The NWSL playoff format needs an overhaul, Christen Press and Tobin Heath argued on the latest episode of “The RE-CAP Show.”

Press and Heath broke down the format on their podcast, which they brought back for the NWSL playoffs. In 2021, the NWSL expanded the postseason to six teams, giving the top two seeds a bye into the semifinal round.

“It is bizarre and lopsided,” Press said.

With the top seeds getting a bye – and, this year, with an international break in between rounds – they face a two- or three-week break between their regular-season finales and their first playoff games. In this year’s playoffs, the No. 1 seed San Diego Wave and the No. 2 seed Portland Thorns both lost in the semifinals, while No. 4 seed OL Reign and No. 6 seed Gotham FC advanced to the championship match. And while both missed the 2023 season with injuries, both have been tracking the postseason.

“There’s a lot to be said for form and staying in form, and playing games and being in a little bit of flow versus just sitting on your hands waiting for your most important match of your season,” Press continued.

For Heath, the argument showed in two players: Sophia Smith and Rose Lavelle. Both players are coming off injuries. But Smith had to leave Portland to play with the USWNT during the international break, while Lavelle stayed behind and trained with OL Reign. And Lavelle got some minutes in her team’s quarterfinal game, which helped her ramp up for the semifinal round.

“And who knows, everybody is at a different form in their recovery,” Heath said. “But it just shows how disruptive it is to these players to have an international break for the top players.

“And then also the bye — like for Portland, they had lost. They had played their last game of the season, lost in a crazy loss to Angel City and then their first game of their playoff they play and they lose.”

Heath extended the argument to the NWSL calendar as a whole, which runs into FIFA’s international windows in September and October during the most important stretches of the league season.

“Imagine if it’s the NBA, and all of a sudden Team USA Basketball says, ‘Oh, you just won. Before you go to the final series, you’re going to come over and play with a different team for a couple of weeks, and then go back and try to win a championship with your team,’” Heath said. “It’s just unheard of. It would never happen. It’s disruptive. It shows that the best team isn’t going to be the most likely team to win a championship. It’s very hard to do.”

As Just Women’s Sports writer Claire Watkins pointed out ahead of the playoffs, quarterfinalists have made deep runs since the NWSL expanded its postseason format. Since 2021, five of the six finalists have played in the quarterfinal round, which Press calls “proof enough” that the format needs changing.

“So NWSL organizers, if you’re listening to this, I think we could use a little refresh of the playoff format,” she said.

Heath agreed, adding: “We just need to go to a European calendar. Period, full stop. It’s going to be disruption to the max until we’ve become legit.”

@justwomenssports It’s time for the #NWSL quarterfinals, a round that as produced three out of the last four finalists since the league changed their playoff format. San Diego and Portland are sitting on playoff byes wondering the age old question: is rest better, or momentum? #soccer #woso ♬ original sound - Just Women’s Sports

The fourth major championship of the 2025 LPGA season teed off on Thursday, as golf's best gathered to compete for the $8 million overall purse at the Evian Championship in Évian-les-Bains, France.

Along with eight other past champions, 25-year-old Japanese golfer and world No. 16 Ayaka Furue entered this week's edition looking to defend her 2024 title, finishing the opening round at four-under-par to sit in a respectable nine-way tie for seventh place.

No. 17 Céline Boutier, the 2023 champion, trailed Furue by one stroke, with the Frenchwoman heading into Friday's second round tied for 16th with six other golfers, including the US's No. 35 Megan Khang.

Currently leading the US contingent are No. 36 Andrea Lee and No. 38 Jennifer Kupcho, whose six-under opening round has them tied with three others at the top of the 2025 Evian Championship leaderboard.

Two strokes below the leaders — and clustered in that seventh-place tie with Furue — is world No. 1 Nelly Korda, making a solid start by finishing the day with four straight birdies.

Korda is hunting both a third career major title and her first win of the 2025 LPGA season this week.

"Overall, a couple parts of my game helped me and rescued me, and the other parts let me down," said Korda, following her opening round play. "That's golf. Just going to try and figure it out on the range."

Should Korda, or the other US contenders, finish the weekend atop the field, the US could see its first Evian champion since Angela Stanford in 2018.

How to watch the 2025 Evian Championship

The 2025 Evian Championship runs through Sunday, with live coverage airing on the Golf Channel.

The third and final round of 2025 Euro group-stage matches begins on Thursday, when some teams will battle for survival while other tournament frontrunners rest easy having already secured their spots in the knockouts.

Of the competition's 16 teams, four punched their tickets to the quarterfinals in their second matches, with four others conceding elimination.

World No. 16 Norway led the charge to the European Championship knockouts, becoming the first team to advance by topping Group A last Sunday.

No. 2 Spain followed suit with a dominant 6-2 Monday win over No. 20 Belgium to top Group B, while No. 3 Germany and No. 6 Sweden wrapped up Group C by notching their second Euro wins on Tuesday.

On the other hand, Belgium, No. 12 Denmark, No. 14 Iceland, and No. 27 Poland saw their 2025 Euro hopes end this week, as two losses plus other group results snuffed out any chance to advance.

The remaining third group-play matches will now decide the second Group A and B teams to make the quarterfinals, with host No. 23 Switzerland and surprise contender No. 26 Finland squaring off for the Group A spot on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy can lock up a knockout berth with a win or a draw against Spain on Friday, No. 22 Portugal is not out of the Group B running just yet — though their path to advance is tough, requiring an Italy loss plus a high-scoring win over Belgium.

"Group of Death" comes down to final day of group play

The 2025 Euro's notorious "Group of Death" still has everything to play for, as all four teams in the hyper-competitive Group D could still technically advance — though some have wildly clearer paths than others.

No. 10 France sits in the lead with six points, while defending champions No. 5 England and the No. 11 Netherlands will go into Group D's third matchday on Sunday tied with three points apiece.

The Dutch have arguably the toughest task on Sunday, likely needing a goal-heavy win over Les Bleues to keep their Euro dream alive, while a draw would see France secure their quarterfinal spot.

After saving their back-to-back title campaign with a 4-0 thumping of the Netherlands on Wednesday, the Lionesses will face No. 30 Wales to close out the group stage, advancing with a defeat of their UK rivals plus either a goal differential lead over the Dutch or a Netherlands loss.

"We bounced back from the previous game and showed we were more than capable [of] showing the world what we can do," England goalscorer Lauren James told the BBC after Wednesday's win.

As for the Euro debutants, Wales saw Seattle Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock score their first major tournament goal in team history in their Wednesday loss to France, keeping spirits high despite trailing in Group D with two tournament losses.

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That said, a massive Sunday win over England plus a French implosion against the Dutch could statistically, if improbably, see the Dragons sneak through.

All in all, the 2025 Euro group stage has presented mostly straightforward results in the early stages, but there's still room for a few more twists and turns before the knockouts.

How to watch the final 2025 Euro group-stage matches

Each group will take the 2025 Euro pitch for their final first-round matches on consecutive days.

All matches will kick off at 3 PM ET:

• Thursday, Group A: No. 26 Finland vs. No. 23 Switzerland, No. 16 Norway vs. No. 14 Iceland

• Friday, Group B: No. 22 Portugal vs. No. 20 Belgium, No. 13 Italy vs. No. 2 Spain

• Saturday, Group C: No. 27 Poland vs. No. 12 Denmark, No. 6 Sweden vs. No. 3 Germany

• Sunday, Group D: No. 5 England vs. No. 30 Wales, No. 11 Netherlands vs. No. 10 France

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

Locked up in a mid-table traffic jam with 9-10 season records alongside the No. 7 Indiana Fever, the No. 8 Washington Mystics and No. 9 Las Vegas Aces will aim to break their WNBA standings tie during their Thursday night clash.

With both teams currently hugging the league's playoff line, the Aces and Mystics are on very different trajectories as the 2025 WNBA season nears its halfway point.

Just two years removed from earning back-to-back championships, Las Vegas has struggled to create a foothold in the 2025 standings — a task that seems even more difficult with 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson's recent wrist injury, with her likely absence looming large over Thursday's matchup.

On the other hand, Washington appears to be surging ahead of schedule, as a pair of All-Star rookies are exceeding expectations as the Mystics continue their controlled rebuild.

In Thursday's other game, No. 1 Minnesota will look to right the ship as their West Coast road trip continues:

• No. 1 Minnesota Lynx vs. No. 11 LA Sparks, 3 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): There's no rest for the league leaders after a disappointing loss to No. 2 Phoenix on Wednesday, with the Lynx facing a grueling back-to-back tilt against the Sparks in LA.

• No. 9 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Washington Mystics, 7:30 PM ET (Prime): With playoff spots on the line, Las Vegas will want to prove their quality against a Washington team taking everything one game at a time.

A young Connecticut Sun team upended the WNBA on Wednesday, as the league's last-place squad defeated the No. 5 Seattle Storm 93-83, earning their third win of the 2025 season.

Veteran center Tina Charles — the WNBA's all-time top rebounder and second all-time scorer — led the Connecticut charge with a 29-point, 11-rebound double-double.

Also helping snap the Sun's 10-game losing streak were starters Jacy Sheldon, Bria Hartley, and Saniya Rivers, who added double-digits points of their own to top the tough, veteran-heavy Storm.

"It was great to see a collective team effort," Charles said after the game. "It wasn't just me. Everyone involved got this win for us."

Elsewhere on Wednesday, No. 7 Indiana failed to hold off the No. 6 Golden State Valkyries, falling 80-61 to the 2025 expansion side despite the return of Fever star Caitlin Clark to the court.

After hanging the No. 14 jersey of retired WNBA champion Allie Quigley in the rafters, the No. 10 Chicago Sky logged an 87-76 win over the No. 12 Dallas Wings, buoyed by Rebecca Allen's season-high 27 points off the bench.

Also stealing Wednesday headlines were the No. 2 Mercury, who chipped away at Minnesota's lead atop the WNBA standings, shrinking it to a three-game buffer with a 79-71 Phoenix victory — only the third Lynx loss this season.

Along with a career-high 29-point performance from forward Alyssa Thomas, the Mercury win also marked DeWanna Bonner's return to play, with the veteran forward putting up seven points and six rebounds off the bench after signing with Phoenix on Tuesday.

"Today, she got thrown into the fire, [she] didn't know everything. But she did the things she could control, which is playing defense and rebounding," said Thomas about Bonner. "It's scary to think we're not even full strength yet."