Sam Kerr came up big for Chelsea this weekend, coming off the bench to score a huge goal in their 2-1 win over Manchester United in the FA Cup. And leave it to USWNT center-back, Naomi Girma, to score the game winner! Chelsea have their work cut out for them across their remaining schedule, but it’s tough to ever count them out. 💙

Club competitions are going on pause for the big international window and some of our favorite players have huge games coming up. We spoke with Arsenal’s Katie McCabe about Ireland’s World Cup qualifying campaign in which they’ll be taking on France and the Netherlands. It’s a difficult path, but Katie is so passionate about her national team – make sure to tune into “Friendlies” this Thursday to hear more from her. 🇮🇪

We also dropped a “Friendlies” interview with Kailen Sheridan last week as we start to gear up for SheBelieves (watch that one here). The USWNT will be taking on Kailen and Canada, as well as Argentina and Colombia, starting this Sunday. We’ll be going live after each match, so make sure you’re subscribed to our YouTube channel – that way you won’t miss anything! 📺

Finally, Becky and I had a great chat with Crystal Dunn on today’s episode of “Good Vibes,” which is out this afternoon. Crystal recently announced her retirement and we got to hear firsthand about Crystal’s favorite moments from her career and how she got clarity around hanging up her boots. I can’t wait for you to hear it. 🫶

Keep reading for tons more news from around the women’s soccer world!

Love,
Sam

PS - We are fully onboard with Emma Hayes’ picks for the funniest player and best DJ on the USWNT. 🇺🇸

As we think about the future of everything surrounding The Women's Game – the stories, the culture, and the experiences around the game – we want your input. We have a short survey that is designed to help us understand what matters most to you, what sounds exciting, and what you might feel is missing. It should only take a few minutes, but will have a massive impact in shaping what we do next. As a thank you, everyone who lends us their voice will have the chance to win one of two $100 TWG Shop gift cards.

Manchester United 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 2-0 Atlético Madrid 🇪🇸 (Agg. 5-0)

The Red Devils are in their first-ever UWCL quarterfinal, after a second straight clean sheet against Atleti (USWNT goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce made an amazing four saves). With the win last Thursday, United are one of three English clubs in the final eight (they’ll play Bayern Munich), the most of any country. 

Juventus 🇮🇹 0-2 Wolfsburg 🇩🇪 (Agg. 2-4)

The two-time champions of Europe will keep their knockout streak alive after beating Juventus in Italy last week. After scraping their way to a 2-2 stalemate in the first leg, Wolfsburg’s 26-year-old German goalkeeper, Stina Johannes, made a remarkable nine saves to help see the Germans through to the next round. They’ll play a familiar foe in eight-time champions OL Lyonnes. 

Arsenal 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 3-1 OH Leuven 🇧🇪 (Agg. 7-1)

Alessia Russo scored the first and final goals for the Gunners last Wednesday in their second straight win over the outmatched Belgian side, sealing a tantalizing intra-league meeting with Chelsea in the final eight.

Real Madrid 🇪🇸 2-0 Paris FC 🇫🇷 (Agg. 5-2)

Paris FC held their own at home in the first leg (which finished 2-3 in Real Madrid’s favor), but a red card in the fifth minute of the second matchup sunk their chances of progressing. The Madridistas saw themselves to a steady victory (Paris FC held 30% possession and managed just one shot on target), which confirmed a meeting with their Spanish rivals Barcelona in the quarterfinal.  

On March 13, the NWSL’s 14th regular season will begin with a Friday night meeting between the back-to-back championship runner-up, Washington Spirit, and three-time champions, Portland Thorns (who finished last season with a semi-final loss to Washington). 

The headline news: two new expansion clubs (Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC) will bring the NWSL to 16 teams for the first time ever. Both are working toward building team-specific stadiums and have made some big signings of homegrown stars, like USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps to Colorado. And based on pre-season ticket sales, Denver Summit FC has already broken the single-game attendance record before playing a single game.

The 11th annual SheBelieves Cup signifies a shift in Emma Hayes’ evolution with this team as they prepare to qualify, and then contend, for next year’s World Cup. For the first time ever, Hayes named a 26-player roster featuring no uncapped players (though Riley Jackson is in camp with one).

With only 13 players who played in last year’s tournament, the team preparing to take on Canada, Colombia and Argentina also represents the breadth of new names carefully built into the program over the past year. Those fresh(er) faces join hands with a steady spine of veterans, some of whom will return after missing January camp. Unfortunately for fans yearning for the return of Triple Espresso, Trinity Rodman remains the only member with the team, as Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith continue their return-to-play protocol after giving birth to their daughters last year. 

Japan’s victory in last year’s edition interrupted a five-year undefeated run for the USWNT. On March 1, they’ll launch their reclamation campaign in Nashville, with games to follow in Columbus and Harrison, N.J. 

More: Four takeaways from USWNT SheBelieves Cup roster.

🥤 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.

AFC Women’s Asian Cup 🏆

The Asian Football Confederation commences their World Cup qualifying this weekend with the Women’s Asian Cup as the decider. In a region with five teams ranked in FIFA’s top 25 – and one of just five nations to have won a World Cup (Japan) – the six best performers will qualify automatically for Brazil ‘27. All games will be available to stream on the AFC Asian Cup YouTube channel.

Australia 🇦🇺 vs. Philippines 🇵🇭 (Sunday, March 1, 4 a.m. ET)

The Matildas (who are hosting this year’s tournament) start their qualification campaign in the wee hours of the morning for U.S. viewers (shoutout to memories of the ‘23 World Cup). They’ll play the Philippines, a team rife with U.S.-born dual-nationals, who made their World Cup debut in New Zealand. Australia will play their highest-ranked Group A opponent, South Korea, on March 8. 

Japan 🇯🇵 vs. Chinese Taipei 🇹🇼 (Wednesday, March 4, 12 a.m. ET)

Japan are the highest-ranked team in the tournament, and will start their qualification campaign in Group C against Chinese Taipei, with tests against India and then Vietnam (who made their World Cup debut in New Zealand against the United States) to follow. 

UEFA Women’s World Cup Qualifiers 🇪🇺

Starting next week, European nations will begin their campaigns to qualify for the 2027 World Cup. The top 16 teams will be split into four groups of four with the winner of each group automatically qualifying, while lower-ranked contenders can still qualify via a playoff. 

England and Spain, who played one another in the 2023 World Cup final (as well as the Euro 2025 final), are drawn into the same group (Group C). 

More: Sarina Wiegman names Lionesses squad for World Cup qualifiers.

🏆 The USWNT’s Alyssa Thompson was nominated for Young Player of the Year in Europe’s Women’s Football Awards (England’s Aggie Beever-Jones took the prize last year). Thompson’s nomination reads, in part: “Alyssa Thompson brings electrifying pace and fearless attacking intent to Chelsea’s frontline.” Fans can vote for the winner here.

🇺🇸 While the senior squad competes in the SheBelieves Cup, the USWNT U-23 team is also undergoing its first camp of 2026. The 24-player roster features 19 NWSL players, two USL players, and three college athletes. 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Women’s FA Cup: In the fifth round of the English tournament, Chelsea beat Manchester United 2-1 in the marquee matchup of the weekend. Aussie striker Sam Kerr (who else?) opened the scoring, and in the 99th-minute, USWNT center-back Naomi Girma scored the game-winning goal, her first for the Blues.

Elsewhere, Chatham Town’s historic run (they were the lowest-ranked team in the fifth round, marking the club’s first appearance that deep in the tournament) came to a close with an 8-0 loss to WSL 2 side Birmingham City.

More: Sam Kerr offers solution to Chelsea problems before flying off to Asia Cup.

This week’s question: Last week, an NWSL investor took home a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. Who was it, and which team are they invested in?

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

Last week’s answer: Frankfurt is the other German club, alongside Wolfsburg, that has appeared in six or more Champions League finals.

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

Delphina wrote in: Hi Sam, Lynn, and Becky!

I wanted to share some good news: my mom just had her final chemotherapy appointment!

Her treatments were every three Tuesdays, which meant they lined up perfectly with new episodes of Good Vibes FC. During her six-hour appointments, I would sit beside her and listen to the show while she drifted in and out of sleep. If I waited too long, she’d gently nudge me and say, “Aren’t you going to listen to your friends?”

Over time, she started picking up on names, storylines, and little bits about the women’s game through your conversations. What started as a quiet way to pass the time became part of our Tuesday ritual. Your show brought lightness, laughter, and something to look forward to during long days that could have felt heavy.

I just wanted to say thank you. You were part of her journey, and that means more than I can explain.

Still listening. Still vibing. Just with much lighter Tuesdays now.

With so much gratitude,
Delphina

From Sam: Hi Delphina! This email was so touching. Thank you so much for taking the time to share this story with us. We are so honored to have been a small bright spot in what must have been such a difficult time for you and your mom. I’m so happy to hear she’s done with chemo and I hope the show continues to bring you both joy and connection. Sending good vibes and good health!

Love,
Sam

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