Crystal Dunn will play in her second World Cup this summer with the U.S. women’s national team. This time, though, the 30-year-old is slotting in as one of the veterans.

Her role as one of the more experienced USWNT stars is “pretty scary and kind of wild and crazy,” she admitted to Lynn Williams and Sam Mewis on the latest episode of Snacks. Still, she also knows she’ll bring the benefit of her years on the international stage and in the club environment with her to Australia and New Zealand.

“I think something that comes with age is the capacity that you have to kind of deal with and cope with many different things,” Dunn said. “When I was young stepping onto the team, all I could focus on was training. All I could focus on was where I was in that moment because I didn’t have the headspace and the capacity to do anything outside of me playing soccer.”

Dunn has spent 10 years as a member of the senior national team, having received her first call-up in January 2013 and making her debut in February of the same year. Since then, Dunn has dealt with injuries and disappointments, including a 2015 World Cup snub, as well as victories and awards, including the 2019 World Cup title, three NWSL championships and 2021 Concacaf Player of the Year.

In total, she has amassed 131 appearances for the USWNT, playing as an outside back despite her natural abilities as a midfielder. But for Dunn, that comes with the territory.

“On our club team, we’re used to playing in systems that are built around our strengths. And I think when we go to the national team, that’s not always the case,” she said. “It’s not always a system that’s built around your strengths. It’s not always a system that’s built to elevate you or have you shine. It’s always going to be a system that’s about ‘What do we need to win a World Cup?’”

She missed time with the USWNT in 2022 due to pregnancy. While she continued to train with the Portland Thorns, her absence left her feeling less connected to the national team. She returned to the team in October 2022, just four months after the birth of her son Marcel, and at times she felt like she had to reintroduce herself to younger players who came up while she was away.

“It was definitely different and a new challenge for me,” she said. “I think that’s when I realized like I’m getting old, because now I have to really get to know these young gals and know what the latest hip things are these days.”

(Among the notable “hip things” is TikTok, which Dunn said became popular during her pregnancy. She’s attempted to understand it in an effort to bond with younger teammates.)

Still, her leadership role is something she has embraced, especially as she has become a new mom, and she’s loved getting to watch younger players grow. Going from focusing on the game to focusing on her team, she said, has come with age.

“I want to help other players, I want to step outside myself and actually take a look around me and then not get caught up in little small moments, but really see the bigger picture,” she said.

“I think that’s what’s been really great is the new coming of self, but also realizing I have so much to give this game and it’s not just me kicking this ball around. It’s the connection with teammates. It’s now being a mom. It’s now sharing my baby with others. It’s doing things that I feel fills my day other than me going out and training.”

Over two decades after first hitting theaters, Bend It Like Beckham is on track for a sequel, Gurinder Chadha — the director and co-writer of the 2002 women's soccer blockbuster film — confirmed on Saturday.

"I'm excited to revisit the original characters and revive the enduring story and build on the legacy we helped to create for the women's game," she told Deadline late last week.

Though the new script is still in development, Chadha is aiming to collaborate again with co-writer Paul Mayeda Berges and hoping to lure the original cast — led by actors Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley — back to set.

With women's football booming both in England and beyond, London-based Chadha has been ruminating on a Bend It Like Beckham follow-up for the last two years.

"I [initially] didn't want to do anything because I didn't have a story. And then I came up with a great story, really super-cool story. So now I’m inspired," the filmmaker explained. "It's my very clear wish to bring the characters back very, very soon. Women's football is more competitive, more exciting, and more global than ever. It is an honor for me to be a small part of it."

"Bend It Like Beckham" sequel snags assist from USWNT boss

As part of her development process, Chadha is consulting with major players in the women's soccer space — including USWNT manager Emma Hayes, whom Chadha met at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in May.

"[Hayes's] insights into the world of football at her level are invaluable," noted Chadha.

As for Hayes, assisting Chadha is somewhat of a full-circle moment for the decorated London-born women's soccer coach.

"I cried in the cinema watching the film because I felt just like [the main characters] Jess and Jules," Hayes told Deadline. "There was no hope for women's football in Britain then so I was going to the States to try my luck."

"Twenty-three years ago I could never have dreamed of how much that film changed the women's game, and now I have the best job in the world: head coach of the US women's national team."

The Bend It Like Beckham sequel is aiming for a 2027 debut to coincide with both the 25th anniversary of the original film's UK opening and the 2027 Women's World Cup.

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham became the latest WNBA player on the mic this week, as the outspoken athlete launched a new podcast on sports media personality Colin Cowherd's The Volume network.

Entitled "Show Me Something" in reference to the two hosts' Missouri roots, the podcast features the seven-year WNBA veteran as well as her former high school classmate and current Summer House reality star West Wilson.

"We're definitely going to hit on the WNBA, a huge topic in sports right now, and then Bravo, clearly, but pop culture, food, fashion, travel... we really do talk about anything," Cunningham said about the variety of topics she'll be discussing with her childhood friend on their podcast. "Our love language is, like, s—t-talking."

The media move follows several recent endorsement deals for Cunningham, as she continues to capitalize on the social media bump she experienced following a June 17th dust-up with Connecticut Sun players.

In this week's first episode, the 2025 Fever addition did not hold back, immediately digging into the ongoing discourse surrounding superstar teammate Caitlin Clark.

"There's really good, well-known people in our league. I'm not discrediting them," Cunningham said. "But when people try to argue that [Clark's] not the face of our league, or if our league would be where we're at without her, you’re dumb as s—t. You’re literally dumb as f—k."

USC women's basketball is stocking up, bringing on their third No. 1 high school prospect in four years with top-ranked Saniyah Hall committing to the Trojans on Friday.

Set to join the team for the 2026/27 season, Hall follows in the footsteps of 2023 top recruit JuJu Watkins and Class of 2025 No. 1 prospect Jazzy Davidson.

USC reportedly beat out both North Carolina and UCLA in the race to secure a commitment from Hall.

The Northeast Ohio product will close out her high school career at SPIRE Academy, returning to her home state following a junior-year campaign with Montverde Academy in Florida.

The 6-foot-2 guard, who turned 17 years old on Wednesday, has also seen significant international success, first helping Team USA earn gold in the 2024 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup.

Hall added a 5x5 gold medal to her collection earlier this month, when the then-16-year-old set records en route to securing Team USA the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup title.

Her US U19-record 19.9 points per game — plus team-leading averages of 6.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.9 steals across the competition's seven games — saw the starter named tournament MVP following the July 20th championship victory.

Shortly after returning Stateside, Hall visited USC, announcing her NCAA basketball commitment almost immediately after leaving campus.

"I would say it felt like home. I loved all of my teammates," Hall told ESPN's NBA Today on Friday. "The girls there are so fun to be around."

Embattled ex-Canada women's national team coach Bev Priestman has officially left the country, relocating to New Zealand to manage A-League Women's side Wellington Phoenix FC.

"We're really pleased to be able to welcome Bev back to football," Phoenix chairman Rob Morrison said in the club's announcement. "We all know she's had a period of time away from the game, but we understand the circumstances and we're really comfortable with this appointment."

In addition to her firing from Team Canada, Priestman served a one-year suspension from all football-related activities, finishing that mandatory moratorium this month.

FIFA issued the suspension after determining that Priestman was guilty of spying on opponents via illegal drone use during the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"For me, I didn't feel safe, that's being brutally honest," she told reporters this week, commenting on the drone scandal's local fallout. "It was very difficult for my family and I have to live with that. I have to wear that."

The Wellington Phoenix — the lone New Zealand club competing in the top-flight Australian league — finished the 2024/25 season ninth out of 12 teams, with the young club soon setting their sights on a deeper run in their fifth season behind Priestman.

"It feels like Christmas Day to me to come back," said Priestman, whose wife, Wellington Phoenix FC academy director Emma Humphries, is a former New Zealand national team player. "I know I have to earn the trust of everybody. And I'll be working hard to do that."