women’s soccer – Page 10 – Women's Soccer Express

NWSL News of Note: Denver takes the lead; Becky Sauerbrunn retires; Narumi Miura moves to Spirit; Angel City signs Julie Dufour and retains M.A. Vignola; Coachella teams

Leading this edition’s notables is the news that the league “is entering exclusive negotiations” with the Denver bid for the second 2026 expansion franchise.

Former USWNT defender Becky Sauerbrunn announced her retirement from professional soccer on Tuesday.

In other player news, Washington Spirit has landed free agent midfielder Narumi Miura, previously of the North Carolina Courage, while Angel City has signed 23-year-old French international Julie Dufour and re-signed defender M.A. Vignola.

Additionally, six NWSL teams have announced that will play preseason friendlies at the 2025 Coachella Valley Invitational.

UEFA Women’s Euro 2025: Group Draw and Match Schedule

On Monday, UEFA conducted the group draw for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 and published the match schedule.

The Draw

Host Switzerland avoided the reigning champion, England (in Pot 2) as well as two other teams ranked in the top 10 of FIFA’s rankings (FIFA.com), Sweden and the Netherlands (both in Pot 3).

England (#4) ended up in Group D, with France (#11), the Netherlands (#10), and the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, Wales (#30).

Sweden (#5), the highest-ranked team that did not qualify directly via the 2023-24 Nations League, was selected into the same group as Germany (#3), Group C.

Reigning Women’s World Cup champion Spain (#2) was grouped with lowest-ranked team from Pot 2, Italy (#13), the second-lowest team in Pot 3, Belgium (#19), and its Iberian neighbor, Portugal (#22), which was the highest-ranked team in Pot 4.

The full groups:

Group A: Switzerland (host), Norway, Iceland, Finland
Group B: Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy
Group C: Germany, Poland, Denmark, Sweden
Group D: France, England, Wales, Netherlands

NWSL News of Note: Wave sign UCLA’s Quincy McMahon, Thorns acquire Brazilian Daiane, Spirit re-sign Kaylie Collins, Courage CSO departs, “Gotham FC Alliance” announced

On Friday, two clubs announced additions: The San Diego Wave have signed UCLA defender Quincy McMahon, and the Portland Thorns have acquired Brazilian center-back Daiane via a transfer from CR Flamengo.

Additionally, the Washington Spirit have retained goalkeeper Kaylie Collins for the 2025 season.

In team news, the North Carolina Courage’s front office is without a Chief Soccer Officer after the departure of Curt Johnson.

Also, Gotham FC have announced a “Gotham FC Alliance” program for youth clubs which will involve player identification and development opportunities in order “to create a professional player pathway”.

NWSL Transactions Catch-Up: Lundkvist stays with Wave; Thorns extend Hirst and McKenzie; Pikkujämsä will return to Racing; Biegalski re-ups with Red Stars; Dash retain Chapman, Harris, Hinz, and West

Lost in the buzz surrounding the 14 clubs dropping their end-of-season roster updates on Tuesday were some player transactions, a few of which were not publicized separate from the roster updates.

On Tuesday, five teams retained a total of nine additional current players:

The Chicago Red Stars have signed Camryn Biegalski to a new one-year-contract.
The Houston Dash re-signed three players — Allysha Chapman, Jyllissa Harris, and Amanda West — and optioned a fourth: Goalkeeper Heather Hinz.
Racing Louisville and Elli Pikkujämsä exercised a mutual option which should keep her in the Derby City through the 2025 NWSL season.
The Portland Thorns have retained Sophie Hirst and Mallie McKenzie via new contracts.
San Diego Wave and Hanna Lundkvist also exercised a mutual option.

For coverage of additional transactions see: “NWSL News of Note: Royals sign 15-year-old KK Ream, Wave trade Christen Westphal to Dash, Kat Asman signed by Pride, Red Bull Arena is now ‘Sports Illustrated Stadium'”.

NWSL News of Note: Royals sign 15-year-old KK Ream, Wave trade Christen Westphal to Dash, Kat Asman signed by Pride, Red Bull Arena is now “Sports Illustrated Stadium”

Here are the notables from December 10th and 11th:

On Tuesday, the only last-minute trade before end-of-season roster announcements involved the San Diego Wave sending veteran defender Christen Westphal to the Houston Dash in exchange for an international spot and allocation money.
On Wednesday, the Utah Royals announced the signing of their first U18 player, forward KK Ream, who won the 2024 Concacaf Girls Under-15 Championship as a member of the United States squad.
Also on Wednesday, the Orlando Pride announced the signing of goalkeeper Kat Asman, who recently finished her rookie season with the Portland Thorns.
In non-player news, Gotham FC’s home stadium has a new name.

Note: Recent re-signings will be covered in a separate post.

FIFA confirms dates and slot allocation for the 2027 Women’s World Cup

On Tuesday, December 10th, FIFA announced the slot allocation and dates for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be hosted by Brazil. Although the distribution of slots per confederation, including for the play-off tournament, remains the same, the play-off tournament will have a different format.

The first match of the 2027 WWC will kick off on Thursday, June 24, 2027, with the final being played on Sunday, July 25, 2027.

Concacaf, of which the USA is a member, will have four direct slots plus two play-off spots. The two play-off teams from Concacaf will receive byes for the first phase of the play-off tournament, so they will only have to play a single additional match in order to earn a WWC slot.

NWSL: End-Of-Season Roster Updates for All 14 Clubs (10-Dec-2024)

On Tuesday, December 10th, all 14 NWSL teams published their initial offseason rosters. This post includes the announced roster for each club, in a standardized format.

The lists for each club are organized as follows:

Currently Signed: All players signed to a contract (for at least part of 2025) but not presently loaned to another club.
Out on Loan: Signed players that have current loan agreements.
Loan Expired: Players on loan from other clubs who have returned to their home club.
In Negotiations: Free agent players that the club acknowledges as still negotiating.
Free Agents: Players with expiring contracts that have not been retained and/or with options that have not been exercised.
Retired: Players that have announced their retirements from professional club soccer.

NWSL News of Note: Becki Tweed out as Angel City head coach, Dash hire Angela Hucles Mangano, Red Stars sign Halle Mackiewicz, Bay FC re-signs three rookies

Leading the notables from Monday, December 9th are the news that Becki Tweed is no longer Angel City’s head coach and former Angel City general manager Angela Hucles Mangano is now the President of Women’s Soccer for the Houston Dash.

In player news, the Chicago Red Stars have signed former Clemson goalkeeper Halle Mackiewicz. She returns to the States after playing her rookie pro season in Sweden’s Damallsvenskan.

Also, Bay FC re-signed three first-year professionals: Goalkeeper Emmie Allen plus midfielders Caroline Conti and Jamie Shepherd.

USWNT: The USA will play Brazil in a pair of April 2025 Friendlies

Update (2-Mar-2025): The Max streaming service will no longer show live sports on its least expensive plan, “Basic With Ads”, as of March 30, 2025. To watch USWNT friendlies on Max, viewers will need to upgrade to the “Standard” plan, which is $16.99 per month. Alternatively, one could subscribe to Peacock, which is $7.99 per month for their lower cost plan. For more details and a guide to alternatives see USWNT and USMNT matches will no longer be available on the Max “Basic With Ads” plan as of March 30, 2025.

On Monday, U.S. Soccer announced that the United States Women’s National Team will host Brazil in two friendlies during the April 2025 international window. Both matches will be played in California, first at SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood on Saturday, April 5th, and then at PayPal Park in San Jose on Tuesday, April 8th. In the United States, both matches will be televised with English-language commentary on either TBS or TNT and streamed via Max.

The USWNT and Brazil last played each other in the 2024 Summer Olympics final, which the USA won 1-nil on a goal from Mallory Swanson.

Match Schedule and TV/Streaming Details

(as of 9-Dec-2024, subject to change)

Saturday, April 5, 2025 — 5:00 p.m. EDT

English-language

Television: TNT and truTV
Streaming: Max (“Standard” or “Premium” plans only)

Spanish-language

Television: Universo
Streaming: Peacock

Tuesday, April 8, 2025 — 10:30 p.m. EDT

English-language

Television: TBS
Streaming: Max (“Standard” or “Premium” plans only)

Spanish-language

Television: Universo
Streaming: Peacock

NWSL News of Note: Nichelle Prince extends with KC, Dash re-sign Avery Patterson and Kiki Van Zanten, Elin Rubensson departs Dash

In this end-of-the-week edition of NWSL News of Note…

The Kansas City Current have signed forward Nichelle Prince to a new two-year contract that should keep the Canadian international in teal through at least the 2026 NWSL season.
The Houston Dash, which is currently without both a head coach and a non-interim general manager, have retained two rookie players via new contracts: Defender/midfielder Avery Patterson and midfielder Kiki Van Zanten.
However, the Dash will not have the services of Swedish international midfielder Elin Rubensson, who departs Houston after one season.