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 World Cup news: Marta’s sixth World Cup ends in group stage

A legendary World Cup career came to an end Wednesday, as Marta and Brazil bowed out in the group stage in a scoreless draw with Jamaica. She leaves her final World Cup as the top goalscorer in tournament history.

Marta nearly added another Wednesday in her first start of the tournament for Brazil. She came inches from finding the back of the net in the fifth minute.

Marta comes this close to finding the opener 👀🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/u3JK70bUMg

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 2, 2023

Ultimately, though, Brazil fell short, marking the first time since 1995 that the team has failed to advance out of the group stage. In contrast, Jamaica earned its first trip to the knockout rounds. Marta and Jamaica’s Khadija “Bunny” Shaw shared a moment after the match in a symbolic passing of the guard.

Marta and Bunny Shaw share a moment after the match ❤️ pic.twitter.com/LIkNYN4oun

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 2, 2023

And Marta herself issued a call to action in a passionate postgame interview.

“Continue supporting women’s football,” she said. “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to play in another World Cup… Hugely grateful. … But for (my teammates) it’s not over, for Brazil and the world, continue to support. For Marta, that is the last World Cup. For me, that is the end, but it’s just the beginning for the others.”

The 37-year-old forward won’t be retiring from the game just yet, but ahead of the tournament she said that “we have to understand that a time comes for us to prioritize other things.”

She not only stands as the top goalscorer in tournament history but also the first player to score in five consecutive World Cups, though she did not score in this one.

“I knew that she was big, she’s a famous player,” Brazil coach Pia Sundhage had said before the game. “[But I] couldn’t even imagine how big she is in Brazil. … I get very emotional just being around such a good player. Not only what she’s going to do tomorrow, but what she’s done for so many years and been a fantastic role model.”

Today’s top highlight: Bunny Shaw and Jamaica celebrate knockout round berth

After crowdfunding their way to the World Cup, Jamaica will advance to the knockout rounds for the first time. The unforgettable moment was celebrated by the players and coaches after Wednesday’s draw with Brazil to close out the group stage.

“This is one of the best days I’ve ever had in my life,” Jamaica coach Lorne Donaldson said. “To see a country like Jamaica be able to do this, it’s unbelievable. The girls are doing it for the country, the country should be proud.

“We had resilience, fight. We are going into a war and we need to be ready,” he added. “And it was a war, and we stayed in the battle.”

BUNNY SHAW AND JAMAICA DESERVE TO CELEBRATE 🇯🇲 pic.twitter.com/C2KJfsTUGL

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 2, 2023

Today’s results:

• Sweden 2, Argentina 0
• South Africa 3, Italy 2
• France 6, Panama 3
• Jamaica 0, Brazil 0

More World Cup news to know:

• Marta Cox scored first against France on a banger, but it didn’t take long for Les Bleues to get going – particularly Kadidiatou Diani, who notched a hat trick for her first goals of the tournament. In the end, France put up six goals despite resting some of their big-name players.
• The USWNT will face Sweden, which won Group G and maintained its perfect World Cup record with a 2-0 win over Argentina. The last time these two teams met resulted in a 3-0 loss for the USWNT at the Tokyo Olympics. Still, World Cup history favors the USWNT, which holds a 4-1-1 record against Sweden in World Cup competition.

The WNBA is taking a weekend road trip, as the No. 2 Atlanta Dream and No. 8 Seattle Storm head across the border to Vancouver, British Columbia, for the league's first-ever in-season Canada Game on Friday night.

The game features a rematch of Atlanta's 85-75 win over the Storm on Wednesday, with the win propelling the Dream up the WNBA standings — and threatening to drop Seattle out of postseason contention entirely.

"Time is running out, and the team knows it," Seattle head coach Noelle Quinn said earlier this week. "I didn't want to put so much pressure on them, but they know the situation, and they understand the urgency."

While Friday marks the first regular-season WNBA matchup played outside the US, the league has previously staged two preseason games in Canada, tipping off in Toronto in 2023 and Edmonton in 2024 — both in front of sold-out crowds.

Toronto's 2023 exhibition appeared to serve as a trial run for expansion, with the league awarding the Canadian city its first franchise — the 2026-incoming Toronto Tempo — earlier this year.

While plans for a formal move to Vancouver hasn't yet surfaced, the WNBA's explosive popularity and rapid growth outlook provide plenty of room for new markets to enter the conversation.

How to watch the 2025 WNBA Canada Game

The No. 8 Seattle Storm and No. 2 Atlanta Dream will square off inside Vancouver's Rogers Arena at 10 PM ET on Friday night.

Live coverage of the WNBA Canada Game clash will air on ION.

Coming off a series of strategic transactions, the No. 10 Washington Mystics will forge ahead on Friday night, taking on the short-staffed No. 6 Indiana Fever with a chance to play spoiler as they reshape their 2025 expectations from below the postseason cutoff line.

"There's just so many different success stories with this group," Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson said following Washington's 88-83 loss to the No. 7 Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday.

The Mystics have lost five of their last six games, and will take the court on Friday without injured new addition Jacy Sheldon and starting center Shakira Austin.

While Washington exceeded this year's early-season projections — skyrocketing above the playoff line behind leading scorer Brittney Sykes and the dynamic rookie duo of Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron — the now-fading Mystics chose to shift gears at the trade deadline, sending Sykes to the No. 8 Seattle Storm and shipping second-year forward Aaliyah Edwards off to the No. 13 Connecticut Sun.

With their natural 2026 draft pick secured, Washington has a shot at adding a top first-round prospect should they play out the rest of the regular season at the bottom of the WNBA standings — in other words, by strategically tanking the final weeks of 2025 play.

On the other hand, the injury-laden Indiana enters Friday's action eyeing a win after falling to the No. 11 Dallas Wings by just one point on Tuesday.

How to watch the Washington Mystics vs. Indiana Fever on Friday

The No. 10 Mystics will take on the No. 6 Fever in Indianapolis at 7:30 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage airing on ION.

A top-table battle headlines the NWSL this weekend, as the No. 1 Kansas City Current hosts the No. 2 Orlando Pride for a possible postseason rehearsal on Saturday.

Led by Golden Boot frontrunner Temwa Chawinga, the Current enter the weekend with a full 12-point lead over the rest of the league, as reigning NWSL Shield and Championship winners Orlando push to make a statement.

"We are resilient. That is part of our identity. We never give up and we are always playing to win, and we always believe in ourselves," Pride defender Kylie Nadaner said following last Saturday's 1-1 draw with Racing Louisville.

More than just a clash between the top two teams in the NWSL standings, history shows very little love lost between these perennial heavy-hitters.

Last season, Orlando snapped KC's NWSL-record 17-game unbeaten streak on the Current's home turf, then took Kansas City down again in the pair's 2024 semifinal playoff match.

"We will remember the way they acted after the cameras were off," Current forward Michelle Cooper posted to social media after their July 2024 loss.

Kansas City has already issued some regular-season revenge on their way up the table this year, defeating the Pride 1-0 back in May.

How to watch Kansas City vs. Orlando this NWSL weekend

The No. 1 Current will kick off against the No. 2 Pride at 4 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage airing on CBS.

NBA 2K is going all in on the WNBA, with the popular video game expanding its MyTEAM mode this week to allow athletes from both leagues to star on the same team when the 2K26 edition drops next month.

"MyTEAM is where competition meets a basketball fan's wildest imagination," explained Visual Concepts VP of NBA development Erick Boenisch. "By integrating the WNBA into one of our most popular modes, we're not only giving players the opportunity to customize their all-time dream rosters but shining a spotlight on some of the game's most iconic hoopers. We're looking forward to giving our players a new and deeper way to engage with the WNBA."

"Players can now mix and match current superstars and legends from both leagues, and compete with more dream lineup combinations than ever before," NBA 2K said in Thursday's release.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

"Pair Paige Bueckers with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, throw a lob from Sheryl Swoopes to Shaquille O'Neal, or run a pick-and-roll with Angel Reese and Carmelo Anthony," the franchise continued.

NBA 2K has ramped up its WNBA integration significantly since the league's debut in the 2K20 edition, expanding from Play Now and Season modes to the upcoming 2K26 version's virtual press conferences, pre-draft interviews, social media refreshes, and Top-10 player ratings.

How to buy the WNBA Edition of NBA 2K26

With Chicago Sky sophomore Angel Reese playing cover star, the WNBA Edition of NBA 2K26 will be sold exclusively in physical form at GameStop, dropping along with the other versions of the popular video game on September 5th.

Fans can purchase the WNBA version through the gaming retailer's presale now.