Each month in the leadup to the World Cup, Just Women’s Sports will make the case for one player as most essential to the success of the U.S. women’s national team in 2023. Next up: Catarina Macario.

Catarina Macario is exactly the type of player the USWNT needs to provide a spark heading into the 2023 World Cup.

The 23-year-old star is working her way back from an ACL tear, and the national team has lacked depth in her absence. Veteran forward Alex Morgan has taken over at the No. 9 position, but the return of Macario as a false nine could boost the attack as the team looks to win its third consecutive World Cup.

She’s a bonafide scorer, having notched a goal in just her second appearance (and first start) for the USWNT in a friendly against Colombia on Jan. 22, 2021. Since then, she’s started in 11 of her 17 appearances and notched eight goals and two assists – including five goals in five appearances in 2022.

THREE MINUTES.

21-year-old Catarina Macario scores her first career 🇺🇸 goal on her first start!

(🎥: @USWNT)pic.twitter.com/0gEcdCOVTK

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) January 23, 2021

At just 23 years old, analysts have pointed to Macario as the “focal point” of the generational transition for the USWNT. Head coach Vlatko Andonovski has even referred to her as the “future of the team.”

“It’s no secret Cat is one of the players who has tremendous potential,” Andonovski said in October 2021. “I personally think she is one of the players I call the future of this team. She’s a very creative player in the role she has with the national team.”

For the most part, Macario has lived up to the hype as she’s continued to develop her game. In February, she earned MVP honors at the SheBelives Cup after burying two goals and adding an assist through three matches en route to the USWNT’s title win.

The two goals earned high praise from some of the USWNT’s all-time best, including Mia Hamm and Megan Rapinoe, and Andonovski said afterward that the goals were “world-class goals.”

“They should be on highlight reels around the world,” he said.

FROM THE CORNER OF THE BOX!!!!

Get in, @catarinamacario 🇺🇸#SheBelievesCup x @Visa pic.twitter.com/TMSZ5h62EE

— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) February 24, 2022

In fact, Macario’s performances in 2022 were so good – including for club team Olympique Lyonnais, which won the Women’s Champions League – that she became one of three American players among the 20 finalists for the prestigious Ballon d’Or award. Two other USWNT players joined her: Morgan and Trinity Rodman.

The absences of Macario and other key pieces of the team’s transition and defense contributed to the USWNT’s struggles late this year, as the team lost three games in a row for the first time since 1993.

Whether Macario returns as a starter or a substitute, as a forward or a midfielder, she can help set the table for the dominating scorers on the front line, among them Sophia Smith and Mallory Pugh.

She’s good at creating chances for herself and for her teammates. Macario is in the 97th percentile of dribblers in Europe with 2.52 per 90 minutes, according to StatsBomb. Her 0.33 expected assists per 90 minutes sits in the 99th percent among European forwards.

“She’s got a flair, she’s very creative and she’s got the ability that anyone would want: the ability to create chances to score goals that anyone would welcome on a team,” Andonovski said in 2020.

Catarina Macario is out of this world 🤯

(via @DAZNFootball) pic.twitter.com/HBWvU6q8sm

— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 31, 2022

Fellow USWNT forward Lynn Williams said Macario and Smith together bring a “new freshness” to the team.

“Cat is technically great. Soph will drive at you,” she said. “They have a hunger and a desire to stay here and make a name for themselves, so I’m excited to see them do it.”

Macario also lines up well with midfielder Rose Lavelle, who also plays an instrumental role in the team’s chemistry and attack.

“You need someone like Cat with her precision and technical abilities,” Andonovski said in February. “I thought that when we were able to find her underneath the line, she did an incredible job of unlocking them or creating opportunities for the players around her, so I was very happy with that.

“That’s pure creativity and technical ability, so I’m very happy to see that because I think she has the ability to do that,” Andonovski continued. “The players around will have to get used to those passes or expect those passes so we can make plans to be more dangerous.”

Who is the most essential USWNT player?

• The case for… Mallory Swanson
• The case for… Rose Lavelle
• The case for… Sophia Smith
• The case for… Alex Morgan
• The case for… Becky Sauerbrunn
• The case for… Lynn Williams
• The case for… Julie Ertz
• The case for… Naomi Girma
• The case for… Crystal Dunn

The 2025 NCAA volleyball season is down to four top teams, as the Division I national championship tournament's Final Four takes the court in Kansas City on Thursday night.

No. 1 seeds Pitt and Kentucky survived a series of high-profile tournament upsets to punch their tickets to Thursday's semifinals, where No. 3 seeds Texas A&M and Wisconsin will join the Panthers and Wildcats.

"The Final Four is just so special, it is so incredible," Wisconsin head coach Kelly Sheffield said ahead of Thursday's action. "You want as many of your players that are committed, that decide to come here, you want them to experience that."

Two teams will look to make history this weekend, with Pitt and Texas A&M both in pursuit of a program-first national championship.

While the Aggies are in uncharted territory, booking their first-ever semifinals berth last weekend, the Panthers are hunting a breakthrough, hoping to claim a first-ever championship final appearance in their fifth consecutive trip to the Final Four.

As for Kentucky and Wisconsin, the Wildcats and Badgers will be looking to add a second trophy to their cases after booking their first program titles in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball Final Four

The 2025 NCAA volleyball semifinals begin at 6:30 PM ET on Thursday, when No. 3 Texas A&M takes on No. 1 Pitt before No. 3 Wisconsin faces No. 1 Kentucky at 9 PM ET.

Both Final Four clashes will air live on ESPN.

As the 2028 LA Olympics come into focus, the FIFA Council unveiled the regional allocations for the Summer Games' first-ever 16-team women's soccer tournament this week.

According to the Council's Wednesday report, 2.5 slots will go to AFC (Asia), 2 to CAF (Africa), 3 to Concacaf (North and Central America), 2.5 to Conmebol (South America), 1 to OFC (Oceania), and 4 to UEFA (Europe), with one additional slot reserved, as always, for the host nation — the reigning Olympic gold medalist USWNT.

While the expanded competition allows for greater depth, one AFC and one Conmebol team will ostensibly have to face an inter-continental playoff to determine which region can send an additional team to the 2028 Olympics.

One the other hand, Concacaf's representation will double from 2024, growing from two to four teams given the automatic berth of the USWNT.

Similarly, after host nation France's autobid boosted UEFA'a 2024 allocation to three teams, this week's new distribution doubles the European confederation's previous non-host two-team max for the LA Games — meaning all four of the 2027 UEFA Nations League semifinalists will qualify to compete for gold in 2028.

Notably, CAF and OFC are the only confederations to not see an increase on their previous allocation from the FIFA Council.

The puck dropped on the 2025/26 PWHL Takeover Tour on Wednesday, when the No. 2 Montréal Victoire took down the No. 5 Toronto Sceptres 2-1 in an overtime shootout in front of a sold-out crowd in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Packed into Scotiabank Centre, 10,438 fans watched Team Canada and Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin score the shootout's lone goal, handing Montréal their third straight win.

"It was amazing to see the young girls and boys in the crowd wearing our jerseys, saying our names, and wanting our autographs," said Victoire head coach Kori Cheverie. "It's just extremely special."

The PWHL's 16-stop Takeover Tour is just beginning, with nine games planned for Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Washington DC, Denver, and more before the league pauses for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

"We hope that the impact is a positive one. Everywhere we go, that's the impression we want to leave — for little girls to know that they have a dream and that their dream can become a reality," said Sceptres captain and Nova Scotia product Blayre Turnbull following Wednesday's Tour stop.

Halifax marks the third-year league's fourth sold-out stop, joining fellow Canadian cities Edmonton, Québec City, and Vancouver.

How to attend the 2025/26 PWHL Takeover Tour

The PWHL will next pull into Chicago's Allstate Arena for a Takeover Tour stop on Sunday, when the No. 8 Ottawa Charge will take on the No. 6 Minnesota Frost on at 2 PM ET.

Tickets are currently available for purchase via Ticketmaster.

Months after Napheesa Collier set the WNBA ablaze with her viral exit interview criticizing league leadership, the Minnesota Lynx star said "nothing has changed" at the front office level as CBA negotiations stall.

"The conversation has been had now [and] people are seeing that changes need to be made," Collier said this week from Miami, where Unrivaled 3×3 is gearing up for its second campaign.

"I feel confident in the [union] and where we are internally with our players and the future," she continued.

In her October press conference, Collier publicly called the WNBA front office "the worst leadership in the world," putting commissioner Cathy Engelbert in the hot seat amid tense CBA negotiations with serious implications on next season's play.

The league and the WNBPA are currently sparring over revenue sharing, with diverging compensation expectations further distancing the two sides.

"Obviously, there's frustration in that both sides are trying to get what they want, but we still have that fire within us that we're willing to do what it takes," Collier said. "We're going to do whatever it takes to get what we think we deserve."

As talks drag on, Collier sees Unrivaled — the offseason 3×3 league she co-founded with New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart — as fueling the players' fight.

"Us being here in December and January until March, it's a crucial time in the CBA," Collier acknowledged.

"Having us all in one place is beneficial," she explained. "To have players congregate in that way, where you can have those in-person conversations and updates like that, that does help to get things moving more quickly."