When Germany takes to the pitch in Rennes, France, on June 8 to open its Women’s World Cup campaign against China, it’ll do so wearing a jersey that’s synonymous with triumph in German footballing lore. For most, the style evokes memories of Italia ’90, the men’s World Cup where Germany went on to capture its third title in that competition.
Atlético and Barcelona drew 60,739 to the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid for a Primera División match Sunday, a world record attendance for a women’s match between two club sides. Atlético was looking to put one hand on the Spanish league title with a positive result, but Barcelona would record a 2-0 victory to cut the host’s lead at the top of the table to just three points with six matches remaining.
Atletico Madrid visited Athletic Bilbao for a Copa de la Reina quarterfinal match on Wednesday, pulling out a 2-0 victory despite going down to 10 women early in the second half. But the story of the day wasn’t the Madrid side’s resolve but the Bilbao fans in the stands. A record 48,121 fans turned out for the match at the San Mamés, a the highest attendance in women's soccer in Spain.
HISTORY.
It’d been a long time since any nation treated the USWNT like Spain did in the opening 45 of today’s contest in Alicante. 2019 will mark La Roja’s second-ever World Cup appearance (the first came in 2015), but the growing European side controlled 58 percent of possession and out-passed the defending world champions 274-195 in the first half. Not bad for a first-ever meeting with the powerhouse that is the USWNT.
History was made on Sunday. The first transgender soccer player in Spain made her debut for Las Rozas CF in the women’s third division.
She scored a goal, too.
Alba Palacios, 33, had played hundreds if not thousands of matches before Sunday’s landmark match. But this recent one was special for her and the transgender community.
Japan won the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup with a 3-1 rout of Spain on Friday in France, avenging an earlier loss in impressive fashion. Japan scored the game’s first three goals, including a scorcher from Hinata Miyazawa in the first half.
Spain defeated Japan 1-0 in Group C play, the Spanish ladies taking first place in a group of death that also included the United States. The two met again in Vannes, France, with the tournament on the line.
In the final of the U-20 Women's World Cup, Japan showed it was the best in the world in this age group.
A U.S. national soccer team being knocked out at the group stage of a major tournament is a headline that we don't often associate with the women’s side, but today produced an outcome not many in the soccer world could've predicted. The U.S. U-20 women’s national team saw its journey at the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup come to a shocking end before it really even got started.
STANDINGS // CLASSEMENT