The first international window of the NWSL season is here, allowing us all to take a giant deep breath and enjoy some USWNT friendlies.

Each NWSL team has 4-5 games under their belt, and it feels like this break is coming at a good time for most. The Pride at the top of the table will hope the two weeks allows Sydney Leroux time to get healthy, while Kansas City at the bottom will take the much needed time to continue to develop players as the team searches for their first win.

Here’s how I see the league today:

10. Kansas City (–)

With a loss to Houston, Kansas City stays in last place in the Power Rankings and the actual table. They’ll want to take these few weeks to go back to the drawing board as they continue to search for their first win of the season. 

9. Racing Louisville (-1)

Michelle Betos stood on her head and Louisville still lost 3-0 to Portland. Being a “young team” is one thing — conceding eight goals in their last two matches is another. 

8. Chicago Red Stars (+1)

They’ve been terribly inconsistent BUT the Red Stars just got their biggest win of the season, in their best performance of the season, with a 1-0 upset over the North Carolina Courage. THIS is the Red Stars team that needs to show up for them to get back into the playoff conversation.

7. Houston Dash (–)

The Dash had to beat last-place Kansas City and they did just that. A small step forward, but they’re trending in the right direction. 

6. OL Reign (–)

They might have deserved more out of their loss to Gotham FC, but they now have lost two straight games on a set piece goal. Will the French connection (and return of Alana Cook) be the difference maker when we return?

5. North Carolina Courage (-3)

That Louisville thrashing is starting to look more like an outlier as the Courage were shut out again, even with the likes of Lynn Williams, Jess McDonald, Sam Mewis and Debinha in the starting XI. If you take out that 5-0 win over Louisville, the Courage only have one goal in their other three games. Ouch. 

4. Gotham FC (+1)

How spoiled are Gotham FC to have two goalkeepers who simply know how to win? It’s hard not to root for this team.

3. Washington Spirit (+1)

The Spirit are good. They dominated Orlando, and had it not been for Ashlyn Harris and the crossbar, likely would have walked away with 3 points. They’ll be disappointed to have just about gifted Orlando the tying goal, but they can still go into the break with their heads held high.

2. Portland Thorns (+1)

With their second straight win (and clean sheet), the Thorns appear to have found their footing again. Louisville never threatened and the defense is looking less leaky than it did in their two straight losses. 

1. Orlando Pride (–)

The draw against Washington wasn’t their prettiest or most dominant game of the season, but they still came away with a point. We also learned just how much Sydney Leroux matters to the Pride keeping the ball out of their own end. This is what elite teams do: they learn how to win ugly and without all their players. 

The New York Liberty appear to be back on track, with the reigning champs leapfrogging the Phoenix Mercury to reclaim the No. 2 spot in the WNBA standings on Wednesday night.

Led by a 24-point, 11-rebound double-double from star forward Breanna Stewart, the Liberty punched a 98-77 win over a Caitlin Clark-less No. 6 Indiana Fever, as the 2025 WNBA All-Star captain remains day-to-day with a groin injury.

With Wednesday's victory, New York is now riding a three-game winning streak into All-Star weekend — and there's even more good news is on the horizon for the Liberty with starting center Jonquel Jones expected to return from her ankle injury after the break.

As for now-No. 3 Phoenix, New York's gain is the Mercury's loss, as their Wednesday clash with the league-leading Lynx ended 79-66 in Minnesota's favor while injured Phoenix stars Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper rode the bench.

Expansion upstart Golden State has also started to skid, leaving the Valkyries entering the break at No. 9 with three consecutive losses — including a 67-58 stumble against the No. 4 Seattle Storm on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, the No. 8 Las Vegas Aces have begun to regroup, entering the All-Star break on a two-game winning streak behind 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson and her combined 71 points and 26 rebounds over the last two games.

With the second half of the 2025 season tipping off following this weekend's All-Star festivities, momentum will be at a premium as early performances roll into postseason trajectories.

World No. 13 Italy advanced to the 2025 Euro semifinals on Wednesday, defeating No. 16 Norway 2-1 in dramatic fashion to make it past the tournament's quarterfinals for the first time since 1997.

Captain Cristiana Girelli played hero, scoring both of Italy's goals — including a 90th-minute game-winner to successfully avoid extra time.

"I felt something different, something special," Girelli said following the match. "I have seen in the eyes of my teammates a special light."

Norway, however, faced a disappointing tournament exit, after captain Ada Hegerberg missed a penalty before scoring the team's lone goal in the second half.

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Next on the 2025 Euro quarterfinals pitch are No. 6 Sweden and No. 5 England, as the European heavyweights face off in one of the round's most-anticipated matchups.

Sweden topped Group C with three emphatic wins, setting them up to take on the runners-up of the competition's notorious "Group of Death" — the reigning Euro champion Lionesses.

England enters the matchup on a two-game winning streak, picking up points against the No. 11 Netherlands and No. 30 Wales after falling to No. 10 France to open group play.

"They're relentless when it comes to tournament football," England captain Leah Williamson said of the Tokyo Olympic silver medalists. "They're just a very organized team."

How to watch Sweden vs. England in the 2025 Euro quarterfinals

The 2025 quarterfinals continue with Sweden taking on England at 3 PM ET on Thursday, live on FOX.

The WNBA has set the scene for this weekend's 2025 All-Star Game, laying out a handful of special rules meant to liven up the on-court action.

The game will introduce four major changes: a four-point shot, a 20-second shot clock, live-play substitutions, and automatic points for free throws.

While four-point shots aren't a new All-Star Game invention, last year's matchup between the WNBA All-Stars and Team USA did not feature them.

To sink a four-point shot on Saturday, the shooting player must have contact with one of the four marked circles on the court, located 28 feet from the rim.

With four seconds taken off the shot clock to speed up the game, All-Star squads will also be able to make a one-player substitution while the ball is in play — so long as the team in question has possession in their backcourt.

As for the "No Free-Throws" rule, free-throw shooting will only occur in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, plus the full length of any overtime period(s).

Prior to the final two minutes of regulation, players will be automatically credited the maximum available point(s) incurred by the foul.

How to watch the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game

The 2025 WNBA All-Star Game will tip off in Indianapolis at 8:30 PM ET on Saturday.

Live coverage of the game will air on ABC.

Women won big at Wednesday's 2025 ESPY Awards, with star athletes from across women's sports earning top honors for outstanding performances over the past year.

Leading the charge was seven-time Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles with ESPYS for both Best Athlete, Women's Sports and Best Championship Performance for her trio of golds at last summer's Paris Games.

"Six-year-old me, who first started tumbling on my parents' sofa in the living room, is floored to be standing before you right now," Biles shared in one of her speeches.

Biles's Team USA teammate Suni Lee, who brought her doctor to the awards, won Best Comeback Athlete after battling kidney disease to return to top the Olympic podium.

The night's Best Breakthrough Athlete was USA Rugby star and 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Ilona Maher, who used part of her speech to encourage young women and girls, telling them to "Take up space. Pitch it faster. Run harder. Put another plate on the bar. And never tone it down."

Also snagging honors as the top athletes in their respective sports were Coco Gauff (Best Tennis Player), Caitlin Clark (Best WNBA Player), Katie Taylor (Best Boxer), and JuJu Watkins (Best College Athlete, Women's Sports).

Meanwhile, USWNT icon Alex Morgan and WNBA legend Diana Taurasi shared this year's Icon Award in recognition of the new retirees' impacts on their respective sports.

"Our mission has always been very similar," Morgan said in her acceptance speech alongside Taurasi. "We fought to leave our game in a better place than where we found it."

Off-court efforts earn 2025 ESPY Awards

Sports leaders whose impact surpassed the proverbial playing field also took home trophies on Wednesday night.

In recognition of her foundation's commitment to promoting diversity and providing tennis opportunities to underserved communities, US legend Sloane Stephens won this year's Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award.

Later, Penn State volleyball head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley earned a standing ovation alongside her Jimmy V Award for Perseverance.

Schumacher-Cawley, who became the first woman to helm a national title-winning volleyball team by leading her Nittany Lions to the 2024 NCAA Championship last December, did so while battling breast cancer.

"Cancer changed my life, but it didn't take it," said an emotional Schumacher-Cawley. "It didn't take my belief, it didn't take my spirit, and it didn't take my team."