ESPN announcers Julie Foudy and Sebastian Salazar talked a lot about the fact the pitch-side mics were clearly picking up everything USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski was saying during his team’s friendly against France on Tuesday. The audio was certainly interesting, but more so because of a faulty output from ESPN than any tidbits gleaned from a coach yelling at his players.
The USWNT is so dominant in world soccer, some games feel like they’re over before they begin. But that’s never the case when Sweden lines up against the U.S., and we saw Saturday as the USWNT narrowly escaped defeat, salvaging a 1-1 draw with a late Megan Rapinoe penalty in a friendly in Stockholm.
Carli Lloyd made history on Saturday, becoming just the third player to record 300 caps for the USWNT, captaining her side on the landmark day in a friendly against Sweden. Only Kristine Lilly and Christie Rampone have appeared for the U.S. more.
Congratulations, @CarliLloyd! pic.twitter.com/SbtKFNWk0U
After four World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals, "failure" isn't a word often associated with the U.S. women's national soccer team — unless, of course, the topic is the 2016 Rio Olympics.
After winning gold at the 2012 London Games and triumphing at the 2015 World Cup, the Stars and Stripes flew into Rio under enormous expectations but lost to Sweden in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals.
Over the years FIFA has been opposed to players, teams and fans engaging in protests or sloganeering but it seems global soccer's governing body is perhaps now prepared to tolerate a blurring of the line it once drew between politics and sport.
On Wednesday, Norway's national team players wore T-shirts declaring "Human rights - on and off the pitch" as they lined up before their World Cup qualifier against Gibraltar, and the following day Germany made a similar protest before its qualifier against Iceland in Duisburg.
For the third season in a row, it looks like Manchester City’s journey in the Women’s Champions League will reach its end at the hands of Spanish opposition. But after being beaten by Atlético Madrid the last two editions, this time it was Barcelona’s turn to put the hurt on City, winning 3-0 in their quarterfinal fist leg at the U-Power Stadium in Monza, Italy on Wednesday afternoon.
United States women's head coach Vlatko Andonovski said on Tuesday he plans to name his squad for the Tokyo Olympics in mid-June as he waits to see how several players recover from injuries.
"We have roughly set the middle of June when we're going to know the (Olympic) roster," Andonovski told reporters after announcing a 23-player, veteran-heavy squad for April when the four-times World Cup winners have friendlies against Sweden and France.
23 strong to take on and !
The USWNT is no stranger to inequality fights, so it was no surprise to see some of the team’s biggest stars weighing in on the shocking inequality on display at the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments this week.
The top-ranked U.S. women's team will head to Europe in April to face Sweden as part of their preparations for the Tokyo Olympics where it will try to reclaim the gold medal that eluded it at the 2016 Rio Games, U.S. Soccer announced on Tuesday.
U.S. Soccer said fans will not be allowed at the April 10 game in Stockholm and that it is currently finalizing a second match in Europe to be played on April 13.
Midfielder Samantha Mewis scored twice as Manchester City thrashed Birmingham City 4-0 on Sunday to win their seventh FA Women's Super League game in a row and close the gap to leaders Chelsea to two points with seven games remaining.
American Mewis netted either side of halftime to give her side a 2-0 lead before Lauren Hemp and Caroline Weir both scored to complete the rout.