Crystal Dunn isn’t holding out hope for a possible midfield appearance at the 2023 World Cup.

The 2019 World Cup champion plays as a defender for the U.S. women’s national team but as a midfielder for the Portland Thorns, and she spoke on the “Diaspora United” podcast about how playing two positions has affected her.

“I think my versatility has come with perspective, but it also comes with a lot of pain,” she told “Diaspora United.” “A lot of feeling of, you don’t belong any place on the field, you just belong where the coach puts you. And that doesn’t always feel great. I think I’ve always tried to hide away from saying that and being honest about that.”

But Dunn, 30, chose to open up about those feelings in a February profile for GQ. Becoming a mom to son Marcel last May helped give her the push to speak out.

“I feel so confident in what I’ve done in my career and who I am as a person that it’s now time for me to speak my truth,” she said. “Like I said, it’s not throwing shade on my position on the national team, because best believe when I am playing outside back I am bodying people out of the way and I’m doing what I have to do to be the best for my team.”

She gives her all wherever she plays on the field. But she also wants to be honest.

“I’m a competitor. Anywhere that I’m going to play, I’m going to play,” she said. “But the question wasn’t, ‘Do you love playing outside back?’ It was, ‘Where do you want to play? Where do you absolutely love playing?’ And my answer was in the midfield.

“I feel like my skill set is really about being creative, being fluid, being able to break lines, and being able to connect with the people around me. And I just feel like as an outside back I don’t really get to do that.”

Still, while Dunn has scored four goals for the Thorns so far this NWSL season, she doesn’t anticipate playing in the midfield for the USWNT at the World Cup this summer in Australia and New Zealand. And she accepts that.

“I don’t think there’s a real possibility. I think where I am is where I am. I think I accept and embrace it,” she said. “When I’m in club I try to ball out in the midfield. I try to do my thing. I don’t let my role on the national team hinder what I can contribute to my club team.

“It is a different boat that I’m in than any other player, because when you go from international duty to club you’re playing the same position usually… I think for me, that’s not my journey, that’s not my reality.”

As the World Cup approaches, she sees the power in her versatility.

“It’s just part of my journey. It makes me, me. It makes me special,” Dunn said. “When I was younger, I used to be a little bothered by it, but I think now I’ve stepped into this space where I’m like, no, this is me. This is a space not a lot of people get to walk in, and that’s OK. It doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable anymore. It makes me feel like this is actually my superpower.”

Sweden veteran defender Magda Eriksson is hanging up her international boots to focus on her health, with the 32-year-old officially announcing her retirement from her national team on Sunday.

Eriksson will continue competing at the domestic level for her German club, Bayern Munich.

The longtime captain sat out the most recent international window due to a head injury, watching as world No. 3 Sweden fell to No. 1 Spain in the two-leg 2025 Nations League semifinals.

"It's by far the toughest decision I've ever made," Eriksson said in her social media announcement. "But I'm listening to my body and mind instead of my heart."

"I've landed in the fact that unfortunately it's a decision that has to be made."

After an 11-year career with the Swedish senior national team, Eriksson retires as a two-time Olympic silver medalist, earning those podium finishes in Rio in 2016 and at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Games.

Often leading Sweden through major tournaments where early domination dissolved into a third-place finish, Eriksson also helped her team eke onto the World Cup podium in both 2019 and 2023.

"It is heavy news," said Sweden head coach Tony Gustavsson after Eriksson announced her international retirement, calling her "one of our most important players for a long time."

"[Magda's] professionalism, courage, and heart have left a strong mark on the national team," he added.

Chelsea FC's £1 million gamble is paying dividends, as USWNT rising star Alyssa Thompson continued her goal-scoring momentum for the six-time defending WSL champs on Sunday.

The young forward found the back of the net in the ninth minute of the Blues' 1-1 Sunday draw with Liverpool, solidifying her status as a decisive attacking threat for her new club.

"You can see how much talent she has and the quality she brings to the team," Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor said of Thompson earlier this month. "She's improving game after game, becoming more connected to her teammates, and understanding the way we want to play better."

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Thompson left NWSL side Angel City for Chelsea on a then-record £1 million transfer fee in early September, with the 21-year-old going on to notch three goals and one assist in four matches across both WSL and Champions League play.

"Being able to play with players that are the best in the world is an amazing opportunity," said the striker. "I want to learn, grow, and develop a lot. I feel like Chelsea is such an amazing environment to do that in."

Beyond individual accomplishment, Thompson's success underscores Chelsea's depth as they continue to hunt domestic and continental honors on a now-34 match WSL unbeaten streak — while also looking to potentially draw more USWNT stars away from the NWSL.

Women's professional baseball has landed a home base, with Front Office Sports reporting on Monday that the newly formed WPBL will play the entirety of its 2026 debut season at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois.

The incoming league prioritized a neutral venue without an existing baseball team to house its four inaugural clubs — New York, Boston, LA, and San Francisco — for its first campaign, with barnstorming games also planned for each team market.

"Our sport is for everybody," WPBL co-founder Keith Stein told FOS. "It's for middle America, everybody. We thought, 'Our teams are on these two coasts, it would be good to be in the middle of the country.'"

Founded in 2024 as the first professional women's baseball outfit in the US since 1954, the WPBL will hold its first-ever draft on Thursday, with the league's four teams drawing from a pool of 120 eligible players.

The WPBL recently fielded an oversubscribed Series A investment round, telling FOS that they're closing a $3 million raise with another round planned ahead of its August 2026 season-opener.

Each 30-player team will operate under a $95,000 salary cap for the first year, with the league also covering living costs throughout the seven-week season as well as giving players a percentage of sponsorship funds.

How to watch the first-ever WPBL Draft

The 2025 WPBL Draft kicks off at 8 PM ET on Thursday, with live coverage streaming across the league's Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube channels.

Las Vegas Aces boss Becky Hammon spoke her mind last week, telling CNBC Sport that the WNBA might need "a change in leadership" for the league's CBA talks to successfully progress.

"I just think [player relations] might be too fractured at this point, but we'll see," Hammon said, while also noting that she's had only limited interactions with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

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Citing Engelbert's "private conversations...with individual players — or lack of the conversations," Hammon described the commissioner's current relationship with players as "rocky" while describing her widely criticized leadership style.

"I don't know if she can ever regret, retract, and get that traction back from those conversations," the Aces boss posited.

"When the players speak, people need to sit up and listen," she continued. "I think [Engelbert is] sitting up and listening now."

Hammon also voiced support for Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier after the five-time All-Star described the WNBA as having the "worst leadership in the world" in her now-viral 2025 exit interview.

"I completely agree with Napheesa that the players should be making more than coaches," the Las Vegas sideline leader — who publicly earns seven figures per year — continued. "They're due for a huge increase in salary, and it's got to be something that is sustainable. That's the biggest thing you got to remember, that this league is still a young league."

Ultimately, while the 2025 WNBA season is over, CBA concerns loom large over the league's current offseason and 2026 campaign, leaving Hammon and others looking to avoid a lockout as the November 30th extension deadline nears.