Just Women’s Sports is here with your daily World Cup Digest, breaking down all of the biggest storylines from each day of action in Australia and New Zealand.

Today’s top World Cup news: Philippines shock New Zealand after controversial VAR call

The Philippines got their first World Cup goal – and subsequently their first World Cup win – against New Zealand on Tuesday.

The stunning 1-0 defeat came after New Zealand seemed to equalize in the 68th minute but had the goal disallowed on a VAR call. The video review showed the head of New Zealand’s Hannah Wilkinson crossed the offside line by the slimmest of margins before her shot.

“It’s so heartbreaking for everyone in this team,” New Zealand coach Jitka Klimkova said. “We played to win and it didn’t go our way. We were fighting until the end, but it wasn’t enough.”

On the other side, the Philippines celebrated a historic triumph. Sarina Bolden scored the game-winner, which made her the all-time leading international goal scorer for the Philippines. The goal meant everything, she said after the win.

“It feels overwhelming, crazy — it feels like I’m in a dream,” Bolden said. “It doesn’t feel real.

“I literally can’t put it into words. This has been a dream of mine as a little kid to just be here at the World Cup, let alone even score.”

SARINA BOLDEN WILL NOT BE DENIED FROM CLOSE RANGE 🇵🇭

Philippines gets its first-ever FIFA Women's World Cup Goal! pic.twitter.com/RflEAtLbIZ

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 25, 2023

Today’s top highlight: 18-year-old Linda Caicedo scores first World Cup goal

Linda Caicedo broke onto the senior international stage in thrilling fashion as she scored in Colombia’s 2-0 win over South Korea. The goal came in her senior World Cup debut, and marked the third time she’s scored at a World Cup in a year – the only player to ever start and score in three World Cups in the span of a year.

Yes, you read that right.

Last August, Caicedo featured on Colombia’s U-20 team at the Under-20 World Cup in Costa Rica. She scored twice against New Zealand in the group stage. Two months later, Caicedo played at the U-17 World Cup in India, where she helped Colombia to a runner-up finish and was tied for the tournament’s top goal-scorer with four goals.

And last night, she made her senior World Cup debut, becoming the second-youngest South American player to score a debut goal since Marta in 2007. At just 18 years old, Caicedo already has beaten cancer (she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 15), signed with Real Madrid and made her name known on multiple international stages. Get ready, world. Linda Caicedo has arrived.

LINDA CAICEDO WITH A CERTIFIED BANGER ON HER WORLD CUP DEBUT pic.twitter.com/4tu7getKgR

— Diaspora United Pod (Crystal Dunn’s Lucky Charms) (@DiasporaUtdPod) July 25, 2023

Today’s results:

• Philippines 1, New Zealand 0
• Norway 0, Switzerland 0
• Colombia 2, South Korea 0

More World Cup news to know:

• At 16 years old, Casey Phair became the youngest player in World Cup history to appear in a match after subbing on for South Korea last night.
• Zambia cut its match preview press conference short Tuesday due to persistent questions about an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against head coach Bruce Mwape. Last September, Zambia’s FA announced that it had referred an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse to FIFA. In July, the Guardian revealed that Mwape was among those being investigated. When asked Tuesday if it would be good for the team for him to step aside, Mwape asked: “What environment affecting the team in particular? What are you talking about? I would like to know because there is no way I can retire without reason. Maybe your reason is because what you are reading from the media or from the press, but the truth of the matter should actually come out, not just on rumors.”
• Norway winger Caroline Graham Hansen was unhappy about starting her team’s game against Switzerland from the bench. The game, which was missing Ada Hegerberg due to a groin injury, resulted in a 0-0 tie. “It’s tough, I don’t know what I can say. There’s not much I can say, I feel like I’m standing here with my hands tied,” she said in an interview after the match. “I feel I have been stepped on for a whole year — everyone says all the time that we have to stand together as a team and as a nation, but I feel I’ve been on the receiving end [of a raw deal]. … Nothing comes for free in life, but I thought I had earned a certain amount of respect, but maybe that wasn’t the case.”

PWHL fans can now own a piece of hockey history, as the third-year league unveiled a new memorabilia collection with auction site The Realest on Thursday morning.

According to a release, the partnership creates "the first-ever witness-based, fully-authenticated collection of game-used and player-sourced PWHL hockey jerseys, equipment, and one-of-a-kind artifacts."

"As we enter our third season of unprecedented growth and record-shattering fan support, it was important to preserve our league's history and share those moments with our fans," PWHL VP of merchandising Kate Boyce also added.

The debut collection features memorabilia from all six original franchises as well as the two new 2025/26 expansion teams, with fans able to bid on game-used collectables like Montréal Victoire captain Marie-Philip Poulin's game-worn 2025 PWHL Playoffs jersey, a stick from then-Boston Fleet star and now-Seattle Torrent captain Hilary Knight, and Minnesota Frost defender Natalie Buchbinder's helmet.

Additional items include 2025 PWHL Draft selection cards as well as autographed posters and pucks, among other exclusives.

"From day one, we set out to make women's sports memorabilia a true category, not an afterthought, and our record-setting work across women's leagues proves the demand," said The Realest CEO Scott Keeney.

How to score PWHL memorabilia

The PWHL collection is now open for bidding via The Realest, with all items in the league's debut auction set to close on Sunday, December 28th.

The WTA scored a major victory this week, entering into a multi-year partnership with luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz that has the potential to become the largest deal in women's sports history.

Mercedes-Benz signed on as the pro tennis association's premier partner on Wednesday, committing $50 million per year to the WTA for up to 10 years — a possible lifetime value of half a billion dollars.

What's more, the deal's intention is to help the WTA Tour reach its goal of achieving equal prize money across all men's and women's tournaments and standalone tennis competitions by 2031.

While the four Grand Slams already achieved equal purses nearly two decades ago, this week's partnership allowing the WTA to recommit to adopting that prize money parity across all its events.

The move also reflects the growing global investment in women's sports, building on the WTA's expiring four-year, $20 million-per-year contract with Hologic.

"From the day we founded the WTA, our mission was to ensure that every girl, every woman, could have a place to compete... and make a living playing the sport she loves," legend Billie Jean King said in a press release. "Seeing a global brand like Mercedes-Benz stand with us sends a message that echoes far beyond tennis. It says women's sport matters."

One NWSL legend isn't hanging up her club boots just yet, as former USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher signed a one-year contract to remain in net for the Chicago Stars this week.

The 2026 NWSL season will mark the 37-year-old's 11th season with the Stars, where she holds the club record for regular-season starts and appearances (165), minutes played (14,821), and saves (512).

"I feel like I still have more to give and want to be out there competing with my teammates and continue to push this organization forward," Naeher said in a Wednesday club statement. "We made a lot of positive strides to close out last season and I want to build on that."

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Naeher and her veteran presence will be a boost for Chicago as the team welcomes new head coach Martin Sjögren, with the Stars aiming for consistency after cycling through three interim sideline leaders following Lorne Donaldson's April firing.

The Stars finished the 2025 season in last place, and have not made it past the first round of the NWSL Playoffs since 2021.

"If you feel like you can still give 100% to what you're trying to do, then keep going," Naeher told fellow NWSL vet Ali Riley on Monday's episode of BFFR. "If you don't think that you can, then it's not fair to yourself or the team to do that."

With just one league-phase matchday left, a trio of unbeaten clubs — Barcelona, OL Lyonnes, and Chelsea — stand alone atop the 2025/26 Champions League table, leading the 18-team pack after all three squads notched midweek wins.

No. 1 Barcelona and No. 2 OL Lyonnes each have 13 points, with the Spanish contenders earning the edge over their French counterparts with a +15 goal differential.

Meanwhile, Chelsea sits in third with 11 points following a 6-0 drubbing of No. 17 AS Roma on Wednesday, though the Blues will need a result against No. 7 Wolfsburg next week to secure a spot in March's quarterfinals with a top-four finish.

Though the byes into the quarterfinals are still up for grabs, with just one matchday left before the knockouts, several of Europe's biggest teams have qualified for February's playoffs.

Wolfsburg alongside No. 10 Paris FC, No. 9 Manchester United, No. 8 Arsenal, No. 6 Juventus, No. 5 Real Madrid, and No. 4 Bayern Munich have already racked up enough points to advance out of the league phase.

Three clubs — No. 13 Vålerenga, No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven, and No. 11 Atlético de Madrid — are fighting for the two remaining playoff tickets, with December 17th's simultaneous kickoff set to determine the winners.

How to watch the final 2025/26 Champions League league-phase matches

Determining both the first four UWCL quarterfinalists and the eight teams entering the playoffs, the final league-phase matchday will see all 18 clubs kicking off at 3 PM ET next Wednesday.

All 2025/26 Champions League matches will stream live on Paramount+.