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Euros 2022: Players to watch for England, Sweden, France and Germany

Beth Mead went on a tear for England during the Euros. (Maddie Meyer/UEFA via Getty Images)

England, Sweden, Germany and France will face off in the UEFA Women’s Euro semifinals, starting with host England’s clash with Sweden at 3 p.m. ET Tuesday.

With little separating the four group-stage winners, the teams will rely on their stars to help book a ticket to the final at 12 p.m. ET Sunday at Wembley Stadium. Just Women’s Sports has one player to watch on each semifinalist.

England: Beth Mead

Beth Mead is on a tear for England, leading all Euros scorers with five goals and three assists through four matches played.

The Arsenal striker exploded during England’s 8-0 group-stage win over Norway, logging three quality finishes for a hat trick. Mead also played hero for the Lionesses during the team’s 1-0 win over Austria, notching her side’s lone goal to secure a narrow victory.

Mead is thriving under manager Sarina Wiegman’s fast-paced, attacking-minded system, with the winger showing her explosiveness in the final third. The 27-year-old’s meteoric rise on the national team comes after being left off of Team GB’s Olympic roster.

“It lit a fire under me. I was not going to feel like that again,” Mead said. “If anything, I was the most determined and focused I’d ever been … I play my best football when I’m angry.”

The Olympic snub ultimately paid off, with Mead in the best form of her career, scoring 19 goals and 12 assists through 18 appearances with England.

Sweden: Kosovare Asllani

Kosovare Asllani has provided Sweden with a trusted veteran presence throughout the 2022 Euros, leading her side to a semifinal appearance against host England.

The 32-year-old is a commanding presence in the middle of the pitch for the Swedes, weaving in and out of tight spaces with ease. Asllani is masterful on the ball, allowing her to hold up play and unlock backlines to open up channels for Sweden’s attack.

The midfielder’s ability to facilitate sets her apart from nearly everyone in the international game, recording three assists in Sweden’s four matches played.

Asllani left Sweden’s quarterfinal matchup against Belgium with an apparent knock, with her future in the tournament in jeopardy.

Sweden will have a massive hole to fill in the midfield should Asllani’s absence extend into the tournament’s semifinals and final.

France: Kadidiatou Diani

Kadidiatou Diani, a star in her own right, has been asked to step up for Les Bleus following Marie-Antoinette Katoto’s exit from the Euros with a knee injury.

The 27-year-old has answered the call, spearheading France’s attack from the flanks. Creating five chances during the team’s 1-0 quarterfinal thriller over the Netherlands, Diani showed her uncanny spatial awareness.

Fantastic on the ball, Diani is also a master at finding space behind opponents’ backlines, as evidenced by her finish against Belgium during the tournament’s group stage.

If France wants to make a Euros final run, the squad will need Diani to continue to stretch defensive units and open up options for Les Bleus’ offense.

Germany: Lina Magull

Germany as a unit looks like a well-oiled machine, staying in sync to make a semifinal run at the England-hosted Euros.

Solid on both sides of the ball, Germany has yet to give up a goal and has notched the second-most goals of the tournament.

Midfielder Lina Magull is a critical factor in Germany’s cohesive performance, providing the team with a commanding midfield presence. The 27-year-old is expert at winning balls in the middle of the pitch, working tirelessly to earn tackles and triggering Germany’s attack.

Magull, a proven distributor, is also world-class at finding the back of the net herself, boasting three goals and an assist through three matches played. Her presence will be daunting for semifinal opponent France, who will need to get through Magull if they hope to get out in transition while also being forece to quiet her attacking presence.

PWHL Announces Vancouver Expansion Franchise Ahead of 2025/26 Season

New York's Jade Downie-Landry and Ottawa's Shiann Darkangelo face-off during a 2025 PWHL game.
The seventh PWHL team will be in Vancouver. (Troy Parla/Getty Images)

The PWHL is officially expanding, with the second-year pro women's hockey league awarding Vancouver its seventh franchise on Wednesday.

The league's first-ever expansion squad faces a short run-up, joining the current six-team roster when the puck drops on the 2025/26 PWHL season.

"To be able to grow this fast is just a testament to the great sport, our great athletes, and how people feel about the work that we’re doing and what our players are putting out on the ice," said PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer.

Vancouver fanbase bolstered city's PWHL bid

Commenting on the eight-month expansion evaluation process, Scheer called Vancouver's bid "unbelievably robust," and noted that the city's "engaged, vibrant, fun" fanbase and its "remarkable commitment to growing the game of hockey" helped earn the Canadian community a team.

That commitment was on display at the PWHL's recent 2025 Takeover Tour, which drew major crowds as the league tested expansion prospects in non-market cities across North America.

Vancouver stood out, notching the the fourth-largest crowd in PWHL history when 19,038 fans showed up on January 8th — and claiming the highest social media engagement across all nine Tour stops.

That fan enthusiasm helped push Vancouver across the PWHL's expansion line, with the new team already making league history.

Besides marking the league's first-ever footprint on the the West Coast, Vancouver will become the first PWHL team to serve as the primary tenant in its home venue at the Pacific Coliseum.

The 17,713-seat arena and its adjacent PNE Agrodome — PWHL Vancouver's main training facility — will undergo extensive upgrades for the incoming franchise.

"The expansion brings greater visibility to the West Coast, expands out geographic footprint, and, most importantly, grows the game," said PWHL EVP of hockey operations Jayna Hefford.

A young fan holds up a sign reading "Just finished my 1st hockey season, PWHL here I come!" at a PWHL 2025 Takeover Tour game in Detroit.
PWHL execs said expansion adds roster spots for current and future league stars. (Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

League eyes next steps for expansion team

While the PWHL still has over 20 proposals from markets requesting a team — and rumors swirling that Seattle could join Vancouver as a 2025/26 season expansion contingent — the league is currently making more concrete plans for its official seventh squad.

"With this team comes more opportunities for the best women's hockey players in the world to continue competing in one league," remarked Hefford. "The talent pool has never been deeper, and with a strong 2025 draft class ahead, we're pleased that even more women are going to be able to play at the professional level."

Details for an upcoming expansion draft to begin stocking Vancouver's roster will be announced shortly, and the team will also take part in the 2025 PWHL Draft on June 24th.

"The PWHL is setting a new standard for women's hockey. The game has never been faster, more physical, or more skilled," Hefford added. "We're so excited for this city to experience the parity and the competitiveness that our league has every single game."

Bay FC to Host Washington at SF Giants Ballpark, Eye NWSL Attendance Record

A wide view of San Francisco's Oracle Park set up for a 2022 soccer match.
Oracle Park’s 40,000-seat capacity could set a new NWSL attendance record. (Doug Zimmerman/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

The NWSL is heading back to the ballparkwith 2024 expansion side Bay FC announcing Tuesday that the club will take on the Washington Spirit inside Oracle Park, the home of MLB's San Francisco Giants.

Shifting the August 23rd match to the baseball diamond isn't just a spectacle — the move builds on Bay FC's continuous ambitions to claim the top NWSL attendance record by filling the Bay Area ballpark's 40,260 seats.

Though the 25-year-old Oracle Park has previously hosted men's contests, August's NWSL match will be the first professional women's soccer game in the venue's history.

Similarly, while this will be the first NWSL competition in San Francisco's baseball venue, it's not the first league match in an MLB stadium.

Last summer, the Chicago Stars hosted Bay FC at Wrigley Field, packing an NWSL-record 35,038 soccer fans into the MLB home of the Chicago Cubs.

That June 8th, 2024, attendance surpassed the previous league-record crowd of 34,130 that attended USWNT icon Megan Rapinoe's final Seattle home game in 2023.

How to attend Bay FC vs. Washington at Oracle Park

To be a part of the potentially record-breaking August 23rd crowd, tickets will be available for general purchase beginning at 12 PM ET on May 6th.

Fans interested in securing pre-sale tickets can add their names to the online list.

Portland Rookies Top Gotham in Midweek NWSL Action

Portland forward Deyna Castellanos celebrates scoring a goal with her teammates in a 2025 NWSL win over Gotham.
Three Portland Thorns rookies scored their first NWSL goals on Tuesday. (Soobum Im/NWSL via Getty Images)

In Tuesday night's NWSL action, Portland upset a rising Gotham side 4-1 behind three debut goals from the Thorns' promising rookie class.

The rare midweek match came courtesy of next month's Concacaf W Champions Cup. Both Gotham and Portland advanced to the international club event's semifinals last October, forcing them to pull double-duty and add this week's extra regular-season NWSL game to accommodate the tournament's schedule.

The tight turnaround certainly didn't rattle the Thorns.

Portland newcomers Marie-Yasmine "Mimi" Alidou, Caiya Hanks, and Jayden Perry all earned their first NWSL goals in the match, before offseason signee Deyna Castellanos reinforced the victory with an 80th-minute chip.

As for Gotham, 32-year-old star forward Esther provided a bright spot for the NJ/NY squad, notching her fifth goal of the young season to boost herself to the top of the league's early Golden Boot race.

Despite the loss, Friday's strong outing against Angel City has Gotham still holding steady at No. 4 in the standings. However, both No. 5 Portland and No. 6 ACFC are close on the Bats' heels, with all three teams currently tied at eight points apiece.

"What I told the team is that we lost the battle tonight, but this is a long war," said Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amoros following the match. "We're there together on this."

How to watch Gotham, Portland this weekend

Gotham will take the pitch once again on Saturday, when they'll face East Coast rivals Washington at 1 PM ET. Live coverage will air on CBS.

Meanwhile, Portland will close out the NWSL's sixth matchday by hosting Racing Louisville at 4 PM ET on Sunday, streaming live on Paramount+.

TST Drops Expanded Women’s 7v7 Tournament Bracket

USWNT jerseys for Carli Lloyd and Ali Krieger hand in lockers before their 2019 World Cup quarterfinal.
Carli Lloyd and Ali Krieger will feature for the US Women’s 2025 TST 7v7 team. (Catherine Ivill - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

The Soccer Tournament (TST) presented by RBC Wealth Management revealed its 2025 women's bracket on Tuesday, with 16 7v7 teams gearing up to compete for the $1 million winner-take-all grand prize this June.

The US Women's Team is back to defend their 2024 title, fueled by World Cup-winning USWNT vets Heather O'Reilly, Carli Lloyd, and Ali Krieger, plus retired Scotland national and Bay FC defender Jen Beattie.

Additional teams participating in the competition include 7v7 offshoots of NWSL clubs Angel City, KC Current, and 2024 runners-up NC Courage, as well as former USWNT goalkeeper Hope Solo's Solo FC.

Returning to Cary, North Carolina, for its third year, TST doubled the size of its women's bracket after a successful eight-team debut in 2024.

"Our inaugural women's championship game viewership performed exceptionally well, as we grew our audience 452% from the beginning of the game until the moment the game-winning goal was scored," TST founder and CEO Jon Mugar told The Athletic.

"TST soccer is electrifying," Mugar added. "Our goal is to become the preeminent soccer festival in the world. Judging by the number of returning fans and teams, we are well on our way."

How to attend, watch the 2025 TST 7v7 contest

TST's 7v7 women's competition kicks off on June 5th and runs through the $1 million championship game on June 9th.

Tickets to attend are currently available online.

All matches will air live on either YouTube or ESPN platforms.

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