The 2023 World Cup is fast approaching, with just six months to go until the tournament kicks off in Australia and New Zealand.

The U.S. women’s national team has spent the last six months already ramping up its preparation. And former USWNT stars have not been shy in offering their thoughts on the current roster, including Mia Hamm, Carli Lloyd and more.

Just Women’s Sports rounds up what former USWNT World Cup champions have said about the 2023 squad, which will continue to ratchet up its intensity level this month with a trip to New Zealand to face the Football Ferns.

Julie Foudy

The USWNT lost three games in a row in October and November before rebounding with a win against Germany to close out the year. While the losing streak sounded alarm bells, Foudy saw them as just part of the process for a developing roster.

“You’re playing against three of the best teams in the world who could easily win this next World Cup, and that’s what you want to see at that level,” she told Just Women’s Sports in December. “And they’re still so young. I mean, that’s the thing we often forget when people start to panic about what is happening with this team.

“This is a rebuild. That’s going to take some time.”

Foudy — who played with the USWNT from 1988 until 2004 and won the 1991 and 1999 World Cups with the squad — pointed to forwards Mallory Pugh and Sophia Smith as bright spots. And while she acknowledged the team’s many injuries, she said there had been “too much discussion” about the missing players.

“Guess what? That’s part of soccer,” she said. “Yes, the U.S. has a ton of injuries right now. But that’s part of it. It’s the next person up.”

Even with the injuries, Foudy likes the USWNT’s chances in Group E, which also includes the Netherlands, Vietnam and a winner from the intercontinental playoff.

“It’s a very winnable group,” Foudy said on CBS Sports’ “Attacking Third” podcast in November. “I think with the expanded field of 32 teams, you have a pretty clear delineation of those top two teams in the groups. I think it’s a good group. It’s a good matchup.”

Mia Hamm

Two young stars in particular have stood out to Hamm in the USWNT’s World Cup warm-ups, she told Bleacher Report in December: 24-year-old Mallory Pugh Swanson and 23-year-old Catarina Macario.

Pugh was snubbed from the U.S. Olympic roster in 2021 but since then has undergone a career renaissance.

“When I see her play, the joy on her face is what excites me about her future,” said Hamm, who played for the USWNT from 1987-2004. “I’m really excited to watch her play next summer.”

Macario is nearing her return from an ACL injury she suffered in June, and Hamm praised her “savvy and understanding.”

Carli Lloyd

Not all the discussion of the current iteration of the USWNT has been positive. After the team fell 2-1 to Germany in November for its third loss in a row, Lloyd called out the team on Twitter.

“The winning culture and mentality that has carried on from generation to generation within the USWNT has been fizzling away,” she wrote. “I said it when I retired. I saw it slipping away. Players have to embody that. That’s been our DNA since the ’80s, but not so much anymore.”

Lloyd spent 17 years on the national team before her retirement in 2021, and she played an integral role in the 2015 and 2019 World Cup runs. But the 40-year-old believes the 2023 World Cup will be “the hardest one to win yet,” she said on the “Attacking Third” podcast in November.

Heather O’Reilly

The November loss to Germany also prompted O’Reilly to question the USWNT’s urgency. The three-game losing streak marked the national team’s longest since 1993.

Briana Scurry

Ahead of last summer’s World Cup qualifying tournament, the former USWNT goalkeeper talked about the growing scrutiny USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski would come under. Andonovski took the helm after the 2019 World Cup win, then led the team to the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

“Vlatko’s going to be a topic of discussion, I believe, going forward with regards to his choices,” Scurry told Just Women’s Sports in June. “He’s got a lot of pressure on him, and obviously he’s got a whole year until actually coaching the World Cup tournament itself. But this is going to be an indicator of his philosophies.”

In particular, she pointed out Andonovski’s “odd” answer to a question on Christen Press.

The veteran USWNT forward did not make the qualifying roster. While her absence was not a surprise, as she had just torn her ACL while playing for Angel City FC, Andonovski said the injury did not factor into his roster decision.

“Christen Press was not on the roster even before the injury,” Andonovski said.

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

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Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

• No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.

• No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.