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Julie Foudy: USWNT is in ‘rebuild’ ahead of 2023 World Cup

Andi Sullivan, Kristie Mewis, Rose Lavelle and Mallory Pugh enter Red Bull Arena before the USWNT’s match against Germany on Nov. 13. (Erin Chang/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

The men’s World Cup in Qatar brought attention to the progress the U.S. women’s national team has made off the pitch in the form of its equal pay deal. But on the pitch, its roster is dealing with growing pains, U.S. soccer legend Julie Foudy tells Just Women’s Sports.

As the men’s national team made its World Cup run, the USWNT made headlines, as for the first time under their new CBAs, the teams are sharing their FIFA prize money equally. The USMNT advanced to the knockout round, which put both squads in line to receive $5.85 million each — but for Foudy, the change is about more than the bottom line.

“The U.S. Soccer logo and mantra has always been ‘one nation, one team,’ right? But now it really feels like that,” Foudy says. “They always did support each other, but it just feels very different now.

“It feels the way it should be, and I’m glad we finally got to that because that’s really how it should be. We should all be rowing in the same boat together.”

Yet as attention turns from the USMNT and the 2022 tournament to the USWNT and the 2023 World Cup, there has been an uptick in concern about the women’s readiness.

For the first time since 1993, the team lost three games in a row, falling to England, Spain and Germany late this year. While the U.S. managed to avoid a fourth straight loss, ending their 2022 schedule with a win over Germany, questions remain.

Foudy sees the losses as part of the process for a developing roster.

“You’re playing against three of the best teams in the world who could easily win this next World Cup. And that’s what you want to see at that level,” she said. “And they’re still so young. I mean, that’s the thing we often forget when people start to panic about what is happening with this team.

“This is a rebuild. That’s going to take some time.”

Foudy pointed to forwards Mallory Pugh and Sophia Smith as bright spots for the squad.

“The power of those two young gunners is incredible to see,” she said, noting that their ability to open up space for Alex Morgan in the No. 9 spot makes it hard for teams to handle the USWNT attack.

“The challenge, of course, is that you can’t just rely on those two to be carrying the team, which is what a lot of that looked like in those four games,” she added.

Still, the USWNT great sees potential in the front five, including Rose Lavelle and Lindsey Horan. Catarina Macario should also make her return from an ACL tear in early 2023.

While the team has dealt with a plethora of injuries, there has been “too much discussion” about the team’s missing players from both the media and U.S. Soccer staff, Foudy said.

“Guess what? That’s part of soccer,” she said. “Yes, the U.S. has a ton of injuries right now. But that’s part of it. It’s the next person up.”

Other national teams have players missing, Foudy noted. Spain’s Alexia Putellas is sidelined with a torn ACL, while England’s Beth Mead recently tore her ACL and could miss next summer’s World Cup.

“It happens for every team, every country. It is not just with this national team,” Foudy said. “And so do they miss Macario? Yes. Do they miss maybe a [Christen] Press if she was able to go? Yes. Tobin Heath is injured. I mean, Sam Mewis? Julie Ertz?

“The reality is, they may not have them [next summer]. And so you, you just deal with the hand you’re dealt.”

The USWNT must rely on its depth as they move into 2023 and continue to prepare for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

“When I hear anything coming from some of the staff at U.S. Soccer, like, enough,” Foudy said. “We know about the people who are injured. Let’s focus on what you have.”

Another World Cup discussion, though, has been fun for Foudy: The debate over whether the beautiful game should be called football or soccer.

Foudy, alongside Brandi Chastain and Mia Hamm, participated in a Frito-Lay ad campaign about the debate, which gave her the chance to work with legendary director Michael Bay.

“He was amazing and, of course, hysterical,” Foudy said.

While she came in knowing the script for the commercial, she and Chastain were allowed to riff off of one another at the direction of Bay.

“That’s the beauty of Michael, too, is you can kind of pivot while he’s [directing],” she added. “He’s seen things and he’s reacting to stuff. He was great.”

The campaign was headlined by David Beckham and Peyton Manning, two of the best in their respective sports. Also joining the star-studded cast were Javier “Chicarito” Hernández and Tim Howard.

“It was just so fun to see it come together,” Foudy said. “When you’re hearing about where their shoots were, how they were doing and to watch the different iterations of it.”

Working alongside Chastain was not new to Foudy — after all, they were teammates for the entirety of their national team careers. The two-time World Cup winner admits that whenever the two hang out for long periods of time, “trouble ensues.”

“In a good way, good dribble,” she assured. “It was really fun.”

The commercial, which has run throughout the men’s World Cup, elicits “healthy debate,” which Foudy loves.

“The thing I hear from people who’ve watched it, and so many people have responded to it, is they just love it, right?” she said. “They love that it’s fun, it’s bringing people together, they’re debating it in a healthy way. The world needs a lot more healthy debate, in a way. Which is essentially what the World Cup does, which is what the commercial does.”

PWHL Announces Vancouver Expansion Franchise Ahead of 2025/26 Season

New York's Jade Downie-Landry and Ottawa's Shiann Darkangelo face-off during a 2025 PWHL game.
The seventh PWHL team will be in Vancouver. (Troy Parla/Getty Images)

The PWHL is officially expanding, with the second-year pro women's hockey league awarding Vancouver its seventh franchise on Wednesday.

The league's first-ever expansion squad faces a short run-up, joining the current six-team roster when the puck drops on the 2025/26 PWHL season.

"To be able to grow this fast is just a testament to the great sport, our great athletes, and how people feel about the work that we’re doing and what our players are putting out on the ice," said PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer.

Vancouver fanbase bolstered city's PWHL bid

Commenting on the eight-month expansion evaluation process, Scheer called Vancouver's bid "unbelievably robust," and noted that the city's "engaged, vibrant, fun" fanbase and its "remarkable commitment to growing the game of hockey" helped earn the Canadian community a team.

That commitment was on display at the PWHL's recent 2025 Takeover Tour, which drew major crowds as the league tested expansion prospects in non-market cities across North America.

Vancouver stood out, notching the the fourth-largest crowd in PWHL history when 19,038 fans showed up on January 8th — and claiming the highest social media engagement across all nine Tour stops.

That fan enthusiasm helped push Vancouver across the PWHL's expansion line, with the new team already making league history.

Besides marking the league's first-ever footprint on the the West Coast, Vancouver will become the first PWHL team to serve as the primary tenant in its home venue at the Pacific Coliseum.

The 17,713-seat arena and its adjacent PNE Agrodome — PWHL Vancouver's main training facility — will undergo extensive upgrades for the incoming franchise.

"The expansion brings greater visibility to the West Coast, expands out geographic footprint, and, most importantly, grows the game," said PWHL EVP of hockey operations Jayna Hefford.

A young fan holds up a sign reading "Just finished my 1st hockey season, PWHL here I come!" at a PWHL 2025 Takeover Tour game in Detroit.
PWHL execs said expansion adds roster spots for current and future league stars. (Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

League eyes next steps for expansion team

While the PWHL still has over 20 proposals from markets requesting a team — and rumors swirling that Seattle could join Vancouver as a 2025/26 season expansion contingent — the league is currently making more concrete plans for its official seventh squad.

"With this team comes more opportunities for the best women's hockey players in the world to continue competing in one league," remarked Hefford. "The talent pool has never been deeper, and with a strong 2025 draft class ahead, we're pleased that even more women are going to be able to play at the professional level."

Details for an upcoming expansion draft to begin stocking Vancouver's roster will be announced shortly, and the team will also take part in the 2025 PWHL Draft on June 24th.

"The PWHL is setting a new standard for women's hockey. The game has never been faster, more physical, or more skilled," Hefford added. "We're so excited for this city to experience the parity and the competitiveness that our league has every single game."

Bay FC to Host Washington at SF Giants Ballpark, Eye NWSL Attendance Record

A wide view of San Francisco's Oracle Park set up for a 2022 soccer match.
Oracle Park’s 40,000-seat capacity could set a new NWSL attendance record. (Doug Zimmerman/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

The NWSL is heading back to the ballparkwith 2024 expansion side Bay FC announcing Tuesday that the club will take on the Washington Spirit inside Oracle Park, the home of MLB's San Francisco Giants.

Shifting the August 23rd match to the baseball diamond isn't just a spectacle — the move builds on Bay FC's continuous ambitions to claim the top NWSL attendance record by filling the Bay Area ballpark's 40,260 seats.

Though the 25-year-old Oracle Park has previously hosted men's contests, August's NWSL match will be the first professional women's soccer game in the venue's history.

Similarly, while this will be the first NWSL competition in San Francisco's baseball venue, it's not the first league match in an MLB stadium.

Last summer, the Chicago Stars hosted Bay FC at Wrigley Field, packing an NWSL-record 35,038 soccer fans into the MLB home of the Chicago Cubs.

That June 8th, 2024, attendance surpassed the previous league-record crowd of 34,130 that attended USWNT icon Megan Rapinoe's final Seattle home game in 2023.

How to attend Bay FC vs. Washington at Oracle Park

To be a part of the potentially record-breaking August 23rd crowd, tickets will be available for general purchase beginning at 12 PM ET on May 6th.

Fans interested in securing pre-sale tickets can add their names to the online list.

Portland Rookies Top Gotham in Midweek NWSL Action

Portland forward Deyna Castellanos celebrates scoring a goal with her teammates in a 2025 NWSL win over Gotham.
Three Portland Thorns rookies scored their first NWSL goals on Tuesday. (Soobum Im/NWSL via Getty Images)

In Tuesday night's NWSL action, Portland upset a rising Gotham side 4-1 behind three debut goals from the Thorns' promising rookie class.

The rare midweek match came courtesy of next month's Concacaf W Champions Cup. Both Gotham and Portland advanced to the international club event's semifinals last October, forcing them to pull double-duty and add this week's extra regular-season NWSL game to accommodate the tournament's schedule.

The tight turnaround certainly didn't rattle the Thorns.

Portland newcomers Marie-Yasmine "Mimi" Alidou, Caiya Hanks, and Jayden Perry all earned their first NWSL goals in the match, before offseason signee Deyna Castellanos reinforced the victory with an 80th-minute chip.

As for Gotham, 32-year-old star forward Esther provided a bright spot for the NJ/NY squad, notching her fifth goal of the young season to boost herself to the top of the league's early Golden Boot race.

Despite the loss, Friday's strong outing against Angel City has Gotham still holding steady at No. 4 in the standings. However, both No. 5 Portland and No. 6 ACFC are close on the Bats' heels, with all three teams currently tied at eight points apiece.

"What I told the team is that we lost the battle tonight, but this is a long war," said Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amoros following the match. "We're there together on this."

How to watch Gotham, Portland this weekend

Gotham will take the pitch once again on Saturday, when they'll face East Coast rivals Washington at 1 PM ET. Live coverage will air on CBS.

Meanwhile, Portland will close out the NWSL's sixth matchday by hosting Racing Louisville at 4 PM ET on Sunday, streaming live on Paramount+.

TST Drops Expanded Women’s 7v7 Tournament Bracket

USWNT jerseys for Carli Lloyd and Ali Krieger hand in lockers before their 2019 World Cup quarterfinal.
Carli Lloyd and Ali Krieger will feature for the US Women’s 2025 TST 7v7 team. (Catherine Ivill - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

The Soccer Tournament (TST) presented by RBC Wealth Management revealed its 2025 women's bracket on Tuesday, with 16 7v7 teams gearing up to compete for the $1 million winner-take-all grand prize this June.

The US Women's Team is back to defend their 2024 title, fueled by World Cup-winning USWNT vets Heather O'Reilly, Carli Lloyd, and Ali Krieger, plus retired Scotland national and Bay FC defender Jen Beattie.

Additional teams participating in the competition include 7v7 offshoots of NWSL clubs Angel City, KC Current, and 2024 runners-up NC Courage, as well as former USWNT goalkeeper Hope Solo's Solo FC.

Returning to Cary, North Carolina, for its third year, TST doubled the size of its women's bracket after a successful eight-team debut in 2024.

"Our inaugural women's championship game viewership performed exceptionally well, as we grew our audience 452% from the beginning of the game until the moment the game-winning goal was scored," TST founder and CEO Jon Mugar told The Athletic.

"TST soccer is electrifying," Mugar added. "Our goal is to become the preeminent soccer festival in the world. Judging by the number of returning fans and teams, we are well on our way."

How to attend, watch the 2025 TST 7v7 contest

TST's 7v7 women's competition kicks off on June 5th and runs through the $1 million championship game on June 9th.

Tickets to attend are currently available online.

All matches will air live on either YouTube or ESPN platforms.

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