In the second semifinal of the 2024 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup, there was no treat for England on Halloween night.
Continue reading “U-17 WWC 2024: The USA will face England in the Third-Place Match, Spain advances to the Final”This is the final weekend of the regular season.
The three bolded matches involve the three teams that are still in the hunt for the final two playoff spots: Portland Thorns, Bay FC, and Racing Louisville. If the Thorns and Bay FC do not lose their matches on Friday and Saturday, respectively, then Racing will be eliminated before their match kicks off.
The three italicized matches involve qualified playoff teams that could move up and/or down in their ranking slots. Besides Shield winner Orlando Pride, only #5 North Carolina Courage cannot change its positioning. The Spirit, Gotham, and Current are fighting for the #2 seed , which would mean home-field advantage for the semifinals, in addition to the quarterfinals.
For playoff scenario involving the #2 seed and the final two playoff spots, see this NWSL press release.
Friday, November 1st
Saturday, November 2nd
Sunday, November 3rd
Source: PRO
Continue reading “NWSL Referee Assignments: November 1 to 3, 2024”
The United States Under-17 Women’s Youth National Team did what no other team has done at this year’s FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup: Hold Korea DPR scoreless in the first half. For three-quarters of the semifinal, the USA defense bent but did not break against a Korea DPR that had some threatening moments, but only registered two shots on goal the entire match.
Continue reading “U-17 WWC 2024: The USA falls to Korea DPR, will play in the Third-Place Match”
On Wednesday, October 30th, the United States Women’s National Team will play a much younger Argentina from the squad the USA faced earlier this year in the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup. Of the 20 players originally selected by head coach Germán Portanova for this camp, only 13 were on Argentina’s 22-player Gold Cup roster. However, due to injuries, three players had to withdraw. Two of those players were replaced, while the third, midfielder Romina Núñez was a late scratch, so Argentina will only have 19 players available for the friendly.
Continue reading “USWNT: Argentina’s Roster for the October 2024 Friendly, with Stats — Three Changes Since Original Announcement”
With the 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in the books and the 2024 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup nearing its conclusion, the focus for the 2006 and 2007 birth years transitions to qualifying for the next U-20 WWC, and so the new two-year cycle begins with a domestic camp in West Palm Beach, Florida, that began on Thursday, October 24th, and runs through October 30th.
Since NCAA soccer is nearing the end of its regular season, head coach Carrie Kveton, has not called in any current collegiate players, nor has she called any age-eligible NWSL players from the recent U-20 WWC roster. As most of the 24 players are still in high school, a majority of the players, 15 in all, have 2007 birth years, while just nine of the 24 players were born in 2006, the lower cut-off year for this current one-year U-19 cycle. The 2007 birth year is also the lower cut-off year for the present U-17 WWC, so between the unavailability of players presently competing in the Dominican Republic and current college players, the selection philosophy for this roster is much more about exploring and expanding the pool of players for the next U-20 WWC (and beyond), rather than focusing on a primary pool of players.
The most notable player called into this camp is Houston Dash’s recent U-18 signing, 6’2″ midfielder Zoe Matthews, who is listed as a defender on this roster. Matthews is the only NWSL player called in and one of three professionals. The other pro players are forward Miri O’Donnell, who joined Sporting Clube de Portugal in late September, and goalkeeper Charlotte Burge, who signed with Carolina Ascent of the new USL Super League.
Continue reading “U-19 WYNT: First camp of new cycle gets underway in Florida — Dash’s Zoe Matthews called in”
The Young Lionesses of England have advanced to the semifinals of a FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup for the first time after besting Japan on penalties. This is the third time in a row that Japan has exited at the quarterfinal stage of a U-17 WWC, after winning the tournament in 2014 and finishing as runner-up in 2016.
England will face Spain in their semifinal, which will be a rematch of the 2024 UEFA Women’s Under-17 Championship final that was won 4-nil by Spain.
In Sunday’s earlier quarterfinal, Ecuador held Spain scoreless for the first third of the match, but then Pau Comendador netted a straight hat trick and Celia Segura added a stoppage time brace to give the European champions a 5-nil victory.
Continue reading “U-17 WWC 2024: Quarterfinals, Day 2 — England reaches the semifinals for the first time, will face Spain”
For the first time since the inaugural FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup in 2008, the USA are back in the semifinals thanks to their 2-nil victory over Nigeria. The USA’s opponent will be Korea DPR who were held to only a lone goal by Poland in Saturday’s other quarterfinal.
Continue reading “U-17 WWC 2024: Quarterfinals, Day 1 — The USA advances on goals from Fuller and Ascanio; will face Korea DPR in semifinals”While the United States Women’s National Team celebrates its gold medal performance at the 2024 Summer Olympics this international window with three friendlies, tops teams in Europe are regrouping and preparing for Women’s Euro 2025. Among them, Olympic bronze medalists Germany, under new head coach Christian Wück, takes on England in a re-match of the 2022 final. Meanwhile, reigning Women’s World Cup champions Spain, who finished fourth at the Olympics, hosts a headless Canada that will be managed “collectively” by an interim staff which includes retired player Diana Matheson.
In the USA, both matches, which will be played on Friday, October 25th, and will stream live. The England-Germany match is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. EDT on the free CBS Sports Golazo Network, while Spain-Canada will stream via the paid Paramount+ app at 4:00 p.m. EDT.
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For its two friendlies against the top-ranked United States Women’s National Team, 13th-ranked Iceland will be bringing 23 players, including four who played collegiately in the United States. Most notable among them is former Duke Blue Devil and Under-23 USWYNT defender Natasha Anasi, who acquired Icelandic citizenship in 2019.
Anasi, at the age of 33, is the oldest player on Iceland’s roster and the only one over the age of 30. When comparing median and average ages, the roster selected by head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson is only slightly younger, by roughly a year, compared to the USWNT’s roster for the friendlies.
Continue reading “USWNT: Iceland’s Roster for the October 2024 Friendlies”With all the group stage matches in the books at the 2024 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup, the field for the quarterfinal is set.
In Group D, debutante Poland advanced to the knockout stage by wringing out a scoreless draw against Brazil in a rain-soaked match. Meanwhile, Japan claimed the top spot in the group with a 4:1 victory over Zambia.
Over in Group C, Mexico is going home with zero points after a 1:2 loss to Kenya in a match where both teams were already eliminated, while Korea DPR had a comfortable 4-nil win over England to finish first in the group.
Continue reading “U-17 WWC 2024: Match Day 3B — Highlights and Final Group Standings”
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