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 news: Christine Sinclair’s missed PK underscores larger trend

Canada captain Christine Sinclair nearly became the first person to score at six World Cup tournaments when she took a penalty kick Thursday. But she missed the spot, as Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie made the save to help Nigeria secure the 0-0 draw.

“Christine Sinclair scored many, many, many goals for this country and I’m sure the fans, the team and everyone can forgive missing a penalty kick,” Canada coach Bev Priestman said. “I think penalty kicks are a 50-50 chance and on this day Sinc didn’t score.

“Sinc has high standards and is a bit of a perfectionist but at the end of the day, this team and this country love Christine Sinclair more than anything, and so they’ll rally around her and we’ll be on and have her ready for the next game.”

But the penalty underscores a bigger trend: Through five games, there have been five penalties awarded — on a handball by Norway, a shove by Ireland, a trip by Nigeria, a trip by Costa Rica. VAR assisted in awarding the third in Switzerland’s 2-0 win against the Philippines.

AFTER A VAR REVIEW, PENALTY TO SWITZERLAND 🇨🇭 pic.twitter.com/qKW1Grp08k

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 21, 2023

It’s a trend to watch as the tournament continues.

Today’s top highlight: Philippines national anthem plays for the first time at a World Cup

The Philippines women’s national team is one of several making history in this tournament with a World Cup debut. No other team from the Phillippines, men’s or women’s, has played in a World Cup before, so the country’s national anthem was heard at the World Cup for the first time Friday.

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER 🎵

The Philippines' national anthem plays at the FIFA Women's World cup for the very first time! 🇵🇭 pic.twitter.com/llwk2rN7xS

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 21, 2023

Today’s results:

• Nigeria 0, Canada 0
• Switzerland 2, Philippines 0
• Spain 3, Costa Rica 0

More World Cup news to know:

• The Philippines nearly scored a goal in its first-ever World Cup game. While an offside call disallowed the goal, the celebration is worth watching.
• USWNT midfielder Lindsey Horan and coach Vlatko Andonovski remained coy when asked if they were going to “crush” Vietnam in an echo of the team’s 13-0 win against Thailand four years ago. “There are not easy games that before you were just like, oh, this is going to be 6-0, 7-0 or whatever,” Horan said. “It’s not how it is anymore.”
• The World Cup opener almost looked easy for Spain, with Aitana Bonmati and Esther González scoring within four minutes of each other. Including a Costa Rica own goal, the team’s three goals were scored in a span of six minutes. In total, Spain levied 46 shots, 12 of which were on target, and held possession for 81% of the match.
• Zambia star midfielder Grace Chanda is out of the World Cup with an illness. According to Reuters, she has since been hospitalized for treatment. “Grace Chanda has been taken ill and unfortunately she is out of the tournament. We have done everything we can to help her, she is getting all the attention she needs but she won’t be able to take part,” team doctor Faith Chibeza said.
• Netherlands head coach Andries Jonker hit back at FIFA after a training session where the team was made to train on a cricket pitch, which he noted is “rock hard” and “dangerous” for soccer players. “It’s so dangerous considering possible injuries. And then I don’t even talk about the impact on the muscles,” he said. “We have to do something on half a pitch. … This is amateurism in its biggest shape.”

More NWSL stars are jumping ship, as both the San Diego Wave and North Carolina Courage saw respective key players Delphine Cascarino and Denise O'Sullivan sign with WSL clubs over the last few days.

Former Wave forward Cascarino inked a deal through the 2029/30 season with the London City Lionesses on Monday, one day after San Diego announced they had mutually parted ways with the French international despite her contract running through 2026 with an option for the 2027 NWSL season.

"I'm really happy to be here," said the 28-year-old in a statement. "London City is the only independent women's club in the WSL, which excites me."

North Carolina midfielder and captain O'Sullivan made a similar move on Saturday, as the Ireland international signed with Liverpool following more than eight seasons and a club-record 186 appearances for the Courage.

The last-place WSL team reportedly shelled out a club-record transfer fee of approximately £300,000 to roster the 31-year-old two-time NWSL champion and three-time Shield-winner, who called Liverpool "a new challenge" that will see her "only a 40-minute flight away" from her family in Cork, Ireland.

Though the NWSL departures of Cascarino and O'Sullivan mark a kind of homecoming for the European standouts, they are just the latest to exit the US league, after USWNT star Sam Coffey joined WSL-leaders Manchester City last week.

"England — for men and women — is the country of football," noted Cascarino. "It's always been a goal of mine to play in this league."

New York Sirens forward Taylor Girard made PWHL history this week, earning a record four-game suspension for leaving the bench to join a line skirmish at the end of Sunday's 2-1 win over the Montréal Victoire.

The brawl occurred at the the final buzzer of the PWHL's record-breaking Takeover Tour stop in Washington, DC, with eight players — four Sirens and four from the Victoire — subsequently issued 10-minute misconducts in addition to Girard's infraction.

As the sole player not originally on the ice to join the skirmish, Girard was the only player to receive an additional 20-minute charge.

Even more, Girard's actions immediately triggered a four-game suspension, as the PWHL Rulebook dictates that exact punishment for "the first player to leave the players' bench illegally during an altercation or for the purpose of starting an altercation from either or both Teams."

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The four-game ban marks the longest punishment in PWHL history, doubling the two-game suspension that Seattle Torrent defender Aneta Tejralová received for an illegal check to the head last month.

With the PWHL on break after January 28th as 30% of the league's rosters compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics, the four-game suspension means that Girard — who sits second on New York's scoring sheet with five goals on the season — will not be available for the No. 2 Sirens until March 5th.

The WTGL is stocking up on golf stars, as TMRW Sports' newly announced offseason league begins to build its debut roster in partnership with the LPGA.

World No. 1 golfer Jeeno Thitikul (Thailand) signed on to participate in WTGL's inaugural season this week, alongside No. 5 Charley Hull (England), No. 6 Lydia Ko (New Zealand), No. 25 Brooke Henderson (Canada), and No. 79 Lexi Thompson (USA).

"WTGL will be a global stage to showcase LPGA stars, and this first wave of committed players represents that opportunity with some of the world's best," said TMRW Sports founder and CEO Mike McCarley in Monday's press release.

Set to launch next winter, the WTGL looks to build off the popular, second-year men's Tomorrow's Golf League (TGL), with the competition integrating both a physical and virtual golf environment inside Palm Beach Gardens at Florida's SoFi Center.

"These players will thrive in WTGL's competitive environment as fans will witness their skill and connect more deeply with their personalities through the unprecedented access the league delivers," said McCarley, noting that TGL golfers remain mic'd up throughout the team event.

The WTGL is also earning stamps of approval from several women's sports greats, as the Alex Morgan co-founded Trybe Ventures — an investment group that includes Morgan's fellow former USWNT stars Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach — became the new league's lead capital partner last week.

The WSL is cashing in on the women's game, with two UK clubs surpassing €25 million in annual revenue for the first time, according to the Deloitte Football Money League report on the 2024/25 season that dropped this week.

Reigning UWCL champions Arsenal topped the list for the first time after taking in €25.6 million last season, followed closely by WSL title-holders Chelsea FC's €25.4 million.

Meanwhile, Perennial European contender FC Barcelona (€22 million) dropped to third after leading the group in 2023/24, outpacing WSL titans No. 4 Manchester City (€12.9 million) and No. 5 Manchester United (€12.8 million).

Due to a lack of revenue data, the yearly study did not include major women's leagues in the US, Sweden, or Australia, giving the rankings a European bent as the total sum crossed the €150 million mark for the first time — a 35% increase over the previous season's Top-15 Money League clubs.

Commercial income was the biggest revenue driver for many top clubs, with sponsorship deals and brand partnerships leading the charge.

Arsenal also benefitted from increased revenue on the men's side, allowing the women's team to up its investment while avoiding running at a loss.

How to watch the top Deloitte Football Money League clubs in action

Deloitte Football Money League leader Arsenal will take on No. 5 Man United while revenue runners-up Chelsea will face the WSL-leading Man City in the 2025/26 Women's League Cup semifinals on Wednesday.

The concurrent clashes will kick off at 2 PM ET, streaming live on YouTube.