The U.S. women’s national team (USWNT) has fallen to fourth in the latest FIFA rankings. It's the lowest ranking ever for the storied national program.

It comes after the team lost 2-0 to Mexico in the group stage of the Concacaf W Gold Cup. The team rebounded, beating both Canada and Brazil to win the W Gold Cup title.

The team’s previous low had been third in the rankings, which came after their historic round of 16 exit in last summer’s World Cup. The most recent FIFA rankings, released in December, had the USWNT back up to No. 2. 

World Cup champion Spain remains atop the rankings, having recently won the Nations League, while England moved up two spots to second. France held steady in third, having recently lost 2-0 to Spain in the Nations League final. 

Brazil is back into the top 10, while Canada also moved up a spot in the rankings. Korea Republic, which the USWNT will play in a pair of June friendlies, has dropped out of the top 10.

Vlatko Andonovski will return to the NWSL sidelines this weekend for the first time since 2019 when Kansas City takes on Portland. 

Ahead of that, Andonovski spoke with ESPN about his return to the league and his first time coaching since departing the USWNT last August. Andonovski coached the USWNT from 2019 up through the 2023 World Cup. He led the team to a Round of 16 exit, which was the team’s worst-ever finish at the tournament. 

To Andonovski, a return to the NWSL has meant a return to his element, as he’s found that the club game “suits him” more than the international game.

"It's something that is continuous -- that's the difference," Andonovski told ESPN. "Like, it's not, 'Oh, now let's take a break for two months. We'll see you in May.' Now we keep going. 'All right, we check this box but you got to check the next box.'”

It’s a return to Kansas City for Andonovski, who has lived there since 2000. He was the original coach of FC Kansas City, helping the team to two NWSL championships before it folded in 2017. He then coached Reign FC from 2018 until 2019 before taking the helm of the USWNT. 

Twice, Andonovski was named NWSL Coach of the Year, winning it in the league’s inaugural season in 2013 and again in 2019. 

He took a break from soccer following the World Cup, evaluating what he wanted to do next. It was during that time he says he realized “how much I cannot live without this game.” Andonovski says he entertained other offers, from head coaching in the USL to being an assistant coach in MLS, to other NWSL opportunities. 

But the opportunity to stay home was too good to pass up.

"It's almost like they're so proud of what I've done or the successes that I've had for the city that they're not just supporting but they're also protective," Andonovski said of local fans supporting him after the World Cup.

Now, he’ll take on another challenge in a league that has changed dramatically since he was last on its sidelines, with a surge of investment and international talent. But his coaching, he says, has evolved as well. And he’s excited to showcase what he can do.

"I don't need to prove anything to anyone except myself," he said. "I can do this. I want to do well for certain people or groups of people, but I have nothing to prove. I was in the league [and I was] fairly successful. I got the job with the national team not because I was doing poorly -- it's because I was doing well. I'm here again because somebody believes that I can do it well. Nothing to prove. I'm just looking forward to doing anything possible to repay the trust that people put in me.”

Read the full article on ESPN.

The U.S. women’s national team (UWSNT) will play friendlies in Minneapolis and Denver this June, with new coach Emma Hayes making her debut.

Pierre Noujaim of FOX9 was the first to report that the USWNT will return to Minneapolis, with a friendly against Korea Republic on June 4. The last time the team played at Allianz Field was in 2021.

That game was also against Korea Republic, and resulted in a 6-0 win for the USWNT.

The team will also play an earlier match on June 1 in Colorado. Both matches will mark the first for Emma Hayes on the USWNT bench.

Hayes is set to depart Chelsea upon the conclusion of the team’s season. The latest that could be is May 25, when the Champions League final is set to take place. Of course, it could be earlier, but the team made the semifinals of last year’s Champions League before losing to Barcelona. They also made the final in 2020-21, and have made at least the semifinals in four of the last five seasons.

Already, the team has qualified for the quarterfinals, which they’ll play against Dutch club Ajax. Those matches will take place on March 19 and 27.

Should Chelsea not advance in the UWCL, their last WSL match is May 18 against Manchester United.

The team is set to play the SheBelieves Cup in April, as well as two more friendlies in July ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The USWNT is through to the Concacaf W Gold Cup semifinals after a strong 3-0 win over Colombia on Sunday evening, bouncing back from a surprise loss to Mexico in the group stage.

Goals from Lindsey Horan, Jenna Nighswonger, and Jaedyn Shaw in an impressive first half gave the U.S. control over the match early. USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher registered a shutout in her 100th cap, only the third U.S. goalkeeper to reach the milestone.

Moving on: The match was a chippy affair with a fair amount of gamesmanship, with Alex Morgan drawing a penalty in just the 10′ and Horan sinking her shot from the spot three minutes later.

Naeher was called upon to make a number of big saves to keep the U.S. ahead, and Morgan’s influence on the match also showed in an assist for the team’s second goal. With tempers running high, Colombia could never fully recover from the early deficit, and Shaw’s goal in first half stoppage time put the game out of reach.

The team’s lineup reflected more of a combination of veteran leadership alongside younger players than the U.S.’s starting XI against Mexico. Sunday’s starters had an average of 57.7 caps, the least in the knockout stage of a competitive tournament for the USWNT since 1991 according to Opta. Shaw, a standout once again, became only the second USWNT player to score in each of her first three starts.

Other Gold Cup results: Canada took down Costa Rica 1-0 in extra time. Brazil defeated Argentina 5-1. And Mexico beat Paraguary 3-2.

Tune in: Mexico will battle Brazil in Wednesday’s Semifinal 1 (7pm ET), before the U.S. takes on Canada in Semifinal 2 (10:15 ET).

The Concacaf W Gold Cup quarterfinals are set.

Canada beat Costa Rica 3-0 on Wednesday to take the No. 1 seed, while Paraguay beat El Salvador on a late comeback 3-2. El Salvador went up 2-1 in the 83rd minute, but Jessica Martínez had two late goals – including one in stoppage time – to secure a hat trick and give Paraguay the win. The win pushed them past Costa Rica for second place in Group C.

Due to the win, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico wound up tied on all of the tie-breaking criteria for the eighth spot. Thus, a “drawing of the lots” took place, with Costa Rica securing the final spot in the knockout rounds. That means they will once again play Canada in the quarterfinals.

The USWNT enters the knockout rounds as the fourth seed, holding a tiebreaker over Colombia after the teams tied on points and goal differential. The USWNT scored nine goals in the group stages as opposed to Colombia’s eight to win the tiebreaker. They’ll now play Colombia in the quarterfinals.

The full schedule:

  • No. 1 Canada vs. No. 8 Costa Rica on March 2 at 7pm
  • No. 2 Brazil vs. No. 7 Argentina on March 2 at 10:15pm
  • No. 3 Mexico vs. No. 6 Paraguay on March 3 at 5pm
  • No. 4 USWNT vs. No. 5 Colombia on March 3 at 8:15pm

The USWNT took a stumble on Monday night, losing to Mexico 2-0.

It was the team’s first loss to El Tri Femenil since 2010, and their first Concacaf loss on home soil since 2000. Coming off a disappointing Round of 16 exit at last summer’s World Cup, this latest result may only point to a continued slump for some fans. But it also reiterates what players inside and outside the US have been saying: the world is catching up.

“Not only Concacaf, but the whole world is continuing to raise its level,” Alex Morgan said after the loss. “It’s helping with all the leagues around the world, and Mexico is definitely a product of that with their league. Concacaf is not what it was 14 years ago when we had our last loss to Mexico.”

Mexico was playing the US for the first-time under new coach Pedro López Ramos, who took over the team after it failed to qualify for the 2023 World Cup.

“I think this time it’s a little bit different,” Mexico’s María Sánchez said before the W Gold Cup about the rivalry with the U.S. “We know that the history between both teams hasn’t been as competitive before, but I think the growth of women’s soccer in Mexico can hopefully take us closer… The group is at a higher level than we’ve been in the past.”

Mexico’s win over the USWNT also shines a lot on the Mexican professional league Liga MX Femenil, which has helped with the development of national team players since its inception in 2017. It’s the same league that USWNT forward Mia Fishel chose to play in after forgoing the NWSL. Fishel now plays for Chelsea, and is sidelined for the USWNT after tearing her ACL in Gold Cup camp.

Maria Sanchez of the Houston Dash, who is one of a number of Mexican national team members to play in the NWSL and once played in Liga MX, noted that the number of Mexican players in the NWSL has also grown.

“Now we have our own league in Mexico, we have more Mexican players in the NWSL,” said Sanchez. “There’s that growth that is obviously happening that’s helping us all around with the Mexican national team.”

While the USWNT is still one of the best programs in the world, it’s clear we’re entering a new era of parity. Interim head coach Twila Kilgore put it bluntly after the loss: “There’s no easy games anymore.”

“If we don’t take care of business and we don’t execute, this is to be expected. We’ll step up and take ownership of that,” Kilgore said. “I think they had a good game plan, I think we had a good game plan. Simply, they just executed theirs better than ours.”

The U.S. women’s national team (USWNT) suffered a historic loss on Monday night, falling to Mexico 2-0 in their final W Gold Cup group stage game.

Lizbeth Ovalle opened up the scoring in the first half, putting El Tri Femenil up 1-0.

Ovalle’s goal marked the first time that the USWNT had conceded a first goal against Mexico in 17 meetings, dating back to a World Cup qualifier in November of 2010. It also ended a run of 33 straight shutouts for the USWNT in Concacaf competitions.

Trinity Rodman had a chance at an equalizer, but her shot rolled wide of the far post in the 89th minute. Mayra Pelayo would add a second a few minutes later with a long-distance strike to put an exclamation point on the win.

The loss was just the second for the USWNT against Mexico in 43 matchups. It also was the USWNT’s first Concacaf loss on home soil since 2000, breaking an 80-game unbeaten streak.

“The fact that everyone in that locker room can say they played a part in it is a big deal,” Mexico’s Diana Ordonez said afterward. “We’re just really proud but we know that we still have work to do.”

It’s the first time that Mexico had played the U.S. under coach Pedro López Ramos, who took over in 2022 after Mónica Vergara failed to lead the team to the 2023 World Cup.

He called Monday’s result his best accomplishment since taking charge in September of 2022.

“I suppose yes because of the opponent,” Lopez said. “I loved the [8-0] Dominican Republic game, I liked it a lot, but of course doing it against the United States is special. … They went out and they were bold, they were brave with the dream of playing a good game against the United States,”

“Clearly that wolf was seen today,” he continued, referring to how he described his team as a “‘wolf in sheep’s clothing” prior to the tournament. “But I insist that for us it would be of no use if in the next game we lose the [W Gold Cup] quarterfinals and we go down in history as the team that only beat the United States one day.”

“If we lose in the quarterfinals, then the beautiful win of today is useless. I hope that this is not an isolated moment.”

For the USWNT, they’ll have time to regroup before their next game, having advanced to the quarterfinals after finishing second in Group A behind Mexico.

The U.S. women’s national team (USWNT) continued its winning ways on Friday, with a 4-0 win over Argentina.

Jaedyn Shaw had a brace within the first 17 minutes of the game, with Alex Morgan and Lindsey Horan also finding the back of the net.

Shaw’s brace marked the third-straight game in which a teenager has scored for the USWNT, with Olivia Moultrie scoring in the team’s last game and Shaw scoring in the game before that last December. That marks just the second time in team history, and the first since 1991.

It’s the first time two teenagers have recorded back-to-back multi-goal games for the USWNT. Shaw, meanwhile, becomes the seventh USWNT player to score in her first two games with the senior national team, and is the second youngest.

“She’s a real footballer,” Horan told FIFA.com of Shaw. “She likes to get on the ball, she likes to combine, and she sees a lot of things differently. She has got such an incredible touch and vision.

“I really enjoy playing with her because I think she sees a lot of things that I like to do on the field as well. She’s a huge talent and she’s going to be such a big player for the national team.”

The team’s Gold Cup run has featured a large number of younger players, including PSG’s Kobin Albert, who was the only USWNT player to start both games.

The USWNT currently sits atop Group A with a +9 goal differential, having already clinched its spot in the knockout stages. Brazil and Canada top their groups, with both set to advance as well.

The USWNT will close out its group stage tonight against Mexico at 10:15 p.m. ET.

The U.S. women’s national team (USWNT) had a couple of familiar faces present during a recent training session.

With the team training in Los Angeles ahead of the Concacaf W Gold Cup, both Christen Press and Tobin Heath took the opportunity to stop by and visit some old teammates.

Both Heath and Press have been absent from the team due to injuries. Press is still making her way back from a June 2022 ACL tear, while Heath suffered a knee injury with OL Reign in late 2022 that required surgery.

Press has since had four surgeries, but is hoping to make it back for this NWSL season with Angel City. Neither player has officially announced a retirement.

“I am doing everything in my power to get back on the field as soon as possible,” Press said last September. “Looking forward to my return on the pitch.”

U.S. women’s national team interim head coach Twila Kilgore wants to see more out of her squad as they move through the Concacaf W Gold Cup.

The team won 5-0 on Tuesday night, thanks in part due to a brace from Olivia Moultrie and a pair of assists from Midge Purce. But Kilgore still thinks that the team left some things out on the table.

“I’m looking at our team, and the team is looking at me, and we understand that we need to be more ruthless and that there were opportunities and goals left on the table,” Kilgore said of the team’s performance.

Both Moultrie and Jenna Nighswonger got their first USWNT goals, which was a plus. And for Kilgore, seeing Alex Morgan hand Nighswonger the penalty ball that would lead to her first goal was a nice moment, as Nighswonger proceeded to bury the kick.

“You actually saw Alex [Morgan] hand the ball the Jenna [Nighswonger], which was a good moment,” Kilgore said. “And capitalizing is a really big thing.”

The USWNT’s next game is against Argentina on Friday.