USWNT

A crowd of 37,040 was on hand at the Rose Bowl in Southern California to watch the USWNT kick off its Victory Tour with a 3-0 win over the Republic of Ireland on Saturday night. First half goals from Tobin Heath, Lindsey Horan and Carli Lloyd settled things by the 41st minute, and 17 different World Cup-winners made an appearance on the night, although star attractions Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe both missed the match while recovering from minor injuries.

Alex Morgan wants a three-peat. 

The ESPN+ exclusive four-part series “Alex Morgan: The Equalizer” concluded with the USWNT star striker saying she’s not planning to retire anytime soon. The 30-year-old has her eyes on more medals and an unprecedented third Women’s World Cup title.

The USWNT Victory Tour pay became yet another contentious issue between the Women’s World Cup champions and the U.S. Soccer Federation this week. According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. Soccer was going to pay the U.S. players a lower rate for a match it added to the USWNT Victory Tour. 

Apparently not everyone is on board with the USWNT equal-pay suit. In an interview with the news site TooFab, former USMNT player Jermaine Jones openly criticized the action, stating that some women are making more money in the NWSL than men in MLS, while also claiming that the NWSL is league where “you can say that you suck” and you still get paid.

Jones' comments stem from the fact that members of the USWNT receive a guaranteed extra bonus of around $60,000 for playing in the NWSL, an incentive to draw American talent to the league.

The work never ends when you’re a women’s footballer, as the 2019 USWNT victory tour makes abundantly clear. 

After a 10-match pre-World Cup schedule and seven grueling games at the Women’s World Cup in France, the USWNT will be trotted out five more times in 2019. U.S. Soccer has announced all five dates on a moneymaking USWNT victory tour, including stops in Philadelphia, St. Paul, Minnesota, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Cincinatti, Ohio. 

The celebration continues

Jill Ellis announced on Monday that she'll be stepping down as head coach of the USWNT at the end of the victory tour in October, and rumors of potential replacements have already begun to swirl.

As was anticipated following the success of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, a special FIFA Council vote has unanimously approved the expansion of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup to a 32-team field. 

The nominations for FIFA's self-indulging award of naming "The Best FIFA Football Awards" for coaches and players were announced Wednesday morning. The winners will be revealed Sept. 23 in Milan at The Best FIFA Football Awards show. Here are the FIFA Best Awards nominees for 2019.

2019 FIFA Best Awards Nominees

Men's player finalsists

 Ready? #TheBest Men's Player nominees: