Opponents should be afraid of what the U.S. women’s national team is capable of accomplishing at the 2027 World Cup, or so USWNT forward Midge Purce believes.

This year’s squad flamed out in the Round of 16, a historically disappointing World Cup run capped off by a 238-minute scoring drought. Uncharacteristic as the early exit was, young stars provided bright spots — particularly Naomi Girma at center-back.

The USWNT defense allowed just two shots on goal across the entire tournament. And Girma played a key role on that backline, proving that she has more than earned her roster spot at just 23 years old.

“She is class. She makes it look so, so easy,” Purce said after Sunday’s shootout loss to Sweden. “She’s so good. I mean, she was phenomenal, and I’m so happy for her. I’m so sad for her, yeah, but she has such a bright future.”

Yes, some onlookers are hitting the panic button on the USWNT in the aftermath of the World Cup elimination. A number of veterans are retiring or nearing the ends of their careers, and the squad inevitably will look different in the years to come.

But that’s not a reason to panic, and this isn’t the end of the story, Purce told her co-host Katie Nolan on the latest episode of Just Women’s Sports‘ “The 91st.” Purce missed out on the World Cup with a quad injury, but she has been an avid follower of the team’s journey.

“I think it’s so interesting the way we look at World Cups and big tournaments as if that tournament is the end of the movie, there’s nothing else to be seen,” Purce said. “This is a long journey. It’s a long story. These kids [are] probably gonna have three or four World Cups under their belt. And it’s the next one that I think everyone should be terrified for.

“They have a chip on their shoulder. They have broken hearts, they’re hurting. It’s hard and they’re good, they’re better than what they got. They’ve put out better performances individually than what they’ve received. … So I just think that there’s so much more to be excited for on the landscape of U.S women’s soccer. It’s going to be incredible.”

Players aged 23 and younger accounted for almost a quarter of the USWNT’s minutes in this World Cup, including Girma, who played every minute of all four games. Sophia Smith, 22, and Trinity Rodman, 20, also were staples in the starting lineup.

“They all started. They’re gonna be foundational players for this team moving forward,” Nolan said. “[The] silver lining [is] we have a lot of young players on this team. Talent-wise, the pool is deep for years to come.”

Of course, nothing is guaranteed at the 2027 World Cup. And the team has the 2024 Olympics in Paris up next. But USWNT defender Becky Sauerbrunn, who missed the 2023 tournament with a foot injury, is looking forward to seeing how players respond to the disappointment of losing the World Cup.

“I think for a lot of the players it’s going to be this, like, driving fuel that they use in preparation for the Olympics,” Sauerbrunn said. “And in the past, historically with this team, if we don’t win a World Cup we wind up winning the Olympics or vice versa. So I think and what I’m hoping to see is that there’s just this drive to be better, to improve the areas that maybe players feel that they struggled in.

“I think it’s going to be really interesting to see how overall, [from the] top down, how leadership approaches tactics and formations and the future. There’s this huge influx of youth and you start phasing out some of us older players. It’ll be interesting to see and I’m excited for the future because I think we already know that we have such a strong core of players and now it’s just complimenting them.”

US Soccer submitted its World Cup bid book to FIFA last week, naming 14 US stadiums among the 2031 tournament's 20+ proposed North American host venues.

The four-country joint bid for the 2031 World Cup spanned cities across host nations USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Jamaica, with the quartet collectively identifying 50 potential stadiums while also designating their proposed core of 20 venues.

In the US, stadiums in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Los Angeles, Kansas City, and Seattle made the proposed shortlist, as well as Arlington, Texas, and East Rutherford, New Jersey, among others.

Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Torreón made Mexico's primary proposal, while Costa Rica and Jamaica put forward San Jose and Kingston, respectively.

The bid includes both soccer and football venues, with secondary venues also listed as possible options in eight of the first-choice US cities.

Additionally, the bid book pegged Atlanta as the World Cup draw host and Dallas as the tournament's international broadcast center, though FIFA will likely not make final decisions on 2031 venues until after the 2027 competition in Brazil.

"By proposing more than the required 20 sites, the joint bidders demonstrate a commitment to securing the best possible hosting conditions and ensuring the tournament represents the full diversity of our region on a global scale," FIFA stated.

The WNBA and WNBPA agreed to a second CBA extension late Sunday night, officially pushing the contract's deadline to January 9th, 2026, to allow for 40 more days of negotiations.

Like the original CBA extension from October 31st to December 1st, either the WNBA or WNBPA now has the option to terminate the agreement with 48 hours of notice.

"We expect substantive movement from the league within this window," the players union told Front Office Sports, while the WNBA issued a statement saying both parties are "continuing to work toward a new agreement."

View this post on Instagram

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

While total annual compensation offers have reportedly crossed the million-dollar mark for players earning the league's maximum, the WNBA's salary model — particularly in regards to revenue sharing — remains a core issue.

According to sources, the WNBA's proposal offers players a revenue-sharing option only after reaching certain minimums, while the WNBPA continues to advocate for a bigger cut of the exponentially growing league.

The players union is also reportedly advocating for a salary cap that increases with the league's income, rather than at an arbitrarily fixed growth rate.

With important offseason processes like the planned two-team expansion draft to stock incoming 2026 WNBA franchises the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo now delayed until a new CBA is in place, the pressure is approaching new highs on both sides of the negotiating table.

No. 4 Texas blew past two top-ranked opponents last week, setting the tone for the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season with back-to-back wins over No. 3 UCLA and No. 2 South Carolina to earn the Players Era Championship trophy on Thanksgiving Day.

Fifth-year senior Rori Harmon was named tournament MVP, putting up a game-leading 26 points and breaking the Longhorns' career assists record in Wednesday's 76-65 defeat of UCLA before hitting the game-winner to lift Texas over the Gamecocks 66-64 in Thursday's title game.

"I just read the vibe and flow of the game," Harmon said afterward. "[Texas head coach Vic Schaefer] called the play at the end of the game, and I've been in this moment before, so it felt good coming out of my hands."

Texas's win added fuel to the burgeoning SEC rivalry, with the teams squaring off five times in the last year — and South Carolina riding a narrow 3-2 advantage.

"I'm not upset at all," Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said postgame. "This is going to help us because there are a lot of things to unpack in it."

"If you can give [Texas] a run for their money in that way, I mean, you're on to something," she continued. "I like our resiliency. We've just got to clean up some things at the end of the game."

How to watch Texas, South Carolina this week

Both Texas and South Carolina have another ranked matchup on this week's NCAA docket, with the No. 4 Longhorns taking on the No. 12 UNC Tar Heels while the No. 2 Gamecocks face the No. 23 Louisville Cardinals.

Both games tip off at 7 PM ET on Thursday, with Texas vs. UNC airing live on ESPN2 while South Carolina vs. Louisville airs on ESPN.

After a year of testing and experimentation, the USWNT will look to close out 2025 on a high note on Monday night, when the world No. 2 squad faces No. 12 Italy in the second of the pair's winter friendlies.

"I've been very clear on the process to develop players and what we have to go through, so I'm not zoomed in on three losses," US manager Emma Hayes said of the team's 2025 shortcomings. "If I was, I wouldn't make changes."

"We work in an environment we're really proud of," she continued. "It's a very inclusive environment, diverse environment, and all these things contribute to the culture that hopefully leads to long-term success."

In line with her ongoing rotational philosophy, Hayes indicated that fans in Fort Lauderdale on Monday could see a departure from the combination of players that defeated Italy 3-0 in Orlando on Friday — as well as new tactics from the 2025 Euro semifinalists.

"My whole argument is that no matter who plays, the level of performance should still be high," Hayes said.

The US saw 16 players debut this year — the most since 1985 — with 51% of the team's combined 39 goals and 26 assists in 2025 involving a player under 25 years old.

View this post on Instagram

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

How to watch the USWNT vs. Italy on Monday

The 2025 finale for the No. 2 USWNT will see the national team kick off against No. 12 Italy at 7 PM ET on Monday, with live coverage airing on TNT and HBO Max.