The 2022 NWSL Championship is here.

The Portland Thorns and Kansas City Current kick off at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. For the first time in league history, the game will be broadcast at primetime on a nationally televised network, CBS, for American viewers. International fans can watch on Twitch.

Here is everything you need to know heading into the final:

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No. 2 Portland Thorns FC (10-3-9)

Playoff history

• Portland is the first team in league history to qualify for four championship games.
• The team advanced to this year’s final after beating the San Diego Wave 2-1 in Sunday’s semifinal.
• The Thorns are undefeated in championship games on the road (2013 and 2017).

Regular season

• For the fifth time in six years, the Thorns finished the regular season as a top-two team in the NWSL.
• They lead the league in goals with 49, 15 ahead of the next-closest playoff team (San Diego with 34).
• They went on an 11-game undefeated streak from May 28 to Aug. 10.

She set the Thorns' single-season clean sheet record this year 💪

🎥 @JakeZivin chats with @bellageist about her regular-season and championship prep leading into Saturday.

— X - Portland Thorns FC (@ThornsFC) October 26, 2022

No. 5 Kansas City Current (10-6-6)

Playoff history

• The Current won back-to-back championships as FC Kansas City in 2014 and 2015, before relocating to Utah.
• They advanced to this year’s final after defeating 2022 NWSL Shield winners OL Reign 2-0 in their first semifinal as the Current franchise.
• Both of Kansas City’s winning goals in the 2022 playoffs were debut NWSL goals for the players (excluding the Challenge Cup), Kate Del Fava and rookie Alex Loera.

Regular season

• The Current have the most rookies in the league with over 500 minutes played, all four combining for a total of 3,759 minutes.
• Kansas City is undefeated in games in which midfielder Lo’eau Labonta has scored.
• After finishing at the bottom of the table last year and losing four of their first five games this season, Kansas City went on a 13-game unbeaten streak from May 30 to Sept. 11.

Job's not finished. #CurrentRising pic.twitter.com/vmrWLqyobN

— KC Current (@thekccurrent) October 26, 2022

Head-to-head matchup

The Thorns and Current are finishing their season the way they started it — against each other. In their first match on April 30, Portland won in a 3-0 shutout. When they met again in September, the sides drew 1-1, despite Thorns having even more possession (58 percent) and shots (29) than they did in the first matchup (55 percent, 19 shots).

No matter who wins on Saturday, the victorious team will hold the record for the most NWSL titles in league history with three (if Kansas City’s two titles as FC Kansas City count toward the overall tally). This is Kansas City’s second year as the Current, but their players’ rights transferred from the first Kansas City franchise to Utah in 2017, and then back to Kansas City in 2020.

The Current’s path to victory will likely have to go through Portland’s deep bench. If the Current have a hard time against the Thorns’ possession-dominating starting lineup, that’s not even the worst of it, with world-class stars Christine Sinclair and Crystal Dunn waiting in the wings.

The Thorns can’t afford to get comfortable. The Current will be looking for any opportunity to turn the tide in their favor, with Elyse Bennett, Kristen Hamilton, Cece Kizer and Lo’eau Labonta creating dangerous chances on the attack. Kansas City leads the league in penalties awarded, which shouldn’t go unnoticed considering a penalty kick in the fourth minute of their quarterfinal game contributed to a 2-1 win over the Houston Dash.

Players to watch

Sophia Smith, Portland

The 2022 NWSL MVP is the most dangerous player to defend on the Thorns. With the ability to dribble through multiple opponents on her own, Smith finished the regular season with 14 goals, just one fewer than Golden Boot winner Alex Morgan.

Crystal Dunn, Portland

After giving birth to her son five months ago, Dunn subbed into the midfield in the 62nd minute of Sunday’s semifinal and dominated the attacking third. After contributing to multiple scoring chances, Dunn volleyed home the game-winning goal in stoppage time.

AD Franch, Kansas City

The goalkeeper was the hero of the match for Kansas City in Sunday’s semifinal. Making several acrobatic saves to preserve the shutout, she’s now tied for the most shutouts in playoff history and holds the record for the most saves in the playoffs with 11.

Kristen Hamilton, Kansas City

With a goal on Sunday to solidify the Current’s 2-0 win over OL Reign, the forward increased her scoring tally to seven goals, the most on the team in regulation. She’s also contributed two assists and 19 key passes this season.

Prediction

Kansas City over Portland, 2-1. The Current make a comeback in the second half.

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

In a season packed with parity, the NWSL enters its 10th weekend of the 2025 season with just seven points separating No. 2 San Diego from No. 12 Houston on the table — meaning a single win or loss could dramatically shift the standings.

The slate is a bit lighter this weekend with No. 4 Portland and No. 8 Gotham's trip to the 2024/25 Concacaf W Champions Cup knockouts, where the Bats will face Liga MX side Tigres UANL tournament final shortly after Portland's third-place match against Club América on Saturday (Paramount+).

Their absence leaves room for other NWSL clubs to leapfrog the Thorns and Gotham on the league table, with only No. 1 Kansas City's position secure given the Current's four-point lead over the Wave.

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What to watch in the 10th weekend of the 2025 NWSL season

No. 6 Seattle Reign vs. No. 5 Washington Spirit, 10:00 PM ET on Friday (Prime): The Reign hosts a Spirit side with a 4-0-0 road record on the season and a high-octane offense that's scoring nine goals in their last three matches. Meanwhile, Seattle's 2025 campaign has featured only eight total goals across their nine matches.

No. 14 Chicago Stars vs. No. 1 Kansas City Current, 7:30 PM ET on Saturday (ION): While the league-leading Current is safe atop the NWSL table this weekend, their match is still full of question marks as Kansas City is without several key players, including MVP frontrunner Debinha, after a spat of injuries last weekend.

No. 2 San Diego Wave vs. No. 9 North Carolina Courage, 10:00 PM ET on Sunday (CBS Sports): The Wave are riding the league's best record (4-0-1) over the last five games, but the Courage is also on the rise, coming to Seattle on a 3-0-1 stretch and achingly close to a lift above the playoff line.

With San Diego's 17-year-old midfielder Kimmi Ascanio blasting three goals in the last four games and North Carolina attacker Jaedyn Shaw — the Wave's original teen scoring phenom — returning for the first time to face her former club, Sunday's closing NWSL match could be rife with youth firepower.

The Indiana Fever and New York Liberty will bring winning momentum into their first season clash on Saturday, with each claiming victories in Thursday night's WNBA action.

First, the Fever avenged their lone 2025 season loss, defeating the Dream 81-76 on Atlanta's new home court on Thursday after narrowly falling to the Georgia squad in Indianapolis two days earlier.

Forward Natasha Howard led Indiana with 26 points, with guards Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark posting 17 and 11 points, respectively.

After missing the Fever's first two games with a right ankle sprain, guard Sophie Cunningham came off the bench to put up nine points, six rebounds, and three assists in her season debut on Thursday.

Notably, Clark — no stranger to historic streaks — saw her three-point stretch end in Thursday's win, with the second-year Fever star going cold from beyond the arc for the first time in her WNBA career.

Clark's five three-point misses snapped a 140-game sharpshooting streak that dates back to a matchup against Purdue her sophomore season at the University of Iowa — the only NCAA game in which she failed to make a three.

New York, on the other hand, couldn't miss from deep on Thursday, with the Liberty breaking the WNBA regular-season record with 19 three-pointers in their 99-74 win over the Chicago Sky.

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Eight Liberty players contributing to the new three-point mark, with guards Natasha Cloud and Kennedy Burke leading the charge with four threes each in respective 18- and 17-point performances.

The impressive sharpshooting landed the reigning WNBA champs in the regular-season history books, but New York's 19 threes still trail the overall league record of 23, drained by the Las Vegas Aces in a 2022 playoff game.

How to watch the New York Liberty vs. Indiana Fever this weekend

The Liberty will put their 2-0 record to the test in Indiana on Saturday, tipping off against the one-loss Fever at 1 PM ET.

Live coverage of the clash will air on CBS.

The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League final kicks off on Saturday, as underdogs Arsenal and defending champs Barcelona each chase history in a head-to-head clash at Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Spanish titans aren't just hunting their third European championship in a row — a victory keeps Barcelona's hopes of completing a second straight quadruple alive with their Copa de la Reina finale looming next month.

To do so, however, they'll have to outlast the only English team to ever lift the European trophy, a feat Arsenal accomplished back in 2007.

Making their first Champions League final in 18 years, this season's Gunners are scrappy, boasting an explosive offense that led the league in scoring behind joint-WSL Golden Boot winner Alessia Russo.

The WSL runners-up bounced back from three first-leg deficits against Häcken FC, Real Madrid, and OL Lyonnes en route to the championship match — leading Barcelona star midfielder Aitana Bonmatí to call their appearance "a surprise."

"They absolutely deserve it, because scoring four goals against [eight-time Champions League winners] Lyon in the second leg is not easy at all," the back-to-back Ballon d'Or winner told ESPN. "I congratulate them for that because I think it was a big surprise, but a well-deserved one."

On Saturday, the pair will square off for the first time since 2021, when Barcelona defeated Arsenal twice in Champions League group-stage play.

"It's going to be a tough game — it's a final," said Barcelona defender Caroline Graham Hansen. "You just have to be prepared to leave your heart and soul out there and see who the better team on the day will be."

How to watch the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League final

Arsenal and Barcelona will battle for European glory at 12 PM ET on Saturday, with the Champions League grand finale streaming live on DAZN.

The NWSL's Kansas City Current officially placed defender Alana Cook on the Season Ending Injury list on Thursday, after the center back tore her left ACL, MCL, and meniscus in last Friday's 1-0 win over Orlando.

Since joining the Current in a 2024 midseason trade from Seattle, the 28-year-old starter has anchored the backline of her new team to the tune of 10 shutouts in 19 matches.

The injury is also a setback to Cook's USWNT return, with the defender logging her 30th cap and first international minutes since October 2023 just last month.

"Alana has made a big impact for our club on and off the pitch in a short period of time, and our hearts absolutely break for her," said Kansas City head coach and Cook's former USWNT boss Vlatko Andonovski in a club statement.

"Throughout her career, Alana has proven to be determined, resilient, and disciplined with an optimistic spirit," he continued. "We are confident she will carry those same attributes into her recovery process. The team will stand by her every step of the way, and we eagerly await the day she is able to join us on the pitch again."

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Kansas City attack also suffers injury losses

Cook's season-ending knock wasn't the only blow to the NWSL-leading Current, as attacking midfielder Debinha and striker Temwa Chawinga also exited Friday's pitch with injuries. With five goals each, both are currently in a four-way tie for second in the Golden Boot race.

Andonovski told the media on Wednesday that while 2024 MVP Chawinga is still undergoing evaluation, Debinha "is not probably going to be back until after the summer."

With both being considered 2025 MVP frontrunners, the losses may leave fans wondering how long Kansas City can maintain their spot atop the league.