Youth Shining for USWNT in W Gold Cup 🇺🇸

It’s Monday, February 26th. Give us four minutes, we give you everything The Women’s Game.

Good afternoon TWG readers!

Sam here. These west coast Gold Cup games are bringing back memories of last summer's World Cup as we fight through these late nights to watch our USWNT. So far so good, as we've beaten the Dominican Republic 5-0 and Argentina 4-0. I have really enjoyed sharing my pre- and post-match thoughts on our USWNT with you all! It has been particularly great to post my post match reactions on our Youtube. You can find those videos and subscribe to our channel HERE. Rog and I will be going live at the final whistle after the W Gold Cup Final on March 10th so make sure you subscribe today. The US will play Mexico tonight in our last Group A match, but we've already secured a quarterfinal spot. Let's go girls.

i. My interview with Jill Scott last week is truly one of my favorite interviews so far. We talked about her experiences playing in England as a kid, her journey to winning the Euros, and she even read us an original Jill Scott poem. So if you haven’t heard it, you’re in for a treat – you can find it here. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

ii. Next up: USWNT and Portland Thorns forward Sophia Smith who joined us LIVE from W Gold Cup camp. That episode drops Thursday wherever you get your pods. 🇺🇸

You can follow us on Instagram, X, and TikTok @womensgameMIB. And while you’re at it, forward this newsletter to a friend! They can subscribe here.

Lot’s more soccer to watch this week! We’ll be covering it all here at TWG. Happy reading – and feel free to drop me an email [email protected] with your feedback and ideas. 

Love,

Sam

“JUST READY FOR MORE”: 19-year-old Jaedyn Shaw scored a brace of goals against Argentina, making her the youngest USWNT player to reach three goals or more for the USA 🇺🇸 How does she feel? Ready for more: “I’m never going to be content. There’s more to learn from this game, from the game before, there’s more to build on…”

I. W Gold Cup group stage showcases the best of the Americas 🏆

The inaugural CONCACAF W Gold Cup launched last week across Texas and California. Playing in three groups of four, the tournament features elite teams from across the Western Hemisphere, including the US, Canada, Brazil, and Colombia, all of whom will compete at the Paris Olympics this summer.  

Joining them in competition is a litany of aspirational newcomers, as well as a few underdog powers, including Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, and Puerto Rico. The passion of fans and progress of nations is among the key joys to this event. Look no further than the valiant run of Puerto Rico, who stunned World Cup participants Haiti 1-0 in the play-in round to appear in their first major event. Las Boricuas then held off mighty Brazil until the last minute of their first match, ultimately falling 1-0 to the South American giants. On Saturday, Puerto Rico picked up their first major tournament win. It came after a 2-1 victory over Paraguay with a stoppage time goal, and yet another valiant performance from their keeper, Sydney Martinez. Look at what it means. 

ii. For the USWNT, who seek redemption from last summer, this three-week tournament provides essential tournament-prep for the upcoming Olympics. With two matches played in the groups (USA 5 - Dominican Republic 0; USA 4 - Argentina 0), it’s also been a proving ground for the next generation's talents, who’ve worked alongside the squad’s irreplaceable veterans to achieve two sound victories that they’ll build from as they aim for the final. 

Interim manager Twila Kilgore hasn’t been shy to use ‘untested’ talents, emphasizing to the media several times that there may be an “experience gap”, but there isn’t a talent gap. 20-year-old Grayslake, Ill. native Korbin Albert (PSG) was the only player to start both matches, and adjusted to different roles in each with creative confidence in the midfield. 18-year-old Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns) stepped up in the first match, scoring the USA’s first goal of the year, and grabbing another before she was done. Against Argentina, Jaedyn Shaw collected a brace of her own in her second-ever start for the USA, making Shaw the 15th USWNT player to score three goals in her first six appearances, and the youngest player in program history to do so at just 19 years old. 

The future looks bright. As Sam Mewis said, it is crucial these greenshoots of youth are paired with the experienced dynamism of veterans like Midge Purce, Lynn Williams, Lindsey Horan, Crystal Dunn, Alex Morgan and Rose Lavelle; the spine of the USA’s hopeful Olympic redeem-team is starting to take shape. 

With one match left in the group, the US take on Mexico in an exciting rivalry match against an in-form El Tri that just beat the Dominican Republic 8-0. (10:15 ET, Paramount+, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes) 🇺🇸🇲🇽

MORE: Canada Soccer Players Association Sues Canada Soccer on eve of the W Gold Cup

II. Spain qualifies for first-ever Olympic tournament 🇪🇸🥇

La Roja remains an ascendant dynasty in women’s international football. After collecting their first World Cup title last summer in Sydney, Spain’s side of technical magicians booked their first-ever appearance in the Olympic tournament last week. With goals from 2023’s Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí, goal-scoring legend Jenni Hermoso and Barcelona’s inimitable Ona Batlle, Spain defeated the Netherlands 3-0 in the Nations League semifinal to seal their Olympic fate. 

With just three Olympic spots allocated to UEFA, the Nations League final will see the already qualified Spain and automatically qualified hosts, France, face-off for the Nations League title. But the third-place match will be an unmissable affair, as Germany and the Netherlands face off for the final UEFA spot in Paris ‘24.    

ii. With seven of 12 Olympic spots now confirmed, the Asian Football Confederation wraps up their qualifying this week, as Australia and Uzbekistan face-off on Wednesday for one final berth, and Japan and North Korea clash for the other. 

MORE: Jenni Hermoso talks about the support she received in the aftermath of the ‘23 World Cup, when former head of the Spanish Federation Luis Rubiales planted an unwanted kiss on La Roja’s veteran star

III. USWNT Celebrate Black History Month 🇺🇲❣️

This Black History Month, the US Women’s National Team has recognized the contributions of Black American footballers past and present to this storied program. At the W Gold Cup, USWNT players sported ‘Blaze a Trail’ t-shirts designed by Playa Society, featuring some of the incredible women inspiring the next generation today. And the NWSL has highlighted the history of players like Kim Crabbe, who in 1986, became the first black woman on the US Women’s National Team. Fast forward to today, and Crabbe is still inspiring, mentoring, coaching the next generation. Men in Blazers’ honored Kim Crabbe’s story here. 

IV. Transfer window full of world record fees, including Zambian star talent Racheal Kundananji to Bay FC 🇿🇲

The past transfer window saw women’s international football break record after record in transfer fees. Just after Chelsea set a new bar signing Colombian forward Mayra Ramírez from Spanish side Levante for an estimated 542,000 dollars, Bay FC surpassed that. The NWSL expansion side made a new mark as they accrued the talents of Zambian forward Racheal Kundananji from Madrid CFF for an estimated 797,000 dollars. She’ll join forces with newly signed Nigerian Player of the Year Asisat Oshoala, who signed for Bay FC from Barcelona a few weeks back, in what promises to be a formidable attacking line. 

MORE: The women’s world transfer record has been broken three times in 18 months. Is that good or bad?

V. News and Notes 📰

1. Ahead of the international break, Manchester City and Chelsea’s top of the table clash resulted in a City victory, but Chelsea remained in the top spot on a tiebreaker. Just below them, Arsenal beat Manchester United in a sold out Emirates stadium before an incredible crowd of 60,160, and now sit comfortably in third place just three points behind Chelsea and City. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

2. The Portuguese Football Federation plans to invest 8.4 million dollars into its women’s football program over the next few years. 🇵🇹

3. German football has had a tough year for its women's programs. After bouncing from the World Cup group stage in ‘23, they now have zero teams in the Champions League final eight for the first time ever. Moving forward, German football has committed to further professionalizing their domestic league, to include stadium renovations, minimum salaries, and over 108 million dollars of investment by 2031. 🇩🇪

4. Ahead of the international break, Italian goalscoring legend Valentina Giacinti officially scored 200 goals in the Serie A. 🇮🇹 

5. Manchester City’s Jamaican international sensation Bunny Shaw has fired an incredible three hat-tricks in three games. 🇯🇲

6. In a seismic move for women’s footballers, the English FA has announced mandatory training and support specific to women’s health for clubs in the WSL and Championship. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

VI. Parting Shots 🥃

Records are meant to be broken. Women’s sports are doing it all the time. Arsenal hosted Manchester United this month to a WSL record-breaking crowd of 60,160. Friday, February 16th, women’s hockey set a new record in Toronto as 19,285 PWHL fans showed up at Scotibank Arena. And with March Madness approaching, the Women’s Big10 basketball tournament has completely sold out. 109,000 fans expected to attend. Elite. 🔝

VII. Good reads 📕

1. Sweden and Bayern Munich defender, Magdalena Erikkson: How to stop Spain and Bonmati (or try)

2. From Emma John at The Guardian: The lost Lionesses and the forgotten 1971 Women’s World Cup

3. Alex Bishop for The Guardian: What is behind North Korea’s rise as a women’s football power?

4. Kevin Baxter at LA Times: Mia Fishel ACL injury is just the latest in a disturbing trend

Again, be in touch with us [email protected] with anything at all. And enjoy your football. Go! Go! USA! 🇺🇸