RD Welch

U-20 WWC 2024: Match Day 2C – Highlights and Group Standings

With two-thirds of the group stage matches at the 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup now completed, three more teams secured spots in the Round of Sixteen: Korea DPR, Japan, and Austria.

Argentina spoiled the Netherlands hopes of automatic advanced by overcoming a two-goal deficit to earn a draw.

Two NWSL players netted goals in the day’s matches:

The North Carolina Courage’s Manaka Matsukubo scored the eventual game-winner in Japan’s 4:1 victory over Ghana.
Meanwhile, Racing Louisville’s Milly Clegg had a late consolation goal for New Zealand.

Here are the match highlights and goals summaries for the day’s four matches, plus the standings for Group E and Group F, along with some brief discussion of advancement scenarios.

NWSL News of Note: Alex Morgan announces retirement, Croix Bethune on SEI list, Magic Johnson invests in Spirit, plus lots more

Sunday, September 8th will be the end of an era as Alex Morgan will play her final professional soccer match. On Thursday, September 5th, Morgan announced her retirement via a social media video. The suddenness of Morgan’s retirement was due in part to a pregnancy, which was first publicly disclosed in the social media video.

The other major NWSL news of the week is the loss of Washington Spirit midfielder Croix Bethune for the rest of the season due to a meniscus injury that occurred during a ceremonial first pitch at a Washington Nationals baseball game.

Here are the rest of the notables from September 3rd to the 5th:

Washington Spirit: Earvin “Magic” Johnson joins the club’s investor group
Seattle Reign: Jordyn Huitema extends until 2026, with mutual option for 2027
Angel City: Forward Jun Endo signs on through 2027
Angel City: Sale of Controlling interest to Willow Bay and Bob Iger completed
Houston Dash: Forward Bárbara Olivieri extends for two years
Houston Dash: Forward Cece Kizer released from contract
Orlando Pride: Amanda Allen loaned to USL Super League’s Lexington Sporting Club
Utah Royals: Addisyn Merrick released, signed by USL Super League’s Carolina Ascent
Rumor: Sofia Jakobsson “close to signing” with London City Lionesses

U-20 WWC 2024: Match Day 2B – Highlights and Group Standings

On Wednesday, September 4th, Group C and Group D played their second group stage matches of the 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup.

In Group C, both the USA and Spain won their respective matches 2-nil. The USA’s victory over Morocco gives it a crucial goal difference advantage over Paraguay, who loss to Spain. The USA are now in a good position to advance as the second-place team in the group. Meanwhile, Spain, who are on 6 points, has secured advancement to the Round of Sixteen.

Over in Group D, Germany also secured advancement, thanks in part to its 3:1 win over Nigeria. The other match, between Korea Republic and Venezuela ended in a scoreless draw.

Here are the match highlights and goals summaries for the day’s four matches, plus the standings for Group C and Group D, along with some brief discussion of advancement scenarios.

NWSL Referee Assignments: September 6 to 8, 2024

Friday, September 6th:

Angel City vs. Reign: Trevor Wiseman (VAR: Brad Jensen)

Saturday, September 7th:

Spirit vs. Thorns: Greg Dopka (VAR: Danielle Chesky)
Current vs. Royals: Calin Radosav (VAR: Shawn Tehini)
Bay FC vs. Racing: Rebecca Pagan (VAR: Alexandra Billeter)

Sunday, September 8th:

Gotham vs. Dash: Joshua Encarnacion (VAR: Kevin Broadley)
Red Stars vs. Pride: Eric Tattersall (VAR: Alyssa Nichols)
Wave vs. Courage: Brad Jensen (VAR: Abdou Ndiaye)

Source: PRO

U-20 WWC 2024: Match Day 2A – Highlights and Group Standings

On Tuesday, September 3rd, eight teams played their second group stage matches of the 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. Among those teams, Brazil and the host, Colombia, secured advancement into the Round of Sixteen. Concacaf sides Canada and Mexico won their matches and now sit on 4 points each. Both are in decent positions to advance to the knockout phase.

Here are the match highlights and goals summaries for the day’s four matches, plus the standings for Group A and Group B, along with some brief discussion of advancement scenarios.

NWSL: Media Coverage of the ‘Historic’ and ‘Groundbreaking’ New Collective Bargaining Agreement

(Note: The bulk of this post was originally going to be part of a longer article analyzing the new CBA, but due to time constraints, I have not been able to do proper research for that article.)

On Thursday, August 22nd, the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association (NWSLPA) released details about their new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the league. The new CBA, which has been described as “historic”, “groundbreaking” and “landmark” by professional journalists, has numerous significant new provisions, including several that grant the players much greater autonomy over their professional soccer careers.

Specifically, those provisions cover:

Full free agency for all players,
Player consent required for any trade,
Elimination of the entry draft and expansion drafts, and
Guaranteed contracts

Other key changes include revenue sharing for players, sizable increases in the minimum player salary, and requiring charter flights in certain situations.

At the moment, the full text of the new CBA is not yet available, so a detailed analysis is not currently possible. (According to the NWSLPA’s website, “[t]he full terms of the new CBA announced on August 22, 2024 will be shared… at a future date.”)

Reminder: Thorns and Gotham FC play their first Concacaf W Champions Cup matches this week

Two NWSL teams, the Portland Thorns and Gotham FC, will play their first-ever Concacaf W Champions Cup matches this week.

Both matches will be streamed live by CBS Sports (English-language) and ESPN+ (Spanish-language).

Portland Thorns vs. Club América (Mexico)

Wednesday, September 4th, 10:00 p.m. EDT
Streaming: Golazo! and ESPN+

Gotham FC vs. Alajuelense (Costa Rica)

Thursday, September 5th, 8:00 pm. EDT
Streaming: Paramount+ and ESPN+

For the full tournament schedules of all three NWSL teams, including the San Diego Wave, see “2024 Concacaf W Champions Cup: Group Stage Schedule for NWSL Teams with TV and Streaming Details”.

U-20 WWC 2024: Match Day 1C – Highlights and Group Standings

On Monday, September 2nd, the final eight teams of the 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, including Concacaf side Costa Rica, played their first matches of the tournament.

Here are the match highlights and goals summaries for the day’s four matches, plus the standings for Group E and Group F.

NWSL News of Note: Hanna Glas to Reign, Sophie Hirst to Thorns, Royals sign defender Julia Grosso

The notables for September 1st and 2nd include a pair of trades and a player signing:

Kansas City Current trade defender Hanna Glas to Seattle Reign
Houston Dash trade Sophie Hirst to the Portland Thorns
Utah Royals sign American defender Julia Grosso

Yes, there is now a second “Julia Grosso” in this league, after the addition of Canadian international midfielder Julia Grosso in August. Utah’s new signing hails from Florida and played at the University of Kentucky for five years.

U-20 WWC 2024: Match Day 1B – Highlights and Group Standings

On Sunday, September 1st, eight more teams began their campaigns at the 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, including the USA and defending champions Spain, who faced off against each other.

Here are the match highlights and goals summaries for the day’s four matches, plus the standings for Group C and Group D.