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Crystal Dunn: ‘Pretty scary’ to enter 2023 World Cup as USWNT veteran

Crystal Dunn is an unrestricted free agent after four seasons with the Portland Thorns. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Crystal Dunn will play in her second World Cup this summer with the U.S. women’s national team. This time, though, the 30-year-old is slotting in as one of the veterans.

Her role as one of the more experienced USWNT stars is “pretty scary and kind of wild and crazy,” she admitted to Lynn Williams and Sam Mewis on the latest episode of Snacks. Still, she also knows she’ll bring the benefit of her years on the international stage and in the club environment with her to Australia and New Zealand.

“I think something that comes with age is the capacity that you have to kind of deal with and cope with many different things,” Dunn said. “When I was young stepping onto the team, all I could focus on was training. All I could focus on was where I was in that moment because I didn’t have the headspace and the capacity to do anything outside of me playing soccer.”

Dunn has spent 10 years as a member of the senior national team, having received her first call-up in January 2013 and making her debut in February of the same year. Since then, Dunn has dealt with injuries and disappointments, including a 2015 World Cup snub, as well as victories and awards, including the 2019 World Cup title, three NWSL championships and 2021 Concacaf Player of the Year.

In total, she has amassed 131 appearances for the USWNT, playing as an outside back despite her natural abilities as a midfielder. But for Dunn, that comes with the territory.

“On our club team, we’re used to playing in systems that are built around our strengths. And I think when we go to the national team, that’s not always the case,” she said. “It’s not always a system that’s built around your strengths. It’s not always a system that’s built to elevate you or have you shine. It’s always going to be a system that’s about ‘What do we need to win a World Cup?’”

She missed time with the USWNT in 2022 due to pregnancy. While she continued to train with the Portland Thorns, her absence left her feeling less connected to the national team. She returned to the team in October 2022, just four months after the birth of her son Marcel, and at times she felt like she had to reintroduce herself to younger players who came up while she was away.

“It was definitely different and a new challenge for me,” she said. “I think that’s when I realized like I’m getting old, because now I have to really get to know these young gals and know what the latest hip things are these days.”

(Among the notable “hip things” is TikTok, which Dunn said became popular during her pregnancy. She’s attempted to understand it in an effort to bond with younger teammates.)

Still, her leadership role is something she has embraced, especially as she has become a new mom, and she’s loved getting to watch younger players grow. Going from focusing on the game to focusing on her team, she said, has come with age.

“I want to help other players, I want to step outside myself and actually take a look around me and then not get caught up in little small moments, but really see the bigger picture,” she said.

“I think that’s what’s been really great is the new coming of self, but also realizing I have so much to give this game and it’s not just me kicking this ball around. It’s the connection with teammates. It’s now being a mom. It’s now sharing my baby with others. It’s doing things that I feel fills my day other than me going out and training.”

Team USA Holds Off Brazil to Win 2025 FIBA AmeriCup Championship

The USA Basketball team and coaching staff pose with a 2025 FIBA AmeriCup Champions sign after winning gold.
A young USA squad held off Brazil to claim the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup title on Sunday. (USA Basketball)

USA Basketball lifted the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup trophy on Sunday, taking down defending champions Brazil 92-84 to top the tournament's podium for the fifth time.

Pitting a roster of NCAA talent against Brazil pros like Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, Team USA battled back from a seven-point third-quarter deficit, then dominated the fourth quarter to send Brazil home with silver medals.

"What a performance by our team," said USA head coach Kara Lawson following the title win. "We knew it was going to be just a tough, physical game."

With 27 points in Sunday's championship game, guard Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt) set a USA AmeriCup scoring record en route to earning tournament MVP honors.

"This is my first time playing with USA Basketball, and to be able to cap it off with a win, a gold medal, and to play alongside such great players and great coaches, I couldn't ask for anything better," said Blakes.

After adding 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals in her 21 minutes off the bench on Sunday, guard Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) joined Blakes in representing the USA on the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup All-Star roster.

Booking a spot on the tournament's All-Star second team was US guard Olivia Miles (TCU), whose 50 assists throughout the competition shattered the modern era's previous single-event record of 46.

Along with their gold medals, Sunday's win also gives the US automatic entry into the 2026 FIBA World Cup in Germany, where they'll look to snag a 12th overall and fifth consecutive world championship.

WNBA Standings Frontrunners Phoenix, Atlanta Right the Ship with Monday Wins

Atlanta Dream center Brittney Griner celebrates a turnover during a 2025 WNBA game.
Brittney Griner's Atlanta Dream bounced back with a win over the Golden State Valkyries on Monday. (Andrew J. Clark/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

Two WNBA championship contenders found their way back into the win column on Monday, when the No. 2 Phoenix Mercury and No. 4 Atlanta Dream each notched emphatic victories following disappointing weekend results.

Phoenix tasted revenge by blasting No. 11 Dallas 102-72, with guard Sami Whitcomb's game-leading 36 points and 2025 All-Star forward Alyssa Thomas's triple-double (15 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds) sending the Wings' rookie core packing.

After last Thursday's surprise upset, Dallas's injury-shortened lineup couldn't keep pace in a rematch with the deeper, more experienced Mercury.

The No. 6 Golden State Valkyries also showed their limits on Monday, dropping their sixth road game of the season in a 90-81 loss to the Dream.

Energized by a 24-point performance from 2025 All-Star starter Allisha Gray, Atlanta capitalized on the Valks' fourth-quarter collapse, outscoring the 2025 expansion side 15-2 to book the win.

"I'm telling the refs, 'This is a hard game for us,'" Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase said afterwards. "I get it — home cooking. But to me, I thought for sure that [Valkyries players] were going up just as aggressive as their players, and we just did not get the whistle."

With All-Star Weekend fast approaching, regular-season Cinderella stories are beginning to break away from the true powerhouses, as teams keep chasing Minnesota at the top of the WNBA standings.

How to watch the Phoenix Mercury this week

While Atlanta will be resting until Friday, Phoenix is back in action on Wednesday, when the Mercury will host the league-leading Lynx at 3:30 PM ET.

Live coverage of the game will air on WNBA League Pass.

OL Lyonnes Boosts Midfield with USWNT Stars Lily Yohannes, Korbin Albert

USWNT midfielders Lily Yohannes and Korbin Albert pose in the new 2025 US jerseys.
USWNT stars Lily Yohannes and Korbin Albert will suit up for OL Lyonnes in the fall. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

Eight-time UEFA Champions League winners OL Lyonnes will have even more US flair next season, with the French football titan announcing the signings of USWNT stars Lily Yohannes and Korbin Albert over the last week.

Joining the newly rebranded Lyon side from Dutch club Ajax on a reported €450,000 ($527,000) transfer fee, Yohannes's new contract runs through 2028.

Albert also signed a three-year deal on Friday, solidifying her transfer from Première Ligue rivals PSG — the club that the 21-year-old has played for since her early exit from Notre Dame in 2023.

Yohannes and Albert will join USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps in the OL Lyonnes midfield, with US billionaire and multi-team owner Michele Kang (Washington Spirit, London City Lionesses) overseeing the operation.

Backed by her global women's sports organization Kynisca, Kang reportedly beat WSL giants Chelsea FC to the punch in signing 18-year-old Yohannes on Monday.

OL Lyonnes has been stocking up after failing to make it past the 2024/25 Champions League semifinals, adding PSG striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Chelsea FC fullback Ashley Lawrence, Barcelona defender Ingrid Engen, and Vfl Wolfsburg attacker Jule Brand to a roster now led by former Washington Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez.

While international tournaments play out across the world this summer, the club carousel continues to spin as heavyweight teams vie for the sport's top talent.

NWSL Stars Score Big in WAFCON Openers

Zambia players, including NWSL stars Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji, pose during a training session before 2025 WAFCON.

The NWSL is already making a splash at this year's Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), with three of the league's top scorers stealing the spotlight following the 2025 tournament's July 5th kick-off.

Zambia forwards Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride) and Racheal Kundananji (Bay FC) both found the back of the net in their national team's group-stage debut against host country Morocco, helping the Copper Queens earn an opening point in the 2-2 Saturday draw.

Banda struck first, notching the tournament's first goal with one of her signature long-range strikes in the first minute of the match, before Kundananji answered Morocco's 12th-minute penalty equalizer with a Banda-assisted 27th minute goal of her own.

Notably, the NWSL is powering Zambia's entire front line, as Banda's Pride teammates, Grace Chanda and Prisca Chilufya, joined the scorers in leading the Copper Queens' Saturday attack.

Then on Sunday, Kundananji's Bay FC teammate Asisat Oshoala wrote her name on the 2025 WAFCON scoresheet, registering Nigeria's first tournament goal by heading the ball past Tunisia goalkeeper Salima Jobrani in the fourth minute of the match.

With Houston Dash defender Michelle Alozie helping hold down their back line, the Super Falcons opened their WAFCON account with a 3-0 win.

How to watch NWSL stars at 2025 WAFCON

WAFCON action revs back up when the second matches of group play kick off on Wednesday, as the 12 2025 tournament teams all chase defending champions South Africa.

Zambia will hunt their first tournament victory against Senegal at 12 PM ET on Wednesday, before Nigeria looks to maintain their winning ways against Botswana at 3 PM ET on Thursday.

All 2025 WAFCON matches will air live on beIN Sports.

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