The 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup isn’t over yet, but the 2022 NWSL regular season is upon us. While four teams still compete for the first trophy of the season, expansion club Angel City FC hosts the N.C. Courage at 10:30 p.m. ET on Friday night (live on CBSSN) to open what is sure to be an enthralling campaign. That means it’s time for some NWSL predictions.
In September, the USWNT crushed Paraguay in back-to-back friendlies by a 17-0 aggregate score. This past week, the USWNT crushed Uzbekistan in back-to-back friendlies by an 18-1 aggregate score. While the September matches felt mostly a waste of time, the April matches felt instructive and useful, for both Vlatko Andonovski’s plans moving forward and U.S. fans trying to figure out those plans.
In February, we learned USWNT stalwart Julie Ertz wouldn’t play in the NWSL in 2022. On April 4, we learned why. Julie Ertz is pregnant.
Ertz announced she is pregnant on social media on Monday, saying she and husband Zach Ertz, a professional American football player, are “adding to our starting lineup.”
If you just look at the opponent, the USWNT’s April friendlies against Uzbekistan are likely to be fairly drab. Matches against the 48th-ranked team in the world in Ohio and Philadelphia, on the face of it, don’t really kindle much enthusiasm. But the April USWNT roster makes it clear: This is the final chance for some young players to earn a spot on the team at World Cup and Olympic qualifying this summer in Mexico.
On Thursday, the USWNT dropped its roster for the 2022 SheBelieves Cup, to be played in California and Texas later this month. Julie Ertz, a stalwart on the national team since 2013, was nowhere to be found. It was a similar story two days earlier when Angel City FC, the NWSL club that owns her rights, unveiled its preseason roster, without Ertz listed.
Where is Julie Ertz? Why isn’t she playing soccer right now? Fans across the country want to know.
After a 2020 that was, in many ways, a lost year for international soccer, the U.S. women’s national team went into 2021 with high hopes. The year ended with feelings of missed opportunities and the need for a rethink moving forward less than 20 months away from the next Women’s World Cup.
There was a large sense during the USWNT’s last two friendlies against South Korea that the team was growing stale.
Carli Lloyd’s playing career is coming to an end. But first, two final farewell matches later this month against South Korea. On Wednesday, coach Vlatko Andonovski named his USWNT roster for the upcoming friendlies, which are little more than a chance to send Lloyd off in style.
Lloyd announced in August she will retire after the 2021 NWSL season, calling an end to an historic career.
Another year, another FIFA game where it’s obvious EA Sports paid no attention to women’s soccer. The FIFA 22 women's ratings are somehow even worse than last year, once again proving the WoSo portion of the franchise is merely lip service to try to appease women without actually putting in any effort.
As the USWNT showcased one of its worst Olympic performances, it did walk away with a bronze medal, which is better than nothing. Although, it was expected to win it all, the USWNT fell short and struggled to outplay its opponents. Despite the team difficulties, one USWNT player overcame more than just struggling to win.