For the entirety of the U.S. women’s national team’s World Cup-winning campaign in France in 2019, Alyssa Naeher had very little trouble staying locked in.

“I don’t even think I turned my phone off airplane mode,” she said before Red Stars training on Thursday, the day after being named to her third-straight World Cup squad.

Naeher is going to need a similar amount of focus this year. She was a part of the USWNT’s last two World Cup-winning teams, first as a backup in 2015 and then as the team’s starter in 2019. This year, she’s bringing a crucial veteran presence to a backline that will be missing captain Becky Sauerbrunn for the first time since 2007.

“I’m very disappointed for Becky, obviously,” Naeher said. “I have the greatest amount of respect in the world for Becky, who she is as a person and who she is as a player, so she will definitely be missed.”

“Becky is — she’s our captain, she’s our leader, and she is going to be a big hole to fill. And I think just her presence in the team, in meetings, on the field in games, her leadership and her experience, you don’t just replace it.”

Naeher believes that raising the level of the defense in Sauerbrunn’s absence will be a group effort, with every player bringing just a little bit more of themselves and their individual strengths to each game. As for the 35-year-old goalkeeper, she prides herself on taking things one day at a time.

“I just try to stay as present as possible,” she said. “Each day is a new day to try to learn from the day before and build off of that — learn from the things I’ve not done as well and figure out the things I have done well and try to build off of that.”

She’s known to U.S. and Chicago fans as “Uncle Naeher,” a nickname given to her by former Red Stars teammate Stephanie McCaffrey for the way she’d help her teammates out with tasks you might delegate to a family member. But Naeher feels that stepping into her own leadership role has taken time. She’s serving as the Red Stars captain after the departure of Vanessa DiBernardo in the offseason. That means she’s been responsible for stewarding a young team through a difficult season and an impending sale, after scandal rocked the organization in recent years.

“I wish that I could say I did everything perfectly and everything right, but that’s just not true,” Naeher said of facing obstacles with Chicago. “But I’d say for me, it’s just about learning, it’s about growth, and when I have made mistakes along the way or mishandled situations, I’ve always tried to learn how to be better from them. And I feel like I’ve done that.”

Naeher holding court at Red Stars training today pic.twitter.com/x2Ip0dXt1M

— Claire Watkins (@ScoutRipley) June 22, 2023

Naeher’s dynamic within the USWNT is slightly different, as the national team has a variety of experienced players and big personalities able to take on the mantle of leadership. The U.S. will still be traveling with two-time World Champions like Kelley O’Hara, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, and Naeher says that “each person is a leader in their own way.” Naeher isn’t known as a player who is going to be the loudest in the team huddle, but she relies on her work ethic to shine through.

“I’ve always just tried to be me, just tried to be who I am, stay true to who I am, and however I can help this team to be successful,” she said. “To me, half of leadership is just showing up and putting in the work and fighting for the person next to you, and that’s something where I do feel very comfortable saying that is what I do consistently.”

That mindset can make the difference between a call-up and international disappointment, especially as players work through whatever challenges their clubs might be facing to show off for the national team coaching staff. The goalkeeper is the only representative of the Red Stars making the trip with the U.S. this year, after teammates Tierna Davidson and Casey Krueger just missed the cut. As a player who sometimes found herself on the outside looking in in the past, Naeher has learned to simply focus on what she can control.

“I think I learned early on in my career, through a lot of different frustrations and struggles and disappointments, that the one thing, the only thing that I had control over my entire career was my work ethic every single day in training, and my preparation,” she said.

“I could never control how other goalkeepers are doing, I couldn’t control the decisions that were being made by my coaches and their opinions. But the one thing that I had control over is — can I be a good teammate and show up and give everything I have every single day? So that’s what I chose to do.

“And something that I’m proud of is that I think that’s still there now, 15 years later. I think that that’s all I have, and that’s what I hope to instill in other people going forward. And at the end of the day, that’s all you can take with you.”

Naeher’s not planning on guiding the new USWNT backline with a particularly heavy hand. The time they spend together in camp will help them figure out each teammate’s individual needs, including her fellow goalkeepers, Casey Murphy and Aubrey Kingsbury.

“It’s going to be about connecting with all of them and understanding,” she said. “Does this person need a little pep talk before? Do they need to be left alone? Do they want my unsolicited advice? Do I need to wait for them to ask for it?”

Naeher still remembers just observing the goalkeeping giants in front of her in 2015, and taking in processes that she hopes to pass along to players going through a major tournament for the first time. True to form, with another tall task in front of her, Naeher isn’t focused on her own legacy, though her longevity and success with the U.S. speaks for itself. She’s focused more on living up to the honor of wearing the U.S. No. 1 jersey.

“My responsibility is to continue to train hard every single day, continue to set a high standard,” she said, “and show this next generation of goalkeepers what it takes to be on the national team, and what it takes to — every single day, commitment to training, their commitment to preparation — to uphold the standards that numerous goalkeepers have set before us.”

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

The New York Liberty dominated Indiana on Thursday night, winning by a whopping 36 points in the Fever's home opener. 

A sold-out crowd of 17,274 was in attendance to watch as star rookie Caitlin Clark finished the 102-66 defeat with nine points, seven rebounds, and six assists. It’s the first time since January 2021 — her freshman season at Iowa — that Clark's been held to single-digit scoring. 

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"The physicality is definitely up there... I'm easily pushed off screens," she told reporters after the loss. "The game seems a little fast for me right now. The more I play and the more comfortable I get, it's going to slow down a little bit. It will be easier for me to make reads, see things develop."

The Fever were outscored by a combined margin of 57 points in their first two games — the largest two-game point deficit in WNBA season-opening history, according to @ESPNStatsInfo.

"We've got to get to a level of toughness," Fever coach Christie Sides in her own postgame remarks. "When things are going south on us, we're not stopping the bleeding."

"I have great perspective on everything that happens," Clark added. "It was the same in my college career. There were some moments that were absolutely amazing. And there were some moments I was not happy with how I played and how my team performed. That's just life, that's just basketball."

Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, who herself experienced a rocky rookie season following a much-hyped college career, offered up some insight on the matter.

"In this league, there are tough defenses all centered around not letting you get the ball, trapping, not letting you score," Ionescu said. "There were many factors that played into what was a tough first season for me in the league, but it helps you be able to figure it out. You have to have those experiences."

But it was reigning league MVP Breanna Stewart that truly stole the show, racking up 31 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks on the night.

"In general, I just wanted to come out more aggressive coming off of last game," Stewart said after putting up the 24th 30-point game in her career.

Stewart she also commended the fans inside Indianapolis's packed Gainbridge Fieldhouse, noting that she hopes that level of support to continue across the WNBA.

"This is how you want every game to be and when it's a sell-out crowd, it gives you a similar playoff atmosphere feel," she said. "People want to be a part of this and the thing now is to continue to sustain it, continue to take the momentum that we have and turn it into something more."

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert admitted to a "faulty rollout" of the new charter travel initiative on Thursday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Ahead of Tuesday's season opener, it was announced that the only teams flying private this week would be Indiana and Minnesota. The announcement came mere days after the league made a new charter flight program for all WNBA teams public. At the time, they said it would be implemented "as soon as we have the planes."

But as two teams out of 12 chartered to their first games of the season, others like the Atlanta Dream and Chicago Sky were forced to fly commercial.

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A town hall meeting between Engelbert and the players was held in response to the confusion. Everything from the league's new media rights deal to private travel was covered in the meeting, with players submitting their questions ahead of time. Sky center Elizabeth Williams told Sun-Times reporter Annie Costabile afterwards that cross-country flights were prioritized.

"Flights that are across the country like [the Lynx] going to Seattle, crossing multiple time zones, or flights that usually require a connection, those were the priorities," Williams said. "That’s why New York didn’t go to DC with a charter, but Minny goes to Seattle."

What’s unclear under that metric is that the Atlanta Dream played the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday, which could technically be classified as a cross-country flight. 

On Tuesday, rookie forward Angel Reese shared a photo on her Instagram story lamenting the league's use of commercial flights.

"Just praying that this is one of the last commercial flights the Sky has to fly," Reese posted. The team still has at least three commercial flights awaiting them in the near future.

"Obviously, I think all teams should be able to get chartered," Reese told the Sun-Times. "But I know moving forward... going in the right direction, being able to have some teams [chartering] is cool. Within the next weeks, everybody will be flying charter, which will be really good."

On Thursday, Lindsay Schnell of USAToday Sports confirmed that the league intends to have all teams on charter flights by May 21st.

Brazil has been named the host for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, with FIFA announced early Friday. 

The decision came after a vote at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok, with Brazil earning 119 votes to the joint European bid’s 78. 

This will be Brazil’s first time hosting the Women’s World Cup, with the country having hosted the men’s World Cup twice before in 1950 and 2014. It will also be the first Women’s World Cup held in South America. The tournament will follow the same 32-team format as the 2023 WWC in Australia and New Zealand.

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Brazil winning the bid was not entirely surprising after FIFA issued a report just last week, stating that the Brazilian bid had pulled ahead as host following technical inspection. After evaluation, Brazil was given a score of 4.0 out of 5, compared to the 3.7 awarded to the Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Brazil ranked higher in a number of key areas, including stadiums, accommodations, fan zones, and transport infrastructure. Though considered to be a frontrunner, the US and Mexico withdrew their joint bid prior to the technical inspection period, saying they would instead focus their efforts on 2031.

On Friday, Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) president Ednaldo Rodrigues called it a "victory." 

"We knew we would be celebrating a victory for South American women's soccer and for women," he told reporters. "You can be sure, with no vanity, we will accomplish the best World Cup for women."

"We are working on a transformation, not only for the country but for the continent," added bid team operational manager Valesca Araujo.

Brazil intends to use 10 of the venues utilized at the 2014 men’s World Cup, including holding the final in Rio de Janeiro on July 25th. The CBF's proposal outlines that the 2027 tournament run from June 24th through the end of July. Last summer’s World Cup began at the end of July and concluded on August 19th.

Another notable element of Brazil's newly unveiled plan to grow of the women’s game is that "all [men’s] clubs wishing to take part in high-level national and continental competitions must now provide a structure for a women’s team." While the definition of "structure" was not specifically identified, the country has set targets with CONMEBOL to help increase the number of women’s club teams in the country.

In last week's inspection findings, FIFA noted that selecting Brazil as the next WWC host could "have a tremendous impact on women's football in the region."

Chelsea did what they needed to do on Wednesday in order to make Saturday's slate of season-ending WSL fixtures interesting: Beat Tottenham.

The Blues are now number one in the league, with an edge over Manchester City on goal differential thanks to an eight-goal outing against Bristol City last week. 

Yesterday's result tees up a league finale for the books as Chelsea looks to send coach Emma Hayes off with another trophy to add to her cabinet. The Blues will play FA Cup winner Manchester City at Old Trafford on Saturday, while City is away at Aston Villa.

"We will be leaving nothing on the pitch, we will be giving everything and no matter what the result is," Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert said after Wednesday's win. "At least we can look each other in the eye and say we gave everything."

It makes for a thrilling end to Chelsea's Emma Hayes era, as the decorated WSL coach will take over the USWNT in June. And it comes after Hayes all but conceded the title race early this month after Chelsea fell to Liverpool 4-3.

"I think the title is done," Hayes said at the time. "Of course, mathematically, it's not, but I think the title is done. Our job between now and the end of the season is to keep pushing until the end, but I think it will be very difficult.

"We will never give up. But the title is far from us; it's not in our hands. I think City are deserving, their consistency has put them in that position. Of course, we will go to the end, but I don't think the title will be going to us this year."

Be it mind games or Hayes truly thinking her team was that far off, her words lit something in Chelsea. Their following two performances showed the team’s determination to have a shot at some silverware.

As for Saturday's schedule, Hayes believes her team is facing the "tougher of the two games."

"It's a fitting finale for me, being my final game," she told BBC Sport. "As I said to the players if someone gives you a second chance in life, make sure you don't need a third one. We're in the position we want to be in, and we'll give it everything on Saturday no matter what."