The first matchday of the 2025 UEFA Nations League tournament saw a few regional heavy-hitters shaking off the dust on Friday, with reigning Euros champs England settling for a 1-1 draw against Portugal while perennial contenders Germany similarly split points with the Netherlands after a 2-2 result.

Snagging an early lead for the Lionesses was forward Alessia Russo, who slotted in a ball from right-back Lucy Bronze in the match's 15th minute.

Unfortunately for England, however, Portugal extended their undefeated streak to 11 games after attacking midfielder Kika Nazareth scored a top-corner equalizer at the 75th minute mark to clinch the draw.

Germany and the Netherlands, who claimed third- and fourth-place, respectively, in the tournament's inaugural 2023/24 edition, opened their 2025 campaigns with a back-and-forth battle on Friday.

After Dutch star Lineth Beerensteyn opened scoring by nutmegging German net-minder and 2024 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year Ann-Katrin Berger in the 13th minute, Germany closed out the first half with an extra-time header from Lea Schüller to level the score.

The second half saw the Germans pull ahead thanks to a 50th-minute strike from Sjoeke Nüsken, before Beerensteyn again broke through with the match's final goal in the 66th minute.

After the match, new head coach Christian Wück, who took over the German team last March, told reporters, "We need to learn to maintain our focus, especially after taking the lead. It’s frustrating to draw after putting in such strong efforts."

Reigning champion Spain rallies for late comeback victory

Draws aside, defending Nations League winners Spain earned perhaps the wildest victory of the opening matchday, surging back from a 2-0 deficit against Belgium to claim all three points in a 3-2 finish.

The 2023 World Cup champions fell behind early after striker Mariam Toloba gave Belgium the edge in the game's 18th minute. Forward Tessa Wullaert doubled that lead in the 72nd minute, seemingly putting an emphatic end to Spain's hopes of a victory.

Clàudia Pina clawed one back for La Roja just five minutes later, but it took a pair of stoppage-time goals from Lucía García and late call-up Cristina Martín-Prieto to secure the literal last-second win.

Nations League to set up UEFA's 2027 World Cup qualifying

Established in 2022, the Women’s Nations League is now the continent’s qualifying tournament for the Euros, World Cup, and Olympics.

With records wiped following last year’s rollercoaster Olympic qualifiers, early Nations League matches now serve as a key window into the fast-approaching 2025 Euros — in addition to a heated competition in their own right.

On top of that, the outcome of this second-ever edition of the contest will determine teams' positioning for the 2026 European qualifiers for World Cup. Put simply, the finishing spots teams snag after 2025 Nations League play will determine their league paths to claiming one of UEFA's 11 available spots in the 2027 World Cup.

While there's a lot on the line, there's also a significant amount of action still to come. With four teams in each League A group, squads will play three round-robin home-and-away fixtures to determine their final group-play standings — meaning each of Friday's games have a rematch on the calendar before the stage ends on June 3rd.

The winners of the four League A groups will ultimately meet in the two-leg Nations League semifinals in October, with the two-leg third-place play-off and a final set for November and December.

Stakes are sky-high for Wednesday night's Cy-Hawk Series clash, as undefeated No. 10 Iowa State welcomes unbeaten No. 11 Iowa to Ames for the highest-ranked NCAA women's basketball matchup in the cross-state rivalry's history.

"[If] you grew up in the state, just there's nothing like it," Iowa head coach Jan Jensen said of the historic series. "You've dreamed, you've watched those big football matchups when you're little, you watched the basketball games when you were little, and to get to be in one — boy, it doesn't get much better."

"[It's] one of those things where it truly is a rivalry, because teams [go] back and forth and have their streaks and wins and losses," echoed Cyclones boss Bill Fennelly.

The red-hot Hawkeyes enter Wednesday's game with the head-to-head advantage having won three straight against the Cyclones — and eight of the last nine in the series.

That said, the Cyclones have the nation's leading scorer on their side, with junior center Audi Crooks's 27.6 points per game showcasing unmatched efficiency in the 2025/26 NCAA season.

"Audi's tough," Jensen said about the Iowa State star. "She's just really, really incredible…. When you let her get it, she's pretty accurate."

How to watch Iowa vs. Iowa State in the 2025 Cy-Hawk Series

The No. 11 Hawkeyes will visit the No. 10 Cyclones in the 2025 edition of the Cy-Hawk Series at 7 PM ET on Wednesday, with live coverage airing on ESPN.

The Washington Spirit are all in on forward Trinity Rodman, with club GM Nathan Minion telling reporters that the 2025 NWSL runners-up are working "pretty much daily" to re-sign the free agent despite salary cap concerns.

"I think everyone's trying to work together to get a deal in place," said Minion, acknowledging that the NWSL and the Spirit are actively working with each other to retain the 23-year-old star. "[We're] trying to figure this out and trying to get a resolution that can hopefully keep Trinity here with us for a long time."

"The reality is our current salary cap structure — it was built for a different era of women's soccer," said the DC club's recently hired president of soccer operations Haley Carter. "We're going to need mechanisms that allow NWSL clubs to compete for not only players from overseas, but our own players."

The NWSL vetoed the multi-million dollar offer from the Washington Spirit to keep Rodman last week, with the NWSLPA subsequently filing a grievance claiming the league violated the USWNT attacker's free agency rights by blocking the deal.

"These are nuanced conversations, and I would love to just toss the salary cap out the window and pay the players," said Carter. "But we also have to appreciate that, pragmatically, it isn't always payroll that's going to keep our athletes here. It's investment in other things as well."

"We are going to have to start getting creative, I believe, because it's bigger than just one team," continued Carter. "It's bigger than just one player. It's about the league's ability to keep its best players in this league as we continue to grow."

The NWSL transfer and hiring market is ramping up, with both the 14 existing clubs and two incoming expansion teams busy bolstering their 2026 ranks just weeks into the offseason.

Last week, Bay FC announced that England U-23 head coach Emma Coates will become the 2024 expansion club's second-ever manager, with fellow England youth national team and WSL staffer Gemma Davies joining Coates's NWSL crew as an assistant coach.

"I'm truly honored and super excited to build on the strong foundations that have already been established and to implement a clear identity both on and off the pitch," Coates said in Thursday's statement. "[Bay FC] shares my passion for people, performance, and culture, which I believe are fundamental to sustained success."

"Emma is not only an excellent coach, but she also has a proven track record of developing players to compete at the highest levels of both the domestic and international game," remarked Bay Collective CEO Kay Cossington. "Emma has consistently demonstrated an ability to bring players and teams to the next level with clarity, care and purpose. She understands what it takes to build environments where people thrive and perform at their best."

"Bay FC is gaining not only a great coach, but also someone that understands women's football and our athletes inside and out."

While Coates will wrap up her nearly three years at England's U-23 helm to join Bay FC in the coming days, three other NWSL teams are still searching for permanent sideline leaders this offseason, as the Kansas City Current, North Carolina Courage, and Portland Thorns continue to conduct coaching searches.

The Thorns joined the leaderless ranks in late November, parting ways with manager Rob Gale following the team's NWSL semifinals exit.

Reigning WNBA champion A'ja Wilson picked up yet another honor this week, as TIME crowned the four-time league MVP its 2025 Athlete of the Year on Tuesday.

The Las Vegas Aces center became the first player in WNBA history to win a championship, Finals MVP, league MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season, with the 29-year-old sweeping the league's awards this year.

"This year, I collected everything," Wilson said in her TIME interview. "I don't really talk much sh-t — I mean crap. I kind of let my game do it."

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Wilson described the Aces' midseason slump as a focusing agent in her 2025 TIME Athlete of the Year feature, with the skid launching the team on course to their third championship win in four years.

"I think 2025 was a wake-up call that I needed, to let me know that I can't be satisfied with anything," said Wilson. "There's somebody out there that's going to try to take your job. You need to make sure you're great at it, every single day."

Wilson also spoke to the strained relationship between players and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, whose leadership came under fire in October as CBA negotiations kicked into high gear.

"I only know Cathy by when she hands me trophies," Wilson said. "If that's her true self, thank you for showing that. Thank you for saying those things. Because now we see you for who you are, and now we're about to work even harder at this negotiation."

With the latest CBA extension expiring on January 9th, Wilson promised that the players are all-in on negotiations through the holiday season.

“All of us are going to be at the table, and we're not moving until we get exactly what we want."