U.S. women’s national team legend Carli Lloyd had some harsh words for the 2023 squad after Tuesday’s 0-0 draw against Portugal.

The two-time World Cup champion turned Fox Sports analyst called out the USWNT players and head coach Vlatko Andonovski after the “uninspiring” result, which left the defending champions as runners-up in Group E behind the Netherlands. The U.S. had won its 10 previous meetings against Portugal by a combined scoreline of 39-0.

“There’s been a shift within this team, within the federation, within the culture, the mentality,” Lloyd said on the postgame broadcast. “The importance and meaning of winning has changed. What has come from winning has become more important.”

After retiring from the national team in 2021, Lloyd made similar comments about the culture of the USWNT, which she mentioned again Tuesday. Lloyd won the 2015 and 2019 World Cup titles with the national team, and she remained with the team through the transition from Jill Ellis to Andonovski after the 2019 title.

“You never want to take anything for granted,” she said. “You put on that jersey, and you want to give it everything you have, for the people that came before you, for the people that are going to come after you. And I’m just not seeing that passion.

“I’m just seeing a very lackluster, uninspiring (group) taking it for granted, where winning and training and doing all that you can to be the best possible individual player is not happening.”

In particular, Lloyd took issue with the players’ seemingly relaxed conduct both before and after the scoreless draw. She pointed out players dancing before the match and then smiling and laughing after the final whistle.

“There’s a difference between confidence and arrogance, and I think there’s a fine line… It’s OK to be confident, but you never want to cross that line to being arrogant,” Lloyd said of the demeanor of the team heading into the group-stage finale.

And after the draw, which consigned the USWNT to second place in Group E and a tough road through the bracket, she pointed to a fiery Kelley O’Hara as an example for the team. O’Hara spoke animatedly to her teammates in the postgame huddle.

“Players are smiling. They’re laughing. It’s not good enough,” she said. “You need more Kelleys, and that’s the reason the team is in this situation right now. Because Kelley will say it how it is, whether players like it or not.”

As USWNT players greeted their family members and their fans with smiles, Lloyd offered further criticism.

“I have never witnessed something like that,” she said. “There’s a difference between being respectful to the fans and saying hello to your family, but to be dancing, to be smiling… I mean, the player of the match was that post. You are lucky to not be going home right now.”

As for Andonovski, Lloyd wanted to see better tactics, calling the team’s game plan “just too predictable and, really, just uninspiring.” And she wanted to see more passion.

“This group is a young team. I think they need a little bit of fire lit under them. I think they need a little bit of self-criticism,” she said. “And Vlatko Andonovski is not really that guy that does that.”

"There's a difference between being respectful of the fans and saying hello to your family, but to be dancing and smiling..."@CarliLloyd on the USWNT after the match 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/38zm1eC76r

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 1, 2023

After a dramatic 3-0 win over crosstown rival Manchester United on Saturday, Manchester City is now leading the WSL, sitting three points clear atop the 2025/26 league table while notably extending their advantage over second-place powerhouse Chelsea FC.

The home side scored all three of their goals in the first half, with defender Rebecca Knaak putting City ahead in the 26th minute before attacker Khadija "Bunny" Shaw added to the lead in the 43rd minute.

Returning from injury with a vengeance, forward Lauren Hemp sealed the deal for the Citizens with the final goal in first-half stoppage time.

"It's so nice to be back," Hemp said postgame. "Today we showed the mentality that I said at the start we needed to show."

While reigning six-time WSL champions Chelsea have yet to lose a match this WSL season, a trio of 2025/26 draws has the Blues now trailing the current eight-win, one-loss record held by Manchester City.

As for United, the WSL third-place Red Devils were without star goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce in Saturday's loss, after the USWNT net-minder suffered a fractured eye socket in November 8th's 1-0 loss to Aston Villa.

"She should be fine, it's just trying to make sure she doesn't get another knock in that area," said United manager Marc Skinner, noting that Tullis-Joyce could return as soon as the club's 2025/26 Champions League match against VfL Wolfsburg on Wednesday.

One of this season's NWSL Coach of the Year finalists is moving on up, with Kansas City manager Vlatko Andonovski leaving his position as the Current's head coach to become the club's full-time global sporting director.

Andonovski has been juggling both jobs since joining the Current in October 2023, with the 49-year-old coming off what was arguably his most successful managerial season, leading Kansas City to a first-ever NWSL Shield amidst a record-shattering 2025 campaign.

In his new role, Andonovski will "implement the long-term vision for the club's technical and athletic success, as well as be responsible for player recruitment, roster strategy and scouting."

"It's vital to move into this role to keep growing this club with the aim of being a perennial contender on the global stage and a top developer of talent," Andonovski said in Friday's club announcement.

With the administrative switch in the works prior to last weekend's playoff upset, Andonovski will now join the hiring committee tasked with appointing his successor, while continuing his head coaching duties until Kansas City secures its new manager.

In another front office shift, the Current's head of soccer operations Ryan Dell will immediately take over as the club's GM, with former GM Caitlin Carducci departing the club after one year at the helm.

Michigan women's basketball is on the rise, as the then-No. 14 Wolverines avenged their early 2025 NCAA tournament exit with a stunning 93-54 blowout win over then-No. 18 Notre Dame on Saturday.

Michigan sophomore guard Olivia Olson led the game in scoring with 20 points as the Wolverines put together a true team effort, with six bench players combining for 38 points in the win.

The Big Ten team also dominated defensively, limiting the Fighting Irish bench to just two points while keeping Notre Dame star guard Hannah Hidalgo to a mere 12-point performance.

"We knew exactly what Michigan was going to do," said Notre Dame basketball head coach Niele Ivey afterwards. "We did not have any type of fight defensively, and that's where we have to start."

The Wolverines' victory was especially sweet after Notre Dame ousted Michigan from last season's national tournament with a 76-55 second-round Irish win.

Saturday's fallout also affected this week's AP Top 25 poll, with Notre Dame falling six ranks to No. 24 while Michigan earned an eight-spot bump to No. 6.

After quietly recruiting five-star talents like Olson and Syla Swords in 2024, Michigan — a program that has yet to earn a title at the NCAA or conference level — proved over the weekend that they are entering the 2025/26 season with added depth and experience.

"That's why I committed to Michigan," Swords told JWS at October's Big Ten Media Day. "That's why so many of us came there, because we wanted to be part of something new, part of something that's never been done."

Washington Spirit star Trinity Rodman is back in action, subbing into her team's 2025 NWSL semifinal win in Saturday's 90th minute as she continues to rehab a sprained MCL — with questions still remaining surrounding her future with the club.

"It felt amazing," she said afterwards. "If I get 30 seconds, or if I get 90 minutes, it feels great to be out there."

Rodman will hope for more involvement in next weekend's NWSL Championship game, taking the pitch for the Spirit in her final match under contact before becoming an unrestricted free agent.

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The USWNT standout's extension negotiations have apparently made it all the way up to the NWSL commissioner, with Rodman garnering interest from multiple UK clubs willing to outspend the US league's salary cap restrictions.

The NWSL's most recent collective bargaining agreement sets each club's current salary cap at $3.3 million, which will titrate up to $5.1 million by 2030.

"Right now, my head's completely down. It's been so distracting being injured, and that's all I can really think about," Rodman said on Saturday, addressing the reports. "Once we get this championship, then I can start making decisions and figuring out what next year looks like for me."

With rumors swirling around Rodman and her future with the Spirit, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman defended the salary cap this week, telling CBS Sports that the parity the cap fosters is "the reason our league is the most competitive league in the world."