USWNT’s First Game in 113 Days 🇺🇸

Plus, the NWSL playoff picture comes into focus.

October 21, 2025

Happy Tuesday, TWG readers!

The USWNT is back in camp today for three friendlies and two retirement celebrations. Alex Morgan and Alyssa Naeher will be celebrated this week in Pennsylvania and Connecticut as two of the greatest USWNTers of all time. I can’t wait to see them honored, but I also can’t wait to watch this team play together again! At this point in the year, I know we’re going to see lots of rotations and that means there’s going to be so much to look for in these games. 🇺🇸

We’ve got a big week here at TWG with some very special interviews. Yesterday, an all-new episode of Teaming Up with Becky Sauerbrunn featuring Mina Kimes dropped. Then, I got the chance to sit down with Alex Morgan - in person, thanks to our friends at Michelob Ultra - to talk about her journey on the field, her stardom, and her retirement ventures. That episode will be available tomorrow, check it out on our YouTube. Finally, on Thursday we have a Friendlies episode with Trinity Rodman AND we’re going live after the USWNT game against Portugal on our YouTube channel! 📺

I was in San Diego this past weekend watching the Wave dismantle the Chicago Stars in a 6-1 win that had Snapdragon Stadium rocking. Seeing Delphine Cascarino and Kenza Dali play in person was incredible, both of these players are such a joy to watch on the ball. It got me so hyped for playoffs, which are just around the corner! ☀️

Can’t wait to watch with you all.

Love,
Sam

The USWNT’s First Game in 113 Days 🇺🇸

Last Wednesday, Emma Hayes named her penultimate roster of 2025. Those 25 players are now training together for a three-match autumn window; 23 of them will suit up for each friendly in back-to-back tests against FIFA’s No. 23-ranked Portugal, followed by a meeting with the No. 33-ranked New Zealand Football Ferns. The USWNT has a near-perfect record against both teams, but lost to New Zealand once (in 1987 for their first meeting), and battled through an arduous 0-0 draw in their last meeting with Portugal to mark their final match of Group E in the 2023 World Cup. 

With five games to go, 2025 has been a year defined by both the expansion and refinement of the player pool that Hayes hopes will bring home the next World Cup. While introducing new players and playing strong teams, the reigning gold-medalists have secured eight wins and two defeats (one apiece against Japan and Brazil) this calendar year. Their progress was evident in their most recent results, but their last game together was all the way back in July, a big 3-0 victory vs. Canada, 113 days prior to Thursday’s friendly against Portugal (7 p.m. ET, TNT/TruTV/HBO Max or Peacock en Español).

More: Just outside of Philadelphia this Thursday, U.S. Soccer will honor the career of Alex Morgan. A few days later, in her home state of Connecticut, goalkeeper extraordinaire Alyssa Naeher will also be honored.

📬 Enjoying The Women’s Game? Check out our other MiB newsletters:

🐦‍⬛ The Raven: Our Monday and Friday newsletter where we preview the biggest matches around the world (and tell you where/how to watch them) and recap our favorite football moments from the weekend.

🔍 The Correspondent: Rory Smith’s thoughts on the world of soccer, culture, food, and how they all connect – every Thursday.

🇺🇸 USMNT Only: Your weekly update on the most important topics in the U.S. men’s game, all leading up to next year’s World Cup.

NWSL Matchday 25: Playoff Berths and a Few Player Retirements 📊

In the second-to-last weekend of the NWSL regular season, four teams clinched their playoff spots—fourth-placed Seattle, fifth-placed San Diego, sixth-placed Portland and seventh-placed Gotham—all of which will battle through the final weekend, along with third-placed Orlando, for home-field advantage. Last Friday, ninth-placed North Carolina beat Bay FC 4-1 with a hat-trick from Manaka Matsukubo to keep their postseason dreams alive, and will vie with Racing Louisville for the eighth and final playoff spot. With results elsewhere in the table, Angel City and Houston were both eliminated.

Gotham FC 2-2 Racing Louisville

In a weekend that ran riot with playoff stakes, few games had as much on the line as this one. With a win, Racing Louisville would have clinched its first-ever playoff berth after five seasons in the NWSL. Despite being outshot seven to three on target, Jordyn Bloomer made five saves to keep Racing competitive, and for 20 minutes in the second half, they held a 2-1 lead. But Cincinnati legend Rose Lavelle destroyed Kentucky-based dreams as she scored her third goal in five regular-season games in the 85th minute, officially sealing Gotham’s NWSL playoff spot and sending Louisville to fight for their history-making berth in the final weekend. With a draw, Louisville remains in the eighth and final playoff spot.

Washington Spirit 2-3 Orlando Pride

Both teams already qualified for the NWSL playoffs in previous weekends (with Orlando clinching their spot a week ago against Portland). But this 2024 NWSL Championship rematch saw reigning champs Orlando—who hit a prolonged lull after the summer break, compounded by Barbra Banda’s injury—defeat the second-placed Spirit while playing on the road in the capital. That’s a massive win for the Pride as they jockey for home-field advantage and continue amassing momentum for a postseason run. Orlando’s win also featured the unexpected accomplishment of defender Kerry Abello scoring at both ends of the field. The Spirit, who were absent Trinity Rodman due to an MCL sprain, may not have won this Championship rematch, but Italian forward Sofia Cantore did score another back-heel goal for the second-placed squad.

More: Two NWSL legends announced retirements last week. Ahead of Angel City’s final match of the season, two-time World Cup champion Christen Press announced her retirement from football, ending an amazing 14-year career in her home city of Los Angeles. And Welsh veteran Jess Fishlock, who is Wales’ all-time leading scorer on the men’s or women’s side, announced her retirement from the international game just a few months after representing the Dragons in their first-ever major tournament (and fittingly, scoring their first goal on that stage). Those recent announcements add to the previously announced retirements of New Zealand and Angel City captain Ali Riley, as well as renowned Reign player Lauren Barnes.

  • Sam’s Take 🗣️: The recent retirements and celebrations have me feeling some emotional whiplash... I am so happy and proud of all these players, but I understand that leaving the game comes with so many complicated feelings. I'm feeling all the feels! How do retirement announcements make you feel? Send me an email at [email protected] and tell me how you're dealing with it all.

You can view the full NWSL table and playoff picture 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.

UEFA Women’s Champions League Carries On 🏆

The Champions League continued with matchday two of the new league phase format last week. Only five of 18 teams have two wins in two games played, that includes Manchester United—the sole English club to do so— while appearing in their first-ever UWCL. 

  • United beat Atlético Madrid 1-0 with an emphatic goal from Fridolina Rolfö just one week after Atleti beat St. Pölten 6-0. While down a player from the 74th minute on, U.S. goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce made an incredible six saves to keep Atleti scoreless in the win.

  • After losing their opening match against eight-time champions Lyon, Arsenal beat Benfica 2-0 in Lisbon on matchday two.

  • Speaking of the eight-time champions of Europe, France’s finest club, OL Lyonnes, beat beleaguered Swiss club St. Pölten (who are now in 18th with a nine-goal deficit) 3-0 featuring a goal from U.S. midfielder Lily Yohannes.

  • England’s top-ranked WSL side, Chelsea—who drew Dutch club Twente in their opening test—also got their first win of the league phase with a 4-0 victory over Paris FC, with Alyssa Thompson’s first-ever Chelsea goal. 

Goals of the Weekend, Presented by New Balance 💥

Upcoming Int’l Matches to Get Excited About 🗓️

Germany vs. France (Friday, 11:45 a.m. ET) 🇩🇪 🇫🇷

This two-legged Nations League semifinal begins in Germany, who’ve already sold 33,000 tickets for the opening leg. The Germans beat France on penalties at this past summer’s Euros, and although they’ll be missing key players like Gotham goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger in this rematch of that quarterfinal, huge talents like Lena Oberdorff and Giulia Gwinn are back in the squad. Les Bleues are still seeking their first major international trophy, and will hope to make their second-straight Nations League final after beating the Germans in the last edition.

Spain vs. Sweden (Friday, 2 p.m. ET) 🇪🇸 🇸🇪

Spain are the defending Nations League champions, and are rallying to recover from their runner-up finish at this past summer’s Euros (where they lost on penalties to England) with a repeat Nations League title. La Roja host Sweden at home first in this home-and-away semifinal. Sweden, on the other hand, are vying for this trophy with new coach Tony Gustavsson, as the only team left who didn’t make in to the semifinals in the previous Nations League.

Italy vs. Japan (Friday, 12:15 p.m. ET) 🇮🇹 🇯🇵

Italy was among the most compelling ‘dark horse’ stories from this past summer’s Euros. The Italians beat former champions Norway 2-1 in the quarterfinal, and nearly knocked out the eventual winners, England, but ultimately succumbed to a semifinal exit after penalties. They’ll play perennial power Japan, who beat the USWNT earlier this year in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup Final. 

England vs. Brazil (Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇧🇷

While the USWNT sets off for a three-friendly window, some tasty matchups are going down overseas. That includes the reigning (back-to-back!) champions of Europe, England, hosting the champions of South America, Brazil, in Manchester. The last time the starlets of UEFA and Conmebol met was in 2023, when England beat Brazil on penalties after the two tied 1-1 in regulation time. England will also host Australia (with Sam Kerr back in the squad for the first time since 2023) for a friendly at Pride Park.

  • Sam’s Take 🗣️: These are some fun international friendlies. There are so many Brazilians from the NWSL joining the national team this camp, which is a great reminder that the NWSL is attracting global talent. Some of these Brazilian national team stars have been the most influential in the league as of late, like Dudinha, Debinha, Bia Zanerato, Lorena, and Ludmila just to name a few! I'll be eager to see how they perform against England.

News & Notes 🗞️

  • Last week, the Washington Spirit beat Mexican side Monterrey 4-0 to top Group B (ahead of reigning title-holders Gotham) of the Concacaf W Champions Cup and proceed to the tournament semifinal. Unfortunately, Trinity Rodman left the match with an MCL sprain that will keep her out for three weeks. While Gotham and the Spirit represent the two NWSL sides to progress into the knockout round, the Orlando Pride were eliminated from Group A, as Mexican clubs Club América and Pachuca progressed ahead of them to the tournament semifinal.

  • The Gainbridge Women's Super League's Dallas Trinity FC drew a record-setting crowd of 22,838 fans this weekend - the most tickets ever sold for a women's sports match in Texas - for the very first State Fair Clásico against América Femenil at the historic Cotton Bowl. Elsewhere in the WSL, Lexington SC beat previously undefeated Fort Lauderdale United FC to take the top spot in the standings, which they now share with the Spokane Zephyr. 

  • This weekend also saw the final matches of Canada's Northern Super League's inaugural season. Thanks to a goal from Nikayla Small, AFC Toronto was able to achieve a come-from-behind victory against the Montreal Roses. The win also secured AFC Toronto the very first NSL Supporters' Shield. Playoffs begin November 1.

New Balance Tekela: Crafted for Control 👟

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Good Reads 🗞️

It’s TWG Trivia Time 🤔

This week’s question: In the 2019 World Cup, Christen Press scored a beautiful goal against a top team in the knockout phase, then celebrated by throwing her arms to the sky in honor of her mother, who’d recently passed away. Which team were the U.S. playing?

Respond to this email (or reply here) for a chance to win a coveted TWG patch.

Last week’s answer: Ada Hegerberg (OL Lyonnes), Kim Little (Arsenal), and Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich) are the active three players in this year’s Champions League who also happen to rank in the top 10 for most goals ever scored in the competition.

Congrats to Nikki Koller, who was the first person to respond with the correct answer. Nikki, the patch is on its way! 💌

Moment of Joy 🤸

Elise writes: Hi Sam! 

I also love apple picking and got to visit an orchard this weekend as well. We brought along our corgi, Avery, for the first time and she had a blast! Please enjoy her cuteness in the photo below. She's not technically named after Avery Patterson, but let's pretend, okay? 😊

Love the podcasts and thanks for all you do!

Elise

Sam writes: Elise! I’m so happy to hear that you are also getting into the fall spirit. It really is just the best time of the year! Plus, NWSL playoffs coming up AND USWNT games? We’ve got it all, and your dog Avery (Patterson) is so cute!

Thanks for writing in!

Sam

📝 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]

Correction: Last week, we incorrectly identified the Orlando Pride as having not yet clinched an NWSL playoff spot when they actually already had. Congrats to Orlando and apologies for the error.

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