos! When it comes to Wilma art, I simply cannot pick a favorite. All of it is so good and we can only hope that one day there will be a Wilma Museum.

📝 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]