NWSL News of Note: Huerta loaned to Lyon, Tarciane out with shoulder injury, Two Morgans extend, U-20 WWC update

Leading the mid-week notables is the news that the Seattle Reign will loan fullback Sofia Huerta to Olympique Lyonnais through June 2025. Also, Houston Dash center back Tarciane is out for an indefinite period due to a shoulder injury.

Also in this update:

  • San Diego Wave: Sofia Jakobsson released
  • Portland Thorns: Morgan Weaver extends through the 2028 season
  • Orlando Pride: Morgan Gautrat signs one-year extension, with option for 2026
  • U-20 WWC Players Update: The USA and Japan advance, Canada out
Continue reading “NWSL News of Note: Huerta loaned to Lyon, Tarciane out with shoulder injury, Two Morgans extend, U-20 WWC update”

U-20 WWC 2024: Round of Sixteen, Day One – Highlights

The first-ever Round of Sixteen at a FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup has not lacked for drama. Two matches went into extra time, including the USA’s drama-filled 3:2 victory over their southern neighbors, Mexico. Brazil also needed a full 120 minutes to defeat Cameroon, though the game-winning goal came less than 20 seconds into the first period of added time. Also, Spain needed a comeback victory over Canada, while host Colombia defeated Cameroon on just a single Linda Caicedo goal. And that was just the first day of Round of Sixteen matches.

Here are the video highlights for Wednesday’s matches, with a brief recap of the USA-Mexico match, plus the schedule for Thursday.

Continue reading “U-20 WWC 2024: Round of Sixteen, Day One – Highlights”

NWSL News of Note: Cece Kizer signed by Gotham, Alozie and Bike extend, U-20 WWC Players Update, Former Royals Find New Homes

Here are the notables since last Friday’s update:

  • Gotham FC: Forward Cece Kizer signs through 2025
  • Houston Dash: Michelle Alozie extends for two seasons
  • Chicago Red Stars: Jenna Bike extends through 2026
  • U-20 WWC Players Update
  • Former Utah Royals find new homes
  • Gotham FC: Sinead Farrelly honored on Sunday
  • ESPN: NWSL General Manager survey
Continue reading “NWSL News of Note: Cece Kizer signed by Gotham, Alozie and Bike extend, U-20 WWC Players Update, Former Royals Find New Homes”

U-20 WWC 2024: Round of Sixteen Schedule with TV and Streaming Details

Full bracket for the knockout phase of the 2024 U-20 WWC

On Wednesday, September 11th, for the first time, a Round of Sixteen will get underway at a FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup.

Among the teams still in contention are Concacaf foes USA and Mexico who will face off at 9:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday. That match will be shown on FOX Sports 2 (with English-language commentary) and will be streamed by Telemundo Deportes (with Spanish-language commentary).

Also on Wednesday, Canada will take on defending champions Spain. That match kicks off at 5:30 p.m. EDT.

The Round of Sixteen concludes on Thursday with four more matches, including the only other same confederation clash: France versus Netherlands.

Continue reading “U-20 WWC 2024: Round of Sixteen Schedule with TV and Streaming Details”

U-20 WWC 2024: Match Day 3B – Highlights and Group Standings

On Saturday, September 7th, three more teams secured their spots in the Round of Sixteen at the 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. Among those teams were the USA, who had a dominant 7-nil victory over Paraguay.

Also, Korea Republic upset Germany 1-nil to earn a slot as one of the best third-place teams, and Nigeria defeated Venezuela 4-nil, which gave the African side a second-place finish in Group D, behind Germany, who had already locked up a spot in the knockout phase.

In Group C, Spain, who were already guaranteed advancement, finished its group stage at maximum points, thanks to its 2-nil victory over Morocco. Meanwhile, the USA claimed second place over Paraguay, who are still mathematically alive as one of third-place teams, but will need favorable results on Sunday.

With the USA’s second place finish in Group C, they will face its Concacaf rival, Mexico, who are the second place team from Group A, on Wednesday, September 11th, at 9:00 p.m. EDT. That match will be shown live on FOX Sports 2.

Here are the match highlights and goals summaries for the day’s four matches, plus the final standings for Group C and Group D, along with the ranking of third-place teams

Continue reading “U-20 WWC 2024: Match Day 3B – Highlights and Group Standings”

U-20 WWC 2024: Final Group Match Day Advancement Scenarios

The third match day of the group stage at the 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia gets underway on Friday, September 6th.

With the expansion to 24 teams and the addition of a Round of Sixteen, four of the third-place teams from the groups will also advance to the knockout stage, instead of just the top two teams from each group.

This post summarizes what teams have already qualified for the Round of Sixteen, which teams can advance automatically advance as one of the top two teams, and where teams could finish depending on the results of the final set of group matches.

Continue reading “U-20 WWC 2024: Final Group Match Day Advancement Scenarios”

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.

Continue reading “U-20 WWC 2024: Match Day 2B – Highlights and Group Standings”

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.

Continue reading “U-20 WWC 2024: Match Day 1B – Highlights and Group Standings”

U-20 WWC 2024: Full Schedule with USA TV and Streaming Details for the 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup

On Saturday, August 31st, the 2024 edition of the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup kicks off in Colombia. Viewers in the United States will be able to watch all of the USA’s group matches live on FOX Sports 2. Also, all of the tournament’s matches will be streamed live with Spanish-language commentary through the NBC Sports app and NBC.com.

Continue reading “U-20 WWC 2024: Full Schedule with USA TV and Streaming Details for the 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup”

U-20 WWC 2024: Official Squad Lists Released + Summary Stats and Notables

Earlier this week, FIFA released the official squad lists for this year’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup, which is hosted by Colombia and kicks off on August 31st.

Here is a Google Sheets version of the squad lists, which is converted from the original PDF file (FIFA.com). (Update, 30-Aug-2024: Brazil, Colombia, and Japan have each replaced a player. See the “Notes” page of the spreadsheet for more details.)

Of the 24 teams in this year’s tournament, the United States Under-20 Women’s Youth National Team is the 4th oldest, based on median age, and the 2nd tallest team, based on median height. Only the Netherlands has a higher median height.

Out of 504 total players, 71 are based in the United States, with 47 currently playing for NCAA Division I teams. In all, 14 teams have at least one USA-based player.

Eleven of the US-based players are full professionals who compete in the NWSL: In addition to the 8 USA players, the other NWSL pros are forward Amanda Allen of the Orlando Pride, forward Milly Clegg of Racing Louisville, and midfielder Manaka Matsukubo of the North Carolina Courage, who play for Canada, New Zealand, and Japan, respectively.

For the complete tables of comparative age and height statistics, keep reading…

Continue reading “U-20 WWC 2024: Official Squad Lists Released + Summary Stats and Notables”