Happy Tuesday, TWG readers! 

The Women’s Super League in England resumed this weekend, the trades and transfers are flying all over the world, and the USWNT is in camp. 2025 is truly underway for women’s soccer fans!

I have been a little jet lagged since I got back from Australia last week – alternating waking up at 4am and 10am. Probably not the best way to get adjusted so I’m turning over a new leaf this week. 

One of my first tasks when I got home was to look out at the calendar for the year in women’s football. We have so much to look forward to this year, even without a World Cup or Olympics. SheBelieves is only about 5 weeks away, the Champions League final is in May, and then the Euros, Copa America, and WAFCON are all in July. These tournaments are huge markers of what teams are building to have a strong World Cup in 2027, and they are also really crucial tests for organizations like CAF, CONMEBOL, and UEFA to see how they handle major tournaments on the women’s side.

Keep reading for more news on everything that’s going on, and keep your eyes peeled the rest of the week on our podcast feed. It’s an Emma double whammy! Rog interviewed Emma Hayes and that’s dropping today, plus, I interviewed Emma Sears and that’s dropping tomorrow.

Thank you all for being here!

Love,

Sam

“COME ON! GET THE BOOTS ON! LET’S GO!” — Emma Hayes encourages the USA to get on the training field faster, with the type of energy we need to launch into this week. 💨

USWNT January camp is underway 🇺🇲

The U.S. Women’s National team will conclude their January camp this Thursday in Florida. The USA’s winter-time gathering won’t feature any games. Instead, U.S. manager Emma Hayes is focused on identifying and integrating emerging talents from across a broader pool of names. Hayes is focused on the future, while she whittles down the core of her team with an eye on the World Cup in 2027.

• Hayes called in 26 players to her first senior team roster of 2025, which includes 11 of the 22 Olympic gold medalists from Paris. Many veteran stars are being rested, including all three members of “Triple Espresso”.

• Carrying forward a trend from the end of ‘24, this roster includes an exciting spate of new names. Six players are in their first senior team camp, including 27-year-old Gotham forward and NWSL’s Player of the Month for August, Ella Stevens, who scored seven goals for Gotham in ‘24 (and is doing it in practice for the U.S. now too). 13 players have appeared three or fewer times for the United States. That includes 23-year-old Racing Louisville forward, and this week’s Friendlies guest, Emma Sears, who collected a goal and an assist in her October debut against Iceland, helping the team secure a 3-1 comeback win as a substitute.

• For the first time in years, Hayes called in a Futures Camp to train alongside the senior team. Per U.S. Soccer, the coaching staff is pulling two-a-days, coaching the senior team and the Futures Camp one after the other. The 2025 Futures Camp roster features 24 players—including collegiate athletes and young professionals—with a range of experience representing the United States at the youth level. 19-year-old Angel City right-back Gisele Thompson (younger sister to U.S. forward Alyssa Thompson) is the only one to receive a senior team callup in the past. 

• “She picked me off of a little field in Stony Brook, when I was coaching the under 10s, and she said, ‘Who’s this gobby little Londoner, over there?’ And the rest is history.” — As part of camp, Emma Hayes introduced the first goalkeeper in USWNT history, Kim Wyant, to the team. As Hayes explained, Wyant discovered her as a young coach in New York back in 2001. 

• The U.S. will regather next month to play its first games of ‘25. The 10th edition of the SheBelieves Cup features games against Australia, Japan and Colombia, and goes down from Feb. 20-26. 

More: U.S. star Naomi Girma is heading to Europe with multiple outlets reporting that she's joining Chelsea. Girma is not in camp due to a minor calf issue.

Also: Last Tuesday, Jaedyn Shaw’s rumored trade to North Carolina Courage became official.

🥤 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.

European Roundup 🌍

England’s top flight Women’s Super League (WSL) resumed their regular season after the winter break with Matchday 11, marking the halfway point of the 22-match season. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

• Chelsea strengthened their hold on first place after beating West Ham 5-0. 31-year-old England defender Millie Bright collected her 128th WSL win in the victory, setting a WSL record. The USWNT’s Catarina Macario scored her second WSL goal of the regular season in the win. Macario also has three goals in the UEFA Women’s Champions League this season, bringing her to five goals across all competitions for London’s Blues.

More: Will anyone catch Chelsea as WSL returns? 

• Arsenal moved into second place with a 5-0 win against Crystal Palace.

  1. Gunners’ captain Leah Williamson opened the scoring with her first goal since March 2023, marking 679 days since she last scored for her club after recovering from an ACL injury.❣️

  2. Alessia Russo contributed one of the five, keeping her remarkable goal streak alive: Russo has scored in six-straight regular season WSL matches, and five-straight matches across all competitions. With seven goals in the regular season, Russo is the WSL’s second-highest scorer behind only Manchester City’s Bunny Shaw. 📈

  3. 35-year-old Dutch manager Renée Slegers is off to a strong start. Slegers was officially named head coach last week after a three-month run as interim manager. As interim, Slegers led the team to an 11-game unbeaten run in the WSL, including 10 wins and one draw. 🇳🇱

  4. U.S. right back Emily Fox celebrates one-year since signing for Arsenal this month. The Olympic gold medalist has been a standout for the Gunners over the past 12 months. And her praise for new manager Slegers is effusive, calling her a “steadying force.” 🇺🇲

More: Renée Slegers aims for ‘something beautiful’ as she becomes Arsenal head coach

• Manchester City slid down the table to fourth place after falling to Manchester United 4-2 in the Manchester Derby. United’s Ella Toone scored a hat-trick in the win, and American goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce had a strong performance in goal. United’s victory marks the first time they’ve beaten their intra-city rivals away from home in WSL action. 

More: The Mancunian rivals get a rematch today at 2:00 p.m. EST, as the two face-off in the League Cup. 

• In France, fans broke a new attendance record. 20,489 people packed the Parc des Princes to see first-place Lyon play second-place PSG. That’s the fourth largest attendance in history for French women’s football. First-place Lyon kept their hold on the top spot with a 2-0 win. Three Americans started in the match, including Lyon midfielder Lindsey Horan, as well as PSG’s pair of Americans, Eva Gaetino and Korbin Albert. U.S. defender Sofia Huerta was available from the bench for Lyon. Check out this sweet pass from U.S. captain Lindsey Horan. 🇫🇷

• It took Barcelona 90 minutes to score against Athletic Club Bilbao on Saturday. Two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas broke the 0-0 stalemate, with 18-year-old Spanish talent Vicky López adding a stunning second goal four minutes later to clinch a 2-0 win. The Spanish giants have 15 wins from fifteen matchdays after narrowly avoiding what would have been their first draw. 🇪🇸

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

News and Notes 📰🗞️

• The USA’s recently-retired goalkeeper extraordinaire, Alyssa Naeher, was fittingly named U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year. The 36-year-old pride of Connecticut was essential to the USA’s gold medal summer, and leaves behind a remarkable career. Naeher is the second goalkeeper (alongside Hope Solo in 2009) to collect the award, and is the only U.S. keeper to register a shutout in both a World Cup Final and Olympic gold medal match. Naeher: “It’s been the greatest honor of my life.” 🇺🇲🧤

• 20-year-old Utah Royals midfielder/forward Ally Sentnor is U.S. Soccer’s Young Female Player of the Year. Amid an impressive rookie season in NWSL, Sentnor captained the USA’s U-20 team at the World Cup in Colombia, where she scored three goals and won the Bronze Ball, as she helped the U.S. to a third-place finish. Sentnor is currently training with the senior team in Florida after making her first two appearances at the end of 2024. That includes a momentous debut in front of 78,346 fans at Wembley Stadium in London on Nov. 30. 🇺🇲

• Two notable Canadian veterans with impressive careers at the club and international level, Desiree Scott and Quinn, are returning home to play in the soon-to-launch Northern Super League. 37-year-old three-time Olympian Desiree Scott came out of retirement to sign for Ottawa Rapid. 29-year-old midfielder and two-time Olympian Quinn signed for Vancouver Rise FC after six seasons with Seattle. Both star signings will add some additional spotlight to Canada’s historic first-division professional league, which launches this April. 🇨🇦

• Trades, transfers, contract extensions, new signings, and more continue across NWSL’s offseason. Recent news includes that USWNT World Cup champion Christen Press is staying on for one more year with Angel City. Announced yesterday: 30-year-old Australian defender Alanna Kennedy is leaving Manchester City after three-and-a-half years, and signed for Angel City. 

• Google updated its search engine results, now showing a men’s and women’s option when searching for football results. That’s a big improvement from routing to the men’s game as a default, and allows fans to more easily find their women’s football news.

GOOD VIBES FC MERCH IS HERE 🤩🎁

The Good Vibes just got a lot better… 😏

THE GOOD VIBES MERCH IS HERE 🥳 and you can shop the collection right now.

Celebrate every laugh, hug, and cheer with the ultimate Good Vibes FC collection in our Limited Edition collaboration with one of our favorite brands, HOMAGE, so you know they’re SUPER soft.

SHOP GOOD VIBES FC GEAR NOW

PS: The great folks at WorldSoccerShop are letting us invite you to their Friends & Family Sale. Use code “FNFSALE” for 20% off through 1/24 😄

Parting Shots 🥃

“Only your best is good enough.” — Jamaican striker Bunny Shaw, who was England’s WSL top scorer of the year with Manchester City last season, speaking to Sam on The Women’s Game. Watch The Women’s Game Best of International Guests on YouTube. 

Good Reads 📚

• From Fifpro, ‘How Sara Bjork helped players choose family and football’

• From Ella Thomason, ‘Scott fears fewer opportunities in women’s game’

• From Alex Donaldson in Sportcal, ‘Women’s soccer revenues grew 35% across top 15 clubs’

Moment of Joy 🤸

“Hi Sam,

I've been a huge fan and listener since your previous podcast, which actually got me through many long walks with a newborn and a puppy. After listening to you and Lynn banter for hours I started following Gotham FC. It felt like I was destined to be a Gotham fan because my daughter (3 at the time) was very into bats and they had my favorite player (Lynn, duh). 

Now that Lynn has signed with Seattle do I stay loyal to my batties or do I switch loyalty to the Reign? Do I just tell people I'm a Lynn Williams FC fan when asked who my team is? Please help me navigate this!

Cheers,

Aly”

Sam Response:

Aly! I totally feel you. This is my dilemma too. Of course I’ll still root for my friends on Gotham (go bats!) but am also a proud member of the Lynn Williams FC fan club always and forever. ❤️

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