Spain’s road to the World Cup final has been paved with controversy.

Last September, 15 Spanish first team players sent letters to RFEF, Spain’s football federation, demanding changes to the program and condemning head coach Jorge Vilda’s approach to leadership.

The controversy has led some to believe there is a rift within the team. Vilda attempted to lower the temperature Saturday when addressing the media ahead of Spain’s match against England in the final.

“From the very beginning, the players have been united and working a lot,” Vilda said. “Today will be the 65th training session and all have come out very well — the training, games, everything inside the squad has been extraordinary. They have had fun, we’ve been together.”

When asked how he manages “issues” off the field, Vilda demurred. “Next question, please,” he said.’

Spain defeated Sweden, 2-1, to advance to the final against England, a rematch of the Euro 22 quarterfinal, which the Lionesses won en route to winning the tournament.

“The game of last year, we know we were on top, but the result is what counts,” Vilda said. “But England knows what is front of them tomorrow — these games require our best, but the team has evolved and grown in this World Cup.”

No matter the result, however, the questions surrounding Spain are unlikely to dissipate. Of the 15 players who raised concerns about the program – known as “Las 15” – only three were selected to the World Cup squad. The Spanish media has reported on a divide among the players.

Vilda, though, is projecting a sunny team atmosphere ahead of the championship.

“I am extremely pleased to play a World Cup final tomorrow, with a country that is supporting the team,” he said. “It could be the happiest day of their lives. We feel very supported.”

On Saturday, Sam Kerr and Australia had one more chance to capture medals in the first World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere.

But the Malitdas fell in the third-place game to Sweden, 2-0. Even in defeat, Kerr, considered by many the greatest striker in the world, found a silver lining.

“Although it’s disappointing, we’ll think back to this in a couple of weeks and be really proud of how we did,” Kerr told reporters after the contest.

Australia has co-hosted this World Cup along with New Zealand, and the Matildas’ run to the tournament semifinal has proved to be one of the most intoxicating storylines for fans. Kerr played sparingly early in the tournament, because of a calf injury, before finally starting her team’s semifinal match against England.

Kerr scored in the 63rd minute of that contest, tying the game at 1, but England scored twice in the final 20 minutes to win. The third-place match provided one last opportunity for the Matildas to end the tournament on a positive note, but it wasn’t to be.

Still, Kerr believes the run was a positive showcase for Australia.

“The way the fans have got behind us, the way girls have carried themselves, I think we’ve proven to the world we are a footballing nation,” Kerr said. “We couldn’t get it done tonight, but hopefully we’ve inspired people for many years to come.”

She added: “It’s sad that it’s come to an end. This has been the best four weeks of our careers.”

Alyssa Thompson’s first World Cup experience was far from glamorous.

The 18-year-old forward played just 17 minutes during the tournament, and when she wasn’t on the field, she worked through some difficult feelings.

“Throughout the tournament, there were some days when I was just sad,” Thompson said in an appearance on the RE-CAP Show. “I felt really lonely some days, too. I feel like it’s a lot, that tournament. Playing or not, there’s different things too.”

Thompson, picked No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft by Angel City FC, helped lead the Under-20 U.S. Women’s National Team to gold in the 2022 CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship.

She was called up to the senior team in April to replace an injured Mallory Swanson, and then was named to the World Cup squad.

“People were still trying to, I feel like, get me up to speed a little bit,” Thompson said of the World Cup. “I wasn’t playing that much, so, also having that. I was like happy for game day. I wasn’t as nervous as most people. I was more excited. I felt a lot like a fan watching the games.”

Christen Press, one of the co-hosts of the RE-CAP show along with Tobin Heath, empathized with Thompson. She recalled the her first World Cup, in 2015, when she was pulled from the starting lineup in the group stage. The USWNT went on to win the tournament.

“I don’t think I started the rest of the tournament,” Press said. “The team did not really perform well, and then I was no longer playing, and the team started winning. I was dealing with the tension of not meeting my own expectation, and then the team winning.

“I cried through most of that tournament.”

Paige Bueckers officially has been cleared to resume basketball activity, but fans will have to wait until November to see the UConn guard in action. The Huskies played their first of four exhibition games in Europe on Aug. 16, but Bueckers will not be playing in any of them, the team announced.

Bueckers, the 2021 Player of the Year, missed the 2022-23 season with a torn ACL in her left knee. UConn, which also went without several more key players for significant chunks of time, finished 31-6 before losing to Ohio State in the Sweet 16.

“Having Paige back is like a breath of fresh air, like everything changes in the gym,” coach Geno Auriemma told reporters earlier in August. “You know, the minute she walks on the court, everything changes and you can see it in their faces.”

The Huskies will play games in Croatia, Slovenia and Italy on their tour. The games won’t be live-streamed, but replays will be posted on the program’s streaming service the following day. In the first game, UConn defeated the Croatian All-Stars, 113-37, led by 38 points from Azzi Fudd.

In addition to Bueckers, Ayanna Patterson (knee) and Amari DeBerry (back) also are not expected to play on the European trip.

Still, even without a full lineup, each contest provides a preview for November, when UConn plays an exhibition against Southern Connecticut State on Nov. 4 before opening the season four days later at home against Dayton. All eyes will be on Bueckers, who led the Huskies to the national championship game as a sophomore in 2021-2022 despite missing 19 games of the season with a knee injury.

“Paige is bigger, stronger. Paige doesn’t look like (the) skinny little freshmen that came in here three years ago,” Auriemma said before the European trip. “She looks like a college player now.”

Spain will face England in the World Cup final at 6 a.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 20. Yet while both teams have taken impressive journeys through the tournament, oddsmakers believe Spain is the favorite.

La Roja held the early advantage, with -116 odds compared to -102 for England in the immediate aftermath of the semifinal matches, per FanDuel. Spain’s Jenni Hermoso and Alexia Putellas are the favorites to score a goal in the match, with +230 odds. England’s Alessia Russo comes next with +260 odds.

The teams advanced to the championship after a couple dramatic matches in the semifinal round.

Spain and Sweden were both scoreless when Salma Paralluelo broke the tie in the 81st minute. Rebecka Blomqvist evened the score for Sweden in the 88th minute, but Olga Carmona netted the game-winner the following minute to send Spain to the final.

England, meanwhile, defeated host Australia, 3-1, with a pair of goals in the final 20 minutes. Australian striker Sam Kerr evened the score at 1 in the 63rd minute, but Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo scored once each for England.

Both teams will play in their first World Cup final; England had made it to the semifinals each of the past two World Cups, but lost before reaching the championship.

In the third-place match, set for 4 a.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 19, home team Australia stands as the slight favorite at -120 compared to -110 for Sweden, per FanDuel.

This summer, Lynn Williams realized a dream.

The 30-year-old forward made her World Cup debut on Aug. 1, in the U.S. women’s national team’s final game of the group stage, a 0-0 draw against Portugal. Lynn played again in the team’s penalty shootout loss against Sweden in the Round of 16.

Even with the USWNT’s early exit, the tournament was a big moment for Williams, and her fiancé Marley Biyendolo shared a tribute to her on Instagram.

“What a moment in your career,” Biyendolo wrote. “You’re an inspiration to so many, the lives you have touched in this journey thus far, immeasurable. Like… think about that? You should (have) seen the love these beautiful fans throughout each stadium had for you. It’s hard to even comprehend.”

Williams did not play in the team’s first two games, triggering something of a groundswell of support from fans eager to see her contribute. She recorded six shots – four on target – in her debut game against Portugal. She came on as a substitute against Sweden and had another three shots, with two on goal.

For now, Williams will turn her attention to the remainder of NJ/NY Gotham FC’s season, but her international career is likely far from over. Biyendolo, a former Pepperdine basketball player, will be among the many cheering her on.

“Inspiring is who you are, and it’s what you’ve continued to do on this world stage your whole career, with always, a smile on your face” he wrote. “Thank you for inspiring the thousands of little girls that hold a dream in their hearts, thank you for inspiring your family to love and work hard, and thank you for inspiring me.”

Carli Lloyd did not play for the U.S. women’s national team during the 2023 World Cup – she retired in 2021 – but she has been one of the most talked-about figures of the tournament. Lloyd, now a Fox Sports analyst, has become the unofficial chief critic of her former team, and she has received some blowback because of it.

Lloyd, in an interview with The Athletic, defended her analysis and provided even more context on what she believes is wrong with the USWNT.

“I did speak the truth, and sometimes the truth hurts,” Lloyd said. “But it came from my heart. The world has caught up. I get that. But there’s no reason why we still can’t be at the top. But we have regressed so far down that there really is no gap. That’s what’s hard to swallow because the team has been built on legacies that have been passed down from generation to generation, and I simply didn’t like what I saw.”

The USWNT lost to Sweden in penalty kicks in the Round of 16, marking its earliest ever exit from the tournament. After winning back-to-back World Cups in 2015 and 2019, with Lloyd one of the leaders, this year’s performance is likely to bring about change.

There is growing belief that coach Vlatko Andonovski will be dismissed in the near future. Lloyd, for what it’s worth, has hardly been shy about her lack of admiration for Andonovski. She played for him in the 2021 Tokyo Games, in which the USWNT took third place.

“I was at the tail end of what I saw was a regression with the team, which wasn’t good enough in Tokyo,” she said. “The team was disjointed, was not a unit, and the coaching was not what this team needed. So I saw this, I felt this, I experienced this. I wasn’t truly confident in this team winning the World Cup.”

Many of Lloyd’s former teammates expressed contrasting sentiments during the USWNT’s run. Abby Wambach, for instance, cautioned fans against falling into a “media trap.”

“This wasn’t anything that was scripted,” Lloyd said. “This was a reaction to what I was seeing, what I was feeling, what came from my heart. I poured my heart and soul into this team for 17 years.

Sam Kerr leapt in the air and pumped her fist, celebrating her long-range, right-footed goal to tie the World Cup semifinal for Australia.

Then Kerr and her team came back down to earth. England scored twice in the second half, defeating the host Matildas, 3-1, to advance to Sunday’s championship match. Kerr sank to the pitch, wearing an expression of defeat as the Lionesses celebrated.

The Australian legend’s magic had run out.

Kerr missed the group stage of the World Cup with a calf injury, before finally entering late in Australia’s 2-0 win over Denmark in the Round of 16. She was subbed in early in the second half of the quarterfinal before converting a penalty kick to help the Matildas edge France in a dramatic shootout win.

The striker started for the first time of the tournament in the England game, and her 63rd minute goal breathed new life into the Australian side. But just eight minutes later, England’s Lauren Hemp scored to put the Lionesses ahead once again, and Alessia Russo’s 86th minute goal – seconds after Kerr’s missed shot off a corner kick – iced the game.

The defeat marks the end of the run for one of the most beloved international players.

Her goal against the Lionesses was a tour de force. After receiving the ball at midfield, Kerr dribbled toward two defenders, with a third on her back, and fired from several feet above the penalty arc. The ball curved around both defenders and screamed into the top right corner of the net, just past the outstretched arm of England goalkeeper Mary Earps.

England’s comeback was minutes away, but for a few brief moments Kerr soaked in the love from her home fans, a soccer queen assuming her throne.

Jessica Pegula stunned world No. 1 Iga Świątek in the semifinals of the Canadian Open on Saturday, beating the Polish star, 6-2 6-7(4) 6-4.

Amid the drama, however, was a moment of mass confusion at center court: As Swiatek reached for the ball, in the second set tiebreak, the opening notes to “Cotton-Eyed Joe” played through the sound system. The fans gasped.

“I just thought it was funny,” Pegula told reporters afterward. “I’ve never had that happen, let alone with ‘Cotton-Eye Joe.’ I was like: ‘Is this really happening right now?’ Of all the songs. It was just like: ‘What is going on?’

Pegula wore a look of astonishment as the referee announced the point would need to be replayed.

“It was a bummer because I hit a really good lob and she barely got it, and I had a really good play on the ball, and she was kind of out of position from the lob that I hit,” Pegula said.

Świątek went on to win the next 12 points and leveled the match at one set each. But Pegula rallied and won 16 of the last 19 points of the match to seal the victory – Pegula’s send over Świątek this year.

Pegula will play the winner of the match between Elena Rybakina or Liudmila Samsonova in the final Sunday evening. She would be the first American winner of the tournament since Serena Williams in 2013.

This time, hopefully, the match won’t be interrupted by a horrifyingly catchy country folk dance ballad from the 19th century.

Becky Hammon, coach of Las Vegas Aces, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Saturday because of her playing career, and for good reason: A six-time WNBA All-Star and two-time First Team selection, Hammon was the league’s assists leader in 2007 and her No. 25 was retired by the Aces.

But during her speech, Hammon took a moment to acknowledge Greg Popovich, who in 2014 hired her to be the first assistant coach in NBA history, jumpstarting her coaching career.

“Pop, I’m not going to look at you,” she said during the speech, pausing for several moments to hold back tears.The crowd applauded. “You’re a man of principle and excellence. I know you weren’t trying to be courageous when you hired me. But you did do something no one else in professional sports has ever done.”

Popovich, who has won five NBA titles over 27 seasons with the Spurs, was also inducted into the Hall of Fame on Saturday.

“I’m in love with her,” Popovich said of Hammon in an ESPN interview. “She is a fiery, competitive, take-no-prisoners gal. The first time I knew that was when I went to see the WNBA team for San Antonio. She was the point guard for that team and she reminded me of my youth. She was a wiseass out there on the court, chewing her gum, directing traffic, making everybody do what she wanted to do. And she just ruled the whole gym.”

The Aces (26-3) return to the court Sunday night against the Atlanta Dream (15-15). Hammon will be back on the sideline, likely with a message from Popovich in her head.

“I don’t even know if you know how many times you’ve actually texted me that, ‘Just be you,’” Hammon said to Popovich during her speech. “You’ve changed the trajectory of my life, and of so many other young girls and women. Thank you. I love you.”