Heather O’Reilly knows the U.S. women’s national team needs to make some changes in order to succeed at the 2023 World Cup. But will head coach Vlatko Andonovski make those changes? The World Cup champion turned Fox Sports analyst isn’t so sure.

The USWNT advanced to the Round of 16 by the grace of a goalpost, which preserved a scoreless draw with Portugal to close out the group stage. The defending champions will face Sweden, and they’ll do so without Rose Lavelle, who must sit after picking up two yellow cards in the past two games.

Andonovski has faced his fair share of criticism for USWNT’s poor performance relative to its usual World Cup results. And for O’Reilly, who won three Olympic gold medals and a World Cup during her 14-year career with the team, those results will not come without tactical changes.

“We would all be naive if we thought we could win this World Cup with the way that we look right now,” O’Reilly said after Tuesday’s draw with Portugal. “So there needs to be changes. And there needs to be big changes. Whether or not Vlatko Andonovski is going to make the changes, well, that’s another story.”

What are the changes O’Reilly suggests? For one, move Julie Ertz back to the midfield, which has sorely missed her absence as she spent the group stage at center-back. In her place, start Alana Cook on the backline.

“I want to see Julie Ertz in the midfield, OK?” O’Reilly said. “We don’t have Rose Lavelle. This is exactly what happened in 2015. Lauren Cheney got a yellow card, that forced Carli Lloyd up the field, and we all know what happened. Maybe Rose Lavelle getting yanked because of the yellow card situation is the exact catalyst that we need to spice it up, to have a new look.”

If, by some miracle, Andonovski does decide to switch up his formation in any way, shape or form, O’Reilly promises to go cage diving with sharks, per a bet she made with her fellow Fox Sports analysts.

“I think we could take this conversation two different ways: what would I do, and what do I think Vlatko Andonovski (is going to do),” she said when asked about whether or not Crystal Dunn should shift from the defense to the midfield.

“Because there’s no way that Vlatko Andonovski is going to change his defensive shape at this point,” she continued. “I would be shocked… I will shark dive if Vlatko Andonovski changes his backline for this game — shape or personnel… He ain’t doing it.”

When asked about her suggestion to shift Ertz back to the midfield in the absence of Lavelle, with Alana Cook as Ertz’s replacement center-back, she conceded the point.

“Well, we’ve got to make some change in the midfield, so that’s a decent bet,” she said. “So I guess I’d be swimming with the fishes.”

Ertz could play the role of “an enforcer” in the midfield — and the USWNT might not have any other choice, without Lavelle in the mix. The team needs something – anything, really – to spark some life.

“It’s a trade-off,” O’Reilly said. “[Ertz in the midfield] is going to be an enforcer. She’s going to make things happen. She might even get on the end of a cross. You have to. The chips are all in.

“There’s no way we are going to win the World Cup in the state that we are right now. I really do think Vlatko Andonovski knows that. I think he’s happy about a couple things, not conceding any goals, but he’s not an idiot. He’s got four more games to plod through.”

Women's tennis got a boost on Wednesday, as the WTA announced it would institute rankings pauses for players who step away from competition to undergo fertility protection treatments like egg or embryo freezing.

Players returning from a procedure can opt to receive a Special Entry Ranking, calculated using their 12-week average ranking starting from eight weeks before taking leave.

Players can use that unique ranking to enter up to three tournaments at the WTA 500, 250, or 125 levels before the governing body will again institute traditional calculations.

The protection extends to any player ranked among the world's top 750 who spends more than 10 weeks out of competition.

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These latest rankings protection further secures the careers of tennis pro parents, who first earned special rankings in the 2019 WTA season after Serena Willams and Victoria Azarenka saw their seedings plummet simply from stepping away from competition to give birth.

The move also comes three months after the WTA agreed to grant players paid maternity leave for the very first time.

"I'm incredibly proud of our sport in recognizing the importance of fertility treatments for female athletes," said 2017 US Open champ and longtime reproductive health support advocate Sloane Stephens. "For any woman, the conversation of family life versus a career is nuanced and complex."

"It's truly ground-breaking and will empower this generation, and future generations of players, to continue with the sport they love without having to compromise."

Last week's landmark $2.8 billion House v. NCAA settlement is back in the headlines, as eight women's college sports athletes filed an appeal on Wednesday claiming that the approved NIL back-payment plan violates Title IX, the federal law banning gender discrimination in schools.

On June 6th, a federal judge approved a settlement between the NCAA and former student-athletes, with the college sports governing body agreeing to have schools directly distribute billions of dollars in back pay to players barred from financially benefitting off their name, image, and likeness since 2016.

Wednesday's appeal to that back-pay plan calls out alleged payment inequities written into the settlement ruling, which could see up to 90% of the $2.8 billion distributed to former NCAA men's sports athletes.

"The calculation of past damages is based on an error that ignores Title IX and deprives female athletes of $1.1 billion," said Ashlyn Hare, one of the lawyers representing the appellants. "Paying out the money as proposed would be a massive error that would cause irreparable harm to women's sports."

"If Nike wants to [pay male athletes more], that is their choice. If the school, or a conference acting on the school's behalf tries to do that, they are violating the law," John Clune, another lawyer on the team, clarified.

"They can either pay the athletes proportionately, or they can return all of their federal funds," said Clune. "But they can't do both."

With the USWNT back in action for the next set of summer friendlies later this month, head coach Emma Hayes filled ESPN in on her roster strategy earlier this week.

Hayes will rest all Europe-based US players during the upcoming international window, instead relying on domestic talent following a jam-packed year for the team's European stars.

"We don't necessarily decide the international calendar, but this is one where we think it's in the best interest of the players," Hayes said, noting both past demands and the increasingly busy road to the 2027 World Cup.

With player welfare and recovery top-of-mind, the lone exception to Hayes's European omissions is Chelsea FC defender Naomi Girma, who made her 2025 USWNT debut on May 31st.

The US manager is seeking more minutes for the star center back after Girma spent much of the year recovering from a calf injury.

Hayes also revealed some key updates on other injured players, with fans eager to see midfielder Rose Lavelle and forward Trinity Rodman return to the USWNT fold.

After a lengthy recovery from ankle surgery, Lavelle — who made her first NWSL appearance of 2025 in Gotham FC's 2-1 loss to Kansas City last Saturday — could return to international play this month.

Rodman remains slightly further out from returning to the USWNT roster, with Hayes saying she expects the Spirit forward to begin seeing club minutes sometime next month.

The USWNT core is coming together, with Stateside players looking to seize the chance to prove their worth as club soccer approaches its summer hiatus.

The NWSL is locking in its summer calendar, as teams across the league announce special July friendlies ahead of the regular-season break for major global tournaments.

Without a planned league-wide tournament like 2024's NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, its up to individual clubs to fill their schedules until NWSL play resumes in August.

While there might not be a trophy at the end, the gap does provide an opportunity for some fresh friendly competition beyond the confines of the league.

The North Carolina Courage will welcome Liga MX titans and Concacaf W Champions Cup contenders Tigres UANL back to the States for a one-off exhibition match on July 9th.

Then on July 12th, Kansas City will kick off its Teal Rising Cup, a four-team friendly tournament pitting the NWSL's Current and Chicago Stars against Brazil's Série A1 clubs Corinthians and Palmeiras.

Late July will see both the Seattle Reign and Bay FC square off against Japan's WE League champions the Urawa Red Diamonds, with Bay tacking on an additional July 19th friendly against Angel City.

The USL Super League is also getting in on the summer interleague action, with the NWSL's Angel City facing the Carolina Ascent on July 26th after Racing Louisville hosts crosstown USL squad Lexington SC on July 13th — giving fans a glimpse at how the two US systems stack up against one another.

As teams juggle lineups in the wake of summer international departures, these July friendlies may feature decidedly different rosters than regular-season play — though hungry NWSL fans likely won't mind.