The U.S. women’s national soccer team traveled to Australia on a mission to give their less experienced players an opportunity against a world-class opponent.

On Saturday, the team accomplished that mission. Nine players with fewer than 10 caps saw the field, leading the USWNT to a 3-0 win over the Matildas in a friendly rematch of the Olympic bronze-medal game this past summer (a 4-3 win for U.S.).

As the USWNT prepares to face Australia again on Tuesday, head coach Vlatko Andonovski has plenty of talent to work with as he begins to build his 2023 World Cup roster. Despite stellar performances from the younger players in the Australia opener, it’s safe to assume only a few of those new faces will stick around since the USWNT still has a solid core of veterans — most of whom helped bring home the program’s fourth World Cup title in 2019.

If there’s one new player we should be confident about coming out of Saturday’s game, it’s goalkeeper Casey Murphy. The 25-year-old made eight saves in the win, including a few key stops in the final 10 minutes of the first half, earning her Player of the Match. Her ability to make those saves in front of a record-breaking Australian crowd of 36,109, and against strikers like NWSL all-time leading goal scorer Sam Kerr, shows she can rise to the occasion. Murphy stepped up in another high-pressure situation three weeks ago with her NWSL team, holding the Washington Spirit scoreless through regulation of their quarterfinal game until the eventual league champions scored in extra time.

Ashley Hatch, the player who buried the game-winner against Murphy in that quarterfinal, also rocketed onto the scene Saturday. In her third cap and first start with the USWNT, Hatch scored in the first 24 seconds to record the third-fastest goal in USWNT history. The 26-year-old has natural goal-scoring instincts, doesn’t take scoring opportunities for granted and has shown no signs of having a “weaker foot.” Of the 11 goals she scored in the NWSL this season, five were with her right foot, four were with her left and two came off her head.

If Andonovski is looking for goal scorers, Hatch is arguably the best option right now. But if he’s searching for goal scorers with versatility, that’s where Hatch will have to step up her game. Her ball distribution needs some work compared to other strikers in the mix for the USWNT.

A minute's worth of highlights, and you already know what the first 24 seconds are... pic.twitter.com/WWZLg1j1f8

— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) November 27, 2021

While USWNT veterans Rose Lavelle, Lindsey Horan and Andi Sullivan started in the midfield on Saturday, the frontline had less experience, and it showed in their inability to connect with the midfielders at times.

One of those players was Midge Purce, who has a bright future on this team even if her ascent has been gradual. She missed a couple of key shots against Australia, but she made an impact on the game in other ways, most notably beating her defender down the right flank and finding Lavelle with a perfectly placed cross for the USWNT’s second goal. What makes Purce’s case even stronger is her versatility. With the experience of playing fullback, the 26-year-old often pressures opponents to make back passes out of the USWNT’s defensive third, a skill not all forwards can execute as well.

#USWNT goal No. 18 for @roselavelle#USWNT assist No. 1 for @100Purcent.

2-0, USA 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/alXmiYHpfD

— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) November 27, 2021

Forward Bethany Balcer subbed in for her first cap in the 78th minute as the first former NAIA player to appear for the USWNT. She was excellent off the ball, forcing Australia into pressure with her ball-hawking. On the ball, the 24-year-old should look to take her space more instead of trying to pass too early, which will likely come once she gets more comfortable with the team.

The other forward Andonovski subbed in Saturday was Morgan Weaver, a speedy and smart player who has a knack for setting up scoring opportunities with clever passes. Entering the game in the 74th minute, she brought energy to the frontline and became the lone forward as the team moved to a 5-4-1 formation in the last 10 minutes. Given Weaver’s high work rate, it would make sense for her to get more playing time on Tuesday.

On the backline, Sofia Huerta is another tireless player who earned her eighth cap against Australia. Subbing in as a fullback at the start of the second half, she quickly made an impact with her playmaking abilities, setting up Purce with a header that led to Lavelle’s goal just three minutes into the half. The next step for Huerta is making runs up the field herself to get involved in the attack.

Emily Fox looked more comfortable carrying the ball out of the back Saturday. That energy didn’t necessarily translate to the other end, where she was slow in defensive transition. Of the eight shots Australia had in the first half, Fox could have done a better job preventing at least three. For the sake of her development, Andonovski said he’s already told her she’ll be invited to January camp.

Alana Cook earned her third cap at center back next to Tierna Davidson, but played like anything but one of the USWNT’s newcomers. While the experienced U.S. midfield struggled to shut down the middle of the park in their own half, Cook was an expert at reading Australia’s runs. And once the ball was at her feet, she stayed composed, consistently threading good balls through the middle while opposing players clawed at her back. The OL Reign defender lets the ball do the work, which is the kind of calmness the team needs to build up the attack.

This match didn’t offer much of an opportunity to evaluate midfielder Ashley Sanchez, who subbed on for her first cap in the 84th minute, when the USWNT’s main focus was keeping the ball out of their third and the play had turned sloppy. She brought good energy as the U.S. held on for the shutout, but if she gets more time Tuesday, she’ll need to deliver better first touches and quicker, simpler passes. She likes to carry the ball and find space for herself, which works when teammates aren’t providing options, but an easy pass is usually there instead.

Goalkeeper Bella Bixby and defender Imani Dorsey were the only other uncapped players on the roster who didn’t make an appearance Saturday. Expect them to get time Tuesday.

Andonovski has some tough roster decisions to make in the coming months as the U.S. gears up for the 2023 World Cup. The opening match with Australia allowed him to assess players’ technical abilities on the high-stakes international stage. Tuesday should give him a better opportunity to evaluate tactics now that the new players are more familiar with each other.

Kickoff of the second match between the U.S. and Australia is Tuesday at 4:05 a.m. ET on ESPN.

Jessa Braun is an editorial intern for Just Women’s Sports. She is also the Head of North American Content for the Women’s Sports Alliance. You can find her on Twitter @jessabraun.

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

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Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

• No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.

• No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.