As perhaps the most famous face of the United States Women’s National Team today, Alex Morgan is one of the top forwards in the sport. Seeing the number 13 with the ponytail and pink headband couldn’t be more intimidating for opposing defenders – from the first time she announced her presence on the USWNT with a breakout goal versus Italy in 2010. She has an arsenal of skills to get past defenders, whether it being her speed, strength or touch.
Brazilian footballing sensation Neymar is, if you didn’t know, the man. The homie. A ladies man. The guy that half the world wants to be friends with and the other half wants to sleep with. Just strolling through his Instagram cements this perception of him.
We all know what it’s like to be pigeonholed as “the soccer fan” come the holidays. Distant relatives are sure to send soccer ball keychains, books fished out of the Barnes & Noble bargain bin and other soccer themed knickknacks that are an obvious sign of last minute shopping. So long as the idea of soccer is somewhere within the gift, you’ll be satisfied. Right?...right?
Prior to her final game, Abby Wambach drummed up her best Donald Trump impersonation, including both his political xenophobia and TV-like firings. By now you know what she said. If not, listen to the podcast here.
Initial reactions criticised Wambach almost for taking any sort of position on the matter rather than the appropriateness of her comments. Wambach has never been a quiet leader. She notoriously drops the F-bomb to fire up her team.
Abby Wambach's last professional soccer game is tonight. After today, Wednesday, December 16, 2015, we will never see Abby Wambach play in a soccer match that matters, barring something drastic.
She will retire the all-time leading scorer in international soccer (both men's and women's) history, with at least 184 international goals to her name.
Tonight in New Orleans, Abby Wambach will make her final appearance in professional soccer. It will be her 255th cap for the stars and stripes, a mark that puts her behind some names you’ve probably heard: Lilly, Rampone, Hamm, Foudy. After finally winning a World Cup this summer, she will step off the field as the most decorated U.S. player in history.
Kerem Demirbay will likely not be insulting female referees in the forseeable future. Demirbay, a 22-year-old midfielder on loan from Hamburg at Fortuna Dusseldorf, made some inadvised comments toward a female match official.
"Women have no place in football," Demirbay told referee Bibiana Steinhaus after being red-carded during a Bundesliga 2. game. Demirbay was given a three-match ban, plus two additional matches.
Fortuna Dusseldorf decided that wasn't enough, and decided to punish Demirbay in their own way, by having him referee a girls' youth match.
Marvel Comics teamed up with espnW to honor this year’s IMPACT25 nominees and the results, in the words of Barack Obama, are badass. The annual IMPACT25 serves to highlight 25 female athletes and influencers who shaped and impacted the biggest sporting events of the calendar year.
A few weeks ago, Wolfsburg played Chelsea in the round of 16 of the UEFA Women’s Champions League - which, yes, is a glorious thing that exists albeit in relative obscurity - and Swiss midfielder Vanessa Bernauer went all Paul Pogba and unleashed this scowling, dipping boomer:
With just under 20 minutes left to play in the 2015 Women’s College Cup, Mallory Weber received the ball on the sideline and heard a very familiar sound.
“I heard Rocky screaming in the middle,” Weber said after the game. “And when Rocky wants the ball, you try and find a way to do it.”