Charles and RJ discuss the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France. What does the USWNT need to do to prepare? Who might be on the roster? What happens afterward?
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Intro: Those Better Days by Mimi Page
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The USWNT needs to win the SheBelieves Cup.
If they don’t win it, they at least need to come out of it answering more questions and putting more doubt to rest than they did during the 2017 version, or last summer’s Tournament of Nations.
The last year or so has not been kind to this team—this team who suffered losses to England and France. On home soil. This team who was beaten by Australia. Also on home soil. It’s as if a spider that had been soaked in some glowing green goop crawled to their hand and sung its fangs in deep. The DNA of this team has been transformed.
And yet, they still win, much as they always have. Sometimes convincingly, over teams like Denmark, who, don’t forget, were in the Euro final just last summer. Sometimes against Canada at home. They have both big-name standbys and players still a little wet behind the ears—players who can make magic happen in the space of a heartbeat.
But time isn’t on the USWNT’s side. France 2019 is next year. The minutes are ticking down, the pressure is ratcheting up, and it’s time the World Cup roster gets put together in theory.
Thankfully for those of us who engage in punditry, Jill Ellis isn’t hard to read. Like it or not, she makes nearly all her intentions loud and clear, if you know how to decode the writing on the wall. Taking a look at the 26 players heading to the pre-SheBelieves camp shows she is as consistent as she sometimes is maddening.
Becky Sauerbrunn, Sam Mewis, and Tobin Heath would be there if they were healthy, but rest will do each of them good.
Ellis called up Jane Campbell, Ashlyn Harris and Alyssa Naeher as her goalkeeping trio—the same group she has called up, more or less, since Hope Solo walked herself in to a suspension after the 2016 Olympics. Adrianna Franch is reportedly out of camp due to injury, but what would it matter if she were there? Ellis has settled on her number one in Naeher. The other goalkeepers are there for training, and in case the worst happens to Naeher. At this point they are more ornamental than functional.
As the focus turns to the defense, there is a pretty major difference in experience between Kelley O’Hara and everyone else. O’Hara has 105 caps. Every other defender called in has a combined 58 caps. Abby Dahlkemper, Tierna Davidson, Sofia Huerta, Casey Short, Taylor Smith, and Emily Sonnett join O’Hara as Ellis’s options in the back.
While it is a good time to see how the likes of Dahlkemper, Short, Smith, and Sonnett do against some of the top talent in the world, I can’t help but worry that Huerta has not adapted well enough to her new position to be a sound option as a starter or sub. Davidson was green in her 90 minutes against Denmark, but for a first attempt, we’ve seen much worse. Hailie Mace, who was in the 26-player camp, didn’t make the final roster, but just being in camp was likely good experience for her.
I expect Short to be used as a left back who can go to the center if needed—but then, she could also be deployed centrally alongside Dahlkemper. Without Sauerbrunn, a question arises about who to start at centerback. If Davidson plays—and I expect her to at least get some minutes after Ellis had her play 90 against Denmark—these matches will be the deepest of deep ends for the young defender to be thrown into. Sonnett is always an option, but Ellis has a history of calling the talented centerback in only to leave her on the bench or off the roster altogether. While Dahlkemper seems a likely lock, based on Ellis’ history, to start all three games, her partner in this tournament remains one of the few real questions when it comes to the defense.
Ellis has options in the midfield. Morgan Brian, Julie Ertz, Lindsey Horan, Carli Lloyd, Allie Long, and Andi Sullivan are all solid names for her to pull from. Rose Lavelle wasn’t included on the final roster, as she’s still rehabbing her hamstring injury.
With Brian not in camp, everyone else—all central midfielders, as the wide players are all listed as forwards—will have gotten a chance to work on their chemistry going into the games. Ertz has been nothing short of a revelation since she has been given the freedom the midfield offers. Horan has been coming in to her own more and more lately between Portland and the USWNT. Lloyd and Long are known entities who will give what they always do.
Say what you want about the rest of the USWNT, but when it comes to world-class forwards, the USWNT’s cup is running over. Having a group of forwards that includes Crystal Dunn, Savannah McCaskill, Alex Morgan, Christen Press, Mallory Pugh, Megan Rapinoe, and Lynn Williams is like playing FIFA on easy mode. There are few, if any, wrong choices when it comes to who should be played and who should come in as a sub among this group. If anything, this is the place where the USWNT should feel the most comfortable going in. It might be possible to shut down Morgan or Press or Pugh or any one of them for a game—but shutting down two or more becomes a much harder task.
Over the next 18 months, the team is going to have to take several steps forward if they want to defend their 2015 World Cup win. Doing well at the She Believes Cup would go a long way toward getting their heads right before the NWSL season takes their attentions in other directions.
March 1: vs. Germany, 7 pm ET/4 pm PT (ESPN2)
March 4: vs. France, 12 pm ET/9 am PT (ESPN2)
March 7: vs. England, 7 pm ET/4 pm PT (ESPNews)
There’s something amazing about the sport of soccer. No other sport is called the beautiful game. Normally, the term refers to the game itself, but there are times that we are reminded the impact of soccer as a force for good. From groups like Soccer Without Borders and their effort to create positive change to the social impact soccer has in the Middle East for women, the power of soccer can be felt globally.
This power was demonstrated once again when Jamie Morris, a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student, took to Twitter Sunday to pay homage to her fallen teammate, Alyssa Alhadeff, who was one of the the 17 victims in the Valentine’s Day school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
In slightly over three hours, her plea managed to draw the attention of U.S. women’s national team forward Alex Morgan, as well as Orlando City Foundation President, Kay Rawlins:
The viral tweet from Florida will now see the hoped-for results, as there will be a moment of silence for Alyssa, who played as a center midfielder, at the March 7 SheBelieves Cup match in Orlando. The City of Orlando is already sensitive to senseless gun violence after the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016. Orlando City has a permanent reminder in the stadium, with 49 rainbow seats serving as a tribute to the victims of that shooting.
U.S. Soccer also stated on Twitter that Alyssa’s teammates will be be guests at the Orlando match. As the #NeverAgain movement continues to be a force for change in America, it also allows the power of one voice from a mourning team multiplied by Twitter with the common link of soccer to allow these survivors another avenue to help in the healing process. I look forward being in the stands for the SheBelieves matches in Orlando, as well as, surely, a future Orlando Pride match when Alyssa’s life can be honored. Even though her life was tragically cut short, her spirit will continue to live on.
2017 was an interesting year for the Lionesses, with turmoil off of the pitch, but success on it.
Euro 2017
The year started off with La Manga friendlies and SheBelieves Cup. Against France, England took the lead, but conceded two late on to lose. The next game, though, was one of a couple of highlights that the Lionesses can look back at in that year. England beat the US just moments from time, with Ellen White scoring the decisive goal. In a major tournament year, that was quite a moment and looked to maybe indicate future form for the final match. Unfortunately, they then narrowly lost to Germany to come third.
England then went on an unbeaten run in four friendlies leading up to the European Championship. These fixtures were in between a shortened season for the WSL, as it looked to transition to a winter schedule. They drew 1-1 to Italy, and won comfortably 4-0 against Switzerland, while Denmark were narrowly beaten 2-1. In their final home game before the Euros, they beat Austria 3-0.
It looked to be shaping up like a great Euro tournament for England, and it started off in the best possible way. England vs. Scotland, a matchup that was the first-ever fixture for both in November 1972, was expected to be a close game. Instead, England showed just why they are one of the best teams in Europe—and the world—by thrashing Scotland 6-0. They followed it up with a 2-0 win against Spain and a 2-1 win against Portugal to top their group.
In the semifinals, they met France yet again, beating them for the first time in 43 years, with Jodie Taylor getting the only goal of the game and Karen Bardsley having to be subbed off due to injury. She had played on for 14 minutes despite having fractured her fibula in a collision. England’s journey in the Euros came to an end after a 3-0 loss to the Netherlands, the eventual champions.
Controversy off the pitch
Before the Euros, however, there had been rumors that a player would speak out against Mark Sampson. Although this didn’t materialize before then, it did come to light after the Euros. It emerged that Sampson and another member of staff had made racist remarks against Eniola Aluko and another player back in 2015. Aluko, an 11-year veteran with 102 caps for England, was dropped not long after reporting this, for what was termed “un-Lioness behavior.”
Two other players, Drew Spence and Anita Asante, also dropped out of the picture amidst additional allegations of racist remarks against Sampson. The manager was sacked a month later, not due to these allegations, but over inappropriate and unacceptable behavior with female players back when he was Bristol Academy manager in 2014. This raised questions about the FA’s safeguarding procedures, as Sampson had passed a 2015 assessment. It also exposed failings at the FA after being questioned at a parliamentary committee hearing. All of this sent shockwaves through women’s football and possibly put some candidates off of the England job.
The fallout
Mo Marley took temporary charge of the Lionesses to steady the ship and help the Lionesses through World Cup qualification. She has temporarily become the number two to new England manager Phil Neville, whose appointment to the manager’s job came as quite a shock due to limited managerial experience, past sexist remarks, and hardly any connections to women’s football—although he did have a long and successful playing career. Neville hadn’t been interviewed for the job, it emerged, but talks went well between him and the FA.
He will also be joined on the coaching staff by Casey Stoney, who has recently retired from playing football. The experience of playing in the game and of course winning could be the edge that the Lionesses need for future success.
Roster notes
With a fresh start and a new manager, this could be an interesting year for the Lionesses. The SheBelieves Cup comes at a good time for all to assess the current squad, which will include a couple of uncapped players, does against some of the best in the world.
Fran Kirby is the England player to watch in this tournament. Kirby missed SheBelieves last year due to a serious knee injury, and also went on to suffer an ankle injury when trying to make her comeback. It was a horrible year for a striker who was crucial to both club and country, but impressively, Kirby has come back stronger, fitter, and better than before. She’s been in fine form this season as the top scorer at Chelsea, with 15 goals in 20 appearances in all competitions so far. She also can link up with others, and unselfishly assist a teammate when she sees that someone else has a better goalscoring opportunity. If she is linked up with Jodie Taylor, Toni Duggan, or both in attack for England, we could see a fair amount of goals from all three.
In terms of the rest of the roster, there are a fair amount of regulars and some new faces. With injuries coming into play and with some possibly having future qualifiers and a cup final on their mind, we’ve seen some change recently. Steph Houghton, who plays for Manchester City, was injured in the 0-0 draw with Chelsea and despite being announced in the squad, has now withdrawn. Jordan Nobbs, who is vice captain, has withdrawn to along with teammate Leah Williamson (who was only going to train with the squad). Karen Carney is the final of the 4 to withdraw having suffered issues with her ankle. Karen Carney has been replaced in the squad with Houston Dash’s Rachel Daly who has appeared in the squad before.
However, there are others who can step into their roles. With Karen Bardsley making the bench for Manchester City recently, the no.1 may not be no.1 this tournament after suffering a bad injury in the same game as Houghton. Siobhan Chamberlain has had to replace Karen Bardsley before, and puts in a great shift and saves for club and country. She’s the number one at Liverpool, so has had some good game time already this season. Carly Telford can also step up. She’s not the starter at Chelsea, but she’s an assured shot-stopper whenever called upon. As for Houghton, not having your captain on the field may not be a good thing and the vice captain being out too isn’t ideal. As a result, Lucy Bronze has been given the captain’s armband and it will be an interesting experience for her against top opposition if called upon.
With such withdrawals, a few new names have been called up. Gabby George is one of them. The 21-year-old, who plays at Everton, was on the roster for the La Manga friendlies, and might get her debut in this tournament. She also made history last year as Everton’s first full-time female professional footballer. Hannah Blundell is someone whose name has been floating around the England squad for a while. She’s steadily been putting in great performances for Chelsea, and is quite pacy too. Millie Bright is Blundell’s teammate at Chelsea, and has become a regular for the national team. One of three young City players to be amongst the squad is Keira Walsh. Manchester City like to develop young players and Walsh is one of them. While she’s yet to make her debut for the senior side, she has gone through the age groups and is still eligible for them. Abbie McManus and Georgia Stanway are the other two with teammate Ellie Roebuck going in place of Leah Williamson to train with the squad.
The Lionesses now have the confidence they may have lacked in the past, as they know they can beat all the teams in this tournament, and go in as the top team in Europe according to UEFA rankings. This could well be England’s year at SheBelieves.
March 1: vs. France, 4 pm ET/1 pm PT (ESPN3)
March 4: vs. Germany, 3 pm ET/12 pm PT (ESPN3)
March 7: vs. USA, 7 pm ET/4 pm PT (ESPNews)
It’s been a difficult year for the French women’s national team. It seemed like things might have been looking up when they won the SheBelieves Cup last year after a disappointing 2016 Olympics that saw them exit in the quarterfinals. But it turned out that the SheBelieves Cup would be the peak of their year, after a disappointing result in the 2017 Euro resulted in the dismissal of their head coach Olivier Echouafni. Combine that with the international retirement of Camille Abily and Elodie Thomis, and 2017 was a pretty bleak year for the French.
For France, the question always seems to be, are they capable of stepping up to the plate? After all, they have one of the most technically talented rosters in the world. Lead by the likes of Wendie Renard and Amandine Henry, they should have no problem keeping up with the U.S or Germany or anyone else who dominates the international stage. But of course, this always seems to be a problem for France. Even when their roster is fully healthy, they lack the fighting spirit to keep going. They miss easy goals. They seem to always find new ways to lose.
But there is a new head coach in town. And she isn’t messing around.
The French roster for the SheBelieves Cup reflects a team looking to experiment. The roster does not feature many of the best-known names from France—including Wendie Renard, who is out with injury—and instead, focuses on younger, diverse talent. Out of the 23-player roster, only eight of them play for one of France’s top two clubs, PSG or Lyon. That’s a far cry from their 2015 World Cup roster, which featured only one player that didn’t represent one of those two squads.
Gaëtane Thiney was a surprise return to the national team. Many thought her career with France was done, and as the call-ups came less and less, many figured that she would settle back into her club Paris FC (formerly FCF Juvisy), where she has played for ten years and serves as captain. But it seems that head coach Corinne Diacre is looking for her and Amandine Henry, a veteran international and former Portland Thorns midfielder, to step up as leaders for the team.
It was refreshing to see Amel Majri back on the roster, after an injury left her out of the 2017 Women’s Euros. But many were surprised to see Majri listed as a defender, rather than a midfielder. Majri prefers to play in the midfield and has quite the attacking talent when she pushes the ball up the field. Playing her as a wingback would be particularly interesting, but we’ll have to wait and see what Corinne Diacre has in mind.
Valérie Gauvin and Ouleymata Sarr are two of the newcomers whose names stand out. They are both young (21 and 22, respectively) and have come up through the French youth system. Gauvin has played for Montpellier since 2014 and Sarr plays for Lille OSC. While accurate statistics on their goal count are difficult to find, it is clear that both players have had success at finding the back of the net. They both played in the national team friendly against Ghana in October 2017—where Sarr was making her senior debut—and both players scored goals. France needs a player who can finish, and it will be exciting to see what these two strikers can do on the pitch.
It’s clear that most of France’s veteran talent is in the midfield, and that’s where they will likely be strongest. But I like the players that Diacre is experimenting with in the back field and I’m hopeful that one of these young strikers could breathe some life into the French attacking game. I’m not sure what to be most excited about.
Diacre is approaching her first tournament with the French national team, and she is not sticking with the status quo. While I expect the likes of Henry and Eugenie Le Sommer to get playing time, I also expect to see Diacre giving new talent a chance. This could be a breakout tournament for any number of the young players that Diacre has called up. As always, I hope that the youngsters learn from the veterans on the field—but I also think they could be the new life that this French team desperately needs.
France won this tournament last year. Can they do it again this year?
March 1: vs. England, 4 pm ET/1 pm PT (ESPN3)
March 4: vs. USA, 12 pm ET/9 am PT (ESPN2)
March 7: vs. Germany, 4 pm ET/1 pm PT (ESPN3)
Welcome to the third edition of the Euro Roundup. There’s a few different points in this week’s edition, with international tournaments coming up, and, of course, the top leagues being back in action after the international and winter break.
Press Play
Have you wanted to look behind the scenes and see what life is like for some of the pros in women’s football? Now you can, thanks to UEFA. In 2017, UEFA launched the #WePlayStrong campaign at the Champions League final in order to change perceptions of the game, and to encourage girls who may be interested in playing football. Anyone can get involved in spreading the word and taking part, from pros to fans.
They have continued this with a YouTube series called Press Play. This is where you see the lives of four European players—Eunice Beckmann (FC Basel), Lisa Evans (Arsenal and Scotland), Sarah Zadrazil (Turbine Potsdam and Austria) and Laura Feiersinger (SC Sand and Austria)—as they vlog it. There are already five episodes and it is uploaded every Thursday, so go and give it a watch.
SheBelieves, Algarve and Cyprus
It doesn’t seem that long since there was international action happening, but we are soon approaching another break—only this time, some silverware is up for grabs. First up is both the Cyprus Cup and the Algarve Cup. These tournaments both start at the same time—February 28—with a fair amount of European interest.
In the Cyprus Cup, the European teams involved are: Finland, Wales, Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Spain and Hungary. Belgium, Austria, Finland, Switzerland and Wales have announced their squads, with other teams still yet to announce. There are some notable call-ups here. For Austria, Simona Koren, who plays for Sunderland, got called up and could make her international debut. Three uncapped players have been called up by Wales: Ellie Lake (Swansea City), Gwen Davies (Cyncoed) and Elise Hughes (Everton) have all been named in the squad.
In the Algarve Cup, seven out of the 12 teams are European. The Netherlands, the European champions, are involved, as well as runners-up Denmark, plus Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Russia and Portugal. The Netherlands and Russia are yet to announce their squads for the tournament.
Of course, concurrent with these two tournaments, we also have the SheBelieves Cup, a round-robin tournament between the USA, France, Germany, and England. 2017 has been an interesting year for all three of the European teams. They all made it out of the group stage in the Euro, with the Lionesses faring the best as they won all three games. France made it difficult for themselves, just getting through after drawing with Austria and Switzerland. Germany, who had won the last six European Championships, were knocked out by Denmark, and England eliminated France in the quarterfinals. England were of course knocked out by the eventual champions, the Netherlands.
The USA is the only side that has yet to announce their final roster.
League and cup action
There’s been a fair amount of action in European football this month, with a fair few top leagues in action. In France, Lyon are still yet to drop as they have 15 wins—the most recent win being against Bordeaux, with a comfortable 4-0 scoreline. They’ve been on fine goalscoring form in the Coupe de France, too, with 41 goals in three—yes, three—matches. Their opponents have been teams lower in the standings, and Lyon have shown the power and talent they have in their squad. Their next opponent, Marseille, is slighter higher in the league than previous opponents, but it looks like Lyon will get through yet again.
In Germany, the league came back after a winter break on February 4. It’s fairly close in the league, with three points between first-place Wolfsburg and second-place Bayern Munich, and just four points separating the third- through fifth-place teams (Freiburg, Turbine Potsdam, and Frankfurt, respectively). Both Bayern and Wolfsburg had close matches recently. Munich beat SGS Essen 2-1. Essen took the lead 23 minutes in, and the winner came in the 89th minute. Wolfsburg beat Hoffenheim 1-0 with the only goal of the game at the 15th minute scored by Pernille Harder.
It’s been a mixture of cup and league games in the WSL. This month saw all WSL teams enter the FA Cup—the knockout tournament where all English teams, down to the county leagues, can enter to try and get to the final at Wembley. Cardiff City, from the WPL South, produced a shock in the 4th Round when they beat WSL2 side Oxford United on penalties. Cardiff are in the league below Oxford. The next round saw Cardiff knocked out by fellow WPL South side Charlton Athletic to see Charlton become the remaining WPL side left in. All other ties went pretty much as expected but Millwall came so close to producing a shock in terms of league position. Millwall are flying in WSL2 and managed to only lose 1-0 to Arsenal, in a game that saw Kim Little’s long-awaited return from injury.
In the league, however, Chelsea and Manchester City are pulling away from the rest in their quest for the title. They faced each other on February 1, a meeting that ended in a draw, but the next match, on February 24, is likely to be different. Chelsea can’t afford to draw, as they are two points behind City and only one goal behind in goal difference. A win for them would see them just edge out in front. City, meanwhile, could afford to draw, but a win would increase their lead.
Casey Stoney retires
February 18, 2017 was Kelly Smith’s farewell game. A year on from that, another England legend announced her retirement. Casey Stoney has announced her retirement from both league and international football and she will be part of the backroom team with the Lionesses.
Stoney started her career at Chelsea at age 12, and later moved on to Arsenal. She played with Arsenal from 1999-2002, before going to Charlton Athletic—a team that was disbanded in 2007 due to the relegation of the men’s team, which Stoney spoke out about (Charlton have since started up again, and are currently second in the WPL South). She then made her return to Chelsea, before moving on to Lincoln; she didn’t follow the team when they moved to Nottingham and became Notts County, instead going back to Arsenal in 2014. Finally, she landed in Liverpool, where she’s been since 2016.
Over her career, she won the WPL National Division twice, FA Cup four times and the WPL Cup four times.
As for her international career, she made her debut in 2000 against France, although she missed out on major tournament appearances until the World Cup in 2007, where she played every minute of every match. She was one of the 17 female players who were part of history in 2009 when the FA introduced central contracts. She became England captain in 2012 when Faye White retired from international football. In that year she also captained Team GB at the Olympics in London, where the team advanced to the quarterfinals.
In 2015, Stoney again made history when the Lionesses had their best-ever finish in the World Cup. They battled on after a loss to France in the opening match to go on and finally beat Germany. They finished third and claimed the bronze medal after a heartbreaking loss to Japan in the semifinals.
Stoney will play her final game February 21, when Liverpool take on Sunderland at home in the league. She has inspired so many players on the pitch, including many of pros that now ply their trade in the WSL. She has been a leader and a true Lionesses legend, and she will continue to inspire off of it and maybe inspire the Lionesses to future international glory. All that is left to say is, thank you, Casey.
The NWSL has dropped the hottest release of 2018, the schedule.
The NWSL has given us the full schedule as well as the details on the NWSL Game of the Week teams. Both Jenn Hildreth and Aly Wagner will be back to call all 20 of the NWSL Game of the Week games. They will still be on Lifetime and the pregame still starts at 3:30 p.m. ET, 3:50 p.m. ET kickoff time, but having Hildreth and Wagner takes some sting out of the less than ideal start time. Dalen Cuff will be back to host the 20 minute pregame show.
The NWSL is once again trying out using the go90 app for US based fans. Fans from outside the US, or fans inside of it with a VPN, can watch via the NWSL app and NWSLsoccer.com.
The NWSL Game of the Week
Taking a look at the games that Lifetime and the NWSL have picked our for the NWSL Game of the Week, we note a few things.
The new Utah Royals will be hosting five games, a league high. The Portland Thorns, Orlando Pride and the Washington Spirit will each host three times, while the Chicago Red Stars and the North Carolina Courage each host twice. The Houston Dash and Sky Blue FC each host once. The Seattle Reign will not host at all.
While only hosting two of the NWSL Game of the Week games at home, the Chicago Red Stars will feature in six of the games as the away side. The Orlando Pride are the away side five times, three times for the Seattle Reign, twice each for the North Carolina Courage and the Portland Thorns FC, and only once for the Utah Royals FC and the Houston Dash. Sky Blue will not be the away team on any of the NWSL Game of the Week games.
NWSL Game of the Week Schedule
[table id=3 /]
The Full Schedule
Moving on to take a look at the full 108 game NWSL schedule there are a few things to note here too.
Out of the 108 total games, 74 are played after 7 p.m. ET. Many of the Utah, Seattle, Portland home games are played in the 9 p.m. ET and 11 p.m. ET time frame to keep the effects of the heat down.
31 of the games will be held during the week, Wednesday the most popular with 20, 10 games will be on Fridays while a single game is held on a Tuesday.
Every team will be playing a home and an away match against each team. They will also have a second home game against four teams plus go on the road for four matches to make up the 24 game schedule.
Chicago will be playing their second home matches against: The Houston Dash, the Orlando Pride, the Portland Thorns and Sky Blue FC.
Houston will be playing their second home matches against: the North Carolina Courage, the Portland Thorns, The Utah Royals FC and The Washington Spirit.
North Carolina will be playing their second home matches against: the Chicago Red Stars, the Portland Thorns, The Utah Royals FC and The Washington Spirit.
Orlando will be playing their second home matches against: the Houston Dash, the North Carolina Courage, the Seattle Reign and Sky Blue FC.
Portland will be playing their second home matches against: the Orlando Pride, the Seattle Reign, Sky Blue FC and the Utah Royals.
Seattle will be playing their second home matches against: the Chicago Red Stars, the Houston Dash, the North Carolina Courage and the Washington Spirit.
Sky Blue will be playing their second home matches against: the Houston Dash, the North Carolina Courage, the Seattle Reign and the Utah Royals.
Utah will be playing their second home matches against: the Chicago Red Stars, the Orlando Pride, the Seattle Reign FC and the Washington Spirit.
Washington will be playing their second home matches against: the Chicago Red Stars, the Orlando Pride, the Portland Thorns and Sky Blue FC.
The match ups for the last weekend? No Washington Spirit the final weekend because of the odd number of teams.
Friday, September 7, 2018 @ 10:30 PM – Portland Thorns FC vs Seattle Reign FC @ Providence Park
Saturday, September 8, 2018 @ 12:00 PM Sky Blue FC vs Orlando Pride @ Yurcak Field
Saturday, September 8, 2018 @ 3:30 PM – Utah Royals FC vs Chicago Red Stars @ Rio Tinto Stadium
Saturday, September 8, 2018 @ 7:00 PM – North Carolina Courage vs Houston Dash @ Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park
The Full NWSL Schedule
[table id=2 /]
The NWSL has dropped the hottest release of 2018, the schedule.
As first found by Steven Goff, the NWSL site updated and now lists dates and times for all the games.
Below you will find the full schedule as presented on NWSLSoccer.com.
[table id=5 /]
One year ago, Germany was flying high. They arrived at the 2017 SheBelieves Cup as the Olympic champions, and one of the favorites to win the upcoming Euro championship. The six-time consecutive champions knew that this title defense would be more difficult than some in the past, but they certainly wouldn’t have anticipated being knocked out in the quarterfinals by Denmark. Then, their humiliation was compounded by a loss to Iceland in October, breaking a 26-match unbeaten run in World Cup qualifying.
These tough results notwithstanding, Germany remain one of the world’s best teams—as made clear in their final match of 2017, a 4-0 thumping of France. The question is: which version will turn up at SheBelieves? Will we get a return of the smooth-passing team that looked so dominant for much of 2015 and 2016, or the more hesitant group that struggled their way through matches last year?
This tournament will be an important bellwether for several of the competitors—with England looking to assess the results of their new manager and France looking to rekindle the optimism that led them to victory here last year—but maybe none more so than Germany. Coach Steffi Jones had her contract renewed after the failure in last year’s Euros and remains on track to manage all the way through the 2019 World Cup. But another bad result here might be enough to force a change.
After all, on sheer talent, this is a squad that has every reason to be planning to win the World Cup next summer. They’re young (the average age is 25, with only two players over 30), but experienced beyond their years. Now is the time for Jones to show that she can get them working together to produce the results they expect.
Das ist unser Kader für den SheBelieves Cup 2018 in den USA (2. bis 7. März)! Gespielt wird gegen die Gastgeberinnen 🇺🇸, England 🏴 und Frankreich 🇫🇷 Alle Infos ➡ https://t.co/bzigJ9Z2J1 #USAGER #GERENG #FRAGER pic.twitter.com/xtdpjQpXQD
— DFB-Frauenfußball (@DFB_Frauen) February 12, 2018
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A lot of that will depend on their talismanic #10, Dzsenifer Marozsán. She has been the heart of the German team since the retirement of Célia Šašić in 2015, with her field vision and mobility giving her the ability to affect every aspect of the game. While her primary duty is to serve as the playmaking fulcrum around which everyone else moves, she also has a wicked shot from distance, and is more than capable of crashing into the box to follow up on the attack.
Led by Marozsán, the midfield is probably Germany’s strongest line, with important additional support from Sara Däbritz. She’s been a mainstay in the squad for years—and is one of the main reasons Germany took home the gold in Rio in 2016—but at just 23 is still primed for a serious breakout. Where Marozsán is the mercurial genius, Däbritz is a highly technical player, with a refined game based on control and execution.
The midfield is rounded out with an excellent backing cast, including young talents like Linda Dallmann and Lina Magull, versatile players who can help keep the midfield engine running. Dallmann, in particular, has looked excellent over the past year, and promises to be a mainstay in the German team. Another interesting name is Tabea Kemme, who has previously played as a defender, but whose recent switch into the attack for Turbine Potsdam has produced excellent results. She should bring a lot of attacking verve on the wing. They’ll also be glad to see the return of veteran Lena Goeßling, who has come back to the squad after some conflicts with the coach pushed her off the team last year.
Unlike some of the other teams at the tournament, Germany does not rely on a single dominant striker, instead utilizing a range of solid players with different skills. First among those equals, though, is Alexandra Popp, who has averaged a goal every two games for her country. They’ll also feature Svenja Huth, who has been in great form with Turbine Potsdam and brings some creativity to the front line, as well as Mandy Islacker—a late arrival to the German team (not earning her first cap until she was 27) who is making up for lost time.
The biggest questions for Germany come from the backline. There should be two certainties: Leonie Maier at right back and Babett Peter in the central defense. But apart from those two, the next-most-capped players are Verena Faißt and Anna Blässe (with just 34 and 24 appearances respectively)—both useful support players but neither a likely starter at the next big tournament. Many of the big questions for them this tournament, therefore, revolve around the defense. In particular: what are the long-term plans at center back? And who can step up at left back (assuming that Kemme sticks in the midfield)?
Germany finished second at this tournament last year, despite not playing especially well in any of their games. That proved a harbinger of the struggles that followed over the rest of the year. Will there be more of the same malaise this time around? Or will Jones finally put her own stamp on the team, and bring them through this transitional period?
March 1: vs. USA, 7 pm ET/4 pm PT (ESPN2)
March 4: vs. England, 3 pm ET/12 pm PT (ESPN3)
March 7: vs. France, 4 pm ET/1 pm PT (ESPN3)
The TSR hosts are back with talk of the USSF election, the Breakers demise and some fun questions to get you through the end of the off season.
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