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The case for the most essential USWNT player: Catarina Macario

The 23-year-old midfielder is working her way back from an ACL tear. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

Each month in the leadup to the World Cup, Just Women’s Sports will make the case for one player as most essential to the success of the U.S. women’s national team in 2023. Next up: Catarina Macario.

Catarina Macario is exactly the type of player the USWNT needs to provide a spark heading into the 2023 World Cup.

The 23-year-old star is working her way back from an ACL tear, and the national team has lacked depth in her absence. Veteran forward Alex Morgan has taken over at the No. 9 position, but the return of Macario as a false nine could boost the attack as the team looks to win its third consecutive World Cup.

She’s a bonafide scorer, having notched a goal in just her second appearance (and first start) for the USWNT in a friendly against Colombia on Jan. 22, 2021. Since then, she’s started in 11 of her 17 appearances and notched eight goals and two assists – including five goals in five appearances in 2022.

At just 23 years old, analysts have pointed to Macario as the “focal point” of the generational transition for the USWNT. Head coach Vlatko Andonovski has even referred to her as the “future of the team.”

“It’s no secret Cat is one of the players who has tremendous potential,” Andonovski said in October 2021. “I personally think she is one of the players I call the future of this team. She’s a very creative player in the role she has with the national team.”

For the most part, Macario has lived up to the hype as she’s continued to develop her game. In February, she earned MVP honors at the SheBelives Cup after burying two goals and adding an assist through three matches en route to the USWNT’s title win.

The two goals earned high praise from some of the USWNT’s all-time best, including Mia Hamm and Megan Rapinoe, and Andonovski said afterward that the goals were “world-class goals.”

“They should be on highlight reels around the world,” he said.

In fact, Macario’s performances in 2022 were so good – including for club team Olympique Lyonnais, which won the Women’s Champions League – that she became one of three American players among the 20 finalists for the prestigious Ballon d’Or award. Two other USWNT players joined her: Morgan and Trinity Rodman.

The absences of Macario and other key pieces of the team’s transition and defense contributed to the USWNT’s struggles late this year, as the team lost three games in a row for the first time since 1993.

Whether Macario returns as a starter or a substitute, as a forward or a midfielder, she can help set the table for the dominating scorers on the front line, among them Sophia Smith and Mallory Pugh.

She’s good at creating chances for herself and for her teammates. Macario is in the 97th percentile of dribblers in Europe with 2.52 per 90 minutes, according to StatsBomb. Her 0.33 expected assists per 90 minutes sits in the 99th percent among European forwards.

“She’s got a flair, she’s very creative and she’s got the ability that anyone would want: the ability to create chances to score goals that anyone would welcome on a team,” Andonovski said in 2020.

Fellow USWNT forward Lynn Williams said Macario and Smith together bring a “new freshness” to the team.

“Cat is technically great. Soph will drive at you,” she said. “They have a hunger and a desire to stay here and make a name for themselves, so I’m excited to see them do it.”

Macario also lines up well with midfielder Rose Lavelle, who also plays an instrumental role in the team’s chemistry and attack.

“You need someone like Cat with her precision and technical abilities,” Andonovski said in February. “I thought that when we were able to find her underneath the line, she did an incredible job of unlocking them or creating opportunities for the players around her, so I was very happy with that.

“That’s pure creativity and technical ability, so I’m very happy to see that because I think she has the ability to do that,” Andonovski continued. “The players around will have to get used to those passes or expect those passes so we can make plans to be more dangerous.”

Who is the most essential USWNT player?

2025 WNBA Season Tips Off with Action-Packed Friday Lineup

The Golden State Valkyries and LA Sparks tip off a 2025 WNBA preseason game.
The Valkyries play their first-ever official league game in Friday's 2025 WNBA season tip-off. (Supriya Limaye/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA season is finally here, with Friday's official tip-off leading an opening weekend full of tough competition and simmering storylines.

The reigning champion New York Liberty enter as odds-on favorites, but results are nearly impossible to predict after a very active offseason across the league.

This weekend's slate features new builds, regional rivalries, and plenty of fresh faces as top 2025 draft picks log their first pro minutes.

  • Minnesota Lynx vs. Dallas Wings, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): This year's No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers makes her official WNBA debut as revamped Dallas tests itself against a Minnesota team still stinging over last year's title loss.
  • Los Angeles Sparks vs. Golden State Valkyries, Friday at 10 PM ET (ION): The Valkyries play their first-ever regular-season game, looking to form an identity against downstate rivals LA, led by new Sparks addition Kelsey Plum.
  • Las Vegas Aces vs. New York Liberty, Saturday at 1 PM ET (ABC): The 2023 champs meet the 2024 title-winners in a heavyweight clash that sees 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson take on a confident New York team led by guard Sabrina Ionescu.
  • Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever, Saturday at 3 PM ET (ABC): Last year's rookie headliners Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese meet again in Indiana, with the regional rivals relying on both incoming vets and young cores to write their next chapters.

Packed with great matchups, this weekend is the ideal tip-off for a 2025 season that promises to be a wild ride — no matter which WNBA team you follow.

No. 1 Kansas City Faces No. 2 Orlando in Top-Table NWSL Weekend Match

Orlando's Marta dribbles the ball past Kansas City's Nichelle Prince during the 2024 NWSL semifinals.
Orlando ousted Kansas City in the 2024 NWSL semifinals. (Dustin Markland/Getty Images)

The NWSL is back in action this weekend with a top-table match, a bicoastal battle, and some middle-of-the-pack clashes as the 2025 season enters its ninth matchday.

Parity is riding high these days, with just three points dividing the No. 1 Kansas City Current and No. 3 Washington Spirit in the NWSL standings — while only three more separate the No. 4 San Diego Wave from the No. 8 Seattle Reign.

With competition remaining tough as nails, don't expect much more daylight between teams following this weekend's tense lineup:

  • No. 7 Gotham FC vs. No. 4 San Diego Wave, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (NWSL+): Coming off a two-game winless streak, Gotham is still searching for consistency as they take on a confident San Diego side that hasn't lost in four games.
  • No. 9 Racing Louisville vs. No. 8 Seattle Reign, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (NWSL+): All tied up with 11 points each, Seattle will look to hold off Louisville as Racing continues to hunt the club's first-ever playoff berth.
  • No. 2 Orlando Pride vs. No. 1 Kansas City Current, Friday at 8 PM ET (Prime): There's little love lost between these NWSL titans, as the reigning champion Pride takes on hosting duties in an attempt to leapfrog current top-dog Kansas City in Friday's marquee match.

In a season dominated by topsy-turvy results, the pressure to secure points week-over-week weighs heaviest on the teams who know they have the talent to rise above the rest.

Esther Extends Gotham Contract Amid MVP-Quality NWSL Season

Gotham forward Esther celebrates a goal during a 2025 NWSL match.
Gotham FC's Esther currently leads the 2025 NWSL Golden Boot race. (Hannah Foslien/NWSL via Getty Images)

This season's NWSL Golden Boot leader Esther González is sticking with Gotham, with the Spanish international extending her contract with the NJ/NY club through 2027.

After helping Gotham to a first-ever NWSL championship in 2023, González earned the league's Best XI Second Team honors last year before launching a red-hot campaign this season.

The 2023 World Cup winner has tallied seven goals in nine games for Gotham in 2025, showcasing a blistering rush of form that has her sitting two goals ahead of the next Golden Boot race contender.

"Above all, it's about how I've felt during these two and a half years with Gotham FC," González said in Thursday's team announcement. "Continuing to be happy both on and off the field is really important. To keep enjoying myself and representing Gotham's colors, which I truly identify with, is something really incredible."

Gotham's continued investment underlines the 32-year-old's case for 2025 MVP candidacy, as award frontrunners start to emerge one-third of the way through the 2025 NWSL season.

González leads the NWSL in shots on target while sitting fourth in expected goals per 90 minutes, with her scoring outpacing many of her peers.

Other players crafting strong 2025 NWSL MVP resumes include Kansas City's 2024 MVP Temwa Chawinga and comeback star Debinha, Angel City wunderkind Alyssa Thompson, and Orlando sharpshooter Barbra Banda.

FA Cup Finalist Chelsea FC Heads to Wembley with Historic Treble in Sight

Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze heads the game-winning goal past Manchester United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce in a 2025 WSL match.
Chelsea will aim for the domestic treble in Sunday's 2025 FA Cup final. (Molly Darlington - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

Following a dominant 2024/25 campaign, Chelsea FC will look to cap their historic run by completing a domestic treble on Sunday, when they'll battle Manchester United for a third season trophy in the 2025 FA Cup final.

After securing the 2024/25 League Cup in March amidst an unbeaten run to a sixth-straight WSL title, the Blues will close out their season against the league's third-place finishers, the Red Devils, in London's iconic Wembley Stadium.

Should Chelsea secure the 2025 FA Cup, they will add a second domestic treble to their resume after clinching their first trio of trophies in the 2020/21 season. This time, however, they could do so in undefeated fashion.

"We are in a really good place, just the fact that we won the league being unbeaten," said first-year Blues manager Sonia Bompastor. "To end the season with an FA Cup final at Wembley against Man United is maybe the perfect way to end the season."

The 2023/24 Manchester United team and staff celebrate their first-ever FA Cup championship.
Manchester United seeks to defend their 2024 FA Cup title. (Visionhaus/Getty Images)

Manchester United hunts second straight FA Cup trophy

Standing between Chelsea and the treble are 2024 FA Cup champions Manchester United, who will take aim at their only trophy of the season partly behind the play of 2024/25 WSL Golden Glove winner and USWNT goalkeeper prospect Phallon Tullis-Joyce.

Man United enter as the game's undisputed underdogs, having dropped both their WSL regular-season matches against Chelsea in narrow 1-0 defeats.

Even more, the Red Devils must overcome a particular tough stretch of play, facing more than a month without a victory on their schedule.

Man United's last win was their 2-0 FA Cup semifinal victory over Manchester City on April 13th, with the Red Devils suffering a pair of losses and recording two draws to close out WSL play.

That said, United has experience downing the Blues on the FA Cup stage, ousting Chelsea from last year's semifinals en route to a club-first FA title.

Remarking that Manchester United "are a really strong team," Bompastor pointed out that the Red Devils "don't concede a lot of goals, and we need to remember that."

"You only get the trophy if you win, so we need to make sure going into the game we have the best preparation and we perform on the day."

How to watch Chelsea play Manchester United at the FA Cup final

The 2025 FA Cup final between Chelsea FC and Manchester United will kick off at 8:30 AM ET on Sunday.

Live coverage of the match will begin at 8:20 AM ET on ESPN+.

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