The U.S. women’s national team is competing in the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. As you can imagine, players and coaches — past and present — have plenty to say about it, and Just Women’s Sports is keeping track.

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Aug. 3: ‘Trust and support each other,’ Brandi Chastain tells USWNT

The 1999 World Cup hero criticized the USWNT’s play after its scoreless draw with Portugal to close out the group stage, saying on the “After the Whistle” podcast that the U.S. needs “to be better in every phase of the game.” Ahead of the Round of 16 match against Sweden, though, she offered encouragement to the two-time defending champions.

“If you have any concern, look around and know someone has your back,” she wrote. “No one said it would be easy so dance in the glory of the difficult. Be brave, communicate, trust and support each other.”

Hey @USWNT YOU GOT THIS! If you have any concern,look around&know someone has your back. No one said it would be easy so dance in the glory of the difficult. Be brave,communicate❤️trust & support each otherThis is the TEAM NOW is the time #stayinthemoment 👏

— Brandi Chastain (@brandichastain) August 3, 2023

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Aug. 2: Heather O’Reilly: USWNT needs to make ‘big changes’

“We would all be naive if we thought we could win this World Cup with the way that we look right now,” the USWNT great said on Fox Sports after the Portugal match. “So there needs to be changes. And there needs to be big changes. Whether or not Vlatko Andonovski is going to make the changes, well, that’s another story.”

Read more on the lineup changes she suggests for the match against Sweden.

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Aug. 1: Carli Lloyd: USWNT ‘lucky to not be going home’

Following the third group-stage match against Portugal, the two-time World Cup champion turned Fox Sports analyst called out the USWNT players and head coach Vlatko Andonovski after the “uninspiring” result.

“There’s been a shift within this team, within the federation, within the culture, the mentality,” Lloyd said on the postgame broadcast. “The importance and meaning of winning has changed. What has come from winning has become more important.”

In particular, Lloyd took issue with the players’ seemingly relaxed conduct both before and after the scoreless draw. She pointed out players dancing before the match and then smiling and laughing after the final whistle.

“Players are smiling. They’re laughing. It’s not good enough,” she said.

More on USWNT vs. Netherlands:

• Ali Krieger on Carli Lloyd’s criticism: ‘They’re allowed to smile’
• Lindsey Horan claps back at Carli Lloyd: ‘To question our mentality hurts’
• Midge Purce slams Alexi Lalas for ‘trivializing women’s sports’

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July 27: Midge Purce: ‘I don’t understand why we have no subs’

Following the second group-stage match against the Netherlands, the injured USWNT forward questioned the lack of substitutions deployed in the 1-1 draw.

“I don’t understand why we have no subs. No subs! Just Rose,” Purce told Katie Nolan. The pair are hosting  Just Women’s Sports’ World Cup show “The 91st” throughout the tournament.

Each team can use up to five substitutions per match at the World Cup. In Wednesday’s draw, the USWNT used just one, as Purce noted: Rose Lavelle. Lavelle, who entered to start the second half, is recovering from a knee injury, which has limited her minutes so far in the tournament.

“Rose is great. We love Rose. Happy to see Rose,” Purce said. “But no subs? That’s very confusing. Where’s Lynn?”

USWNT forward (and Purce’s Gotham FC teammate) Lynn Williams has not seen the pitch through two World Cup matches.

"No subs, that's very confusing." @100Purcent & @katienolan give their takes from USWNT’s 1-1 draw vs the Netherlands 🔊

(@statefarm) pic.twitter.com/gxeSlQMqH3

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) July 27, 2023

More on USWNT vs. Netherlands:

• Vlatko Andonovski: Alex Morgan has a different role in USWNT attack
• Lindsey Horan: Julie Ertz told me to score and ‘shut everyone up’
• Tobin Heath: Lynn Williams could have created ‘different result’

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July 24: Carli Lloyd points out ‘worrying trend’ for USWNT

The two-time World Cup champion turned Fox Sports analyst is concerned about the team’s struggle to finish its chances under head coach Vlatko Andonovski, she said ahead of the second group-stage match against the Netherlands.

“To be perfectly blunt, this has been a general theme with Vlatko ever since he became the coach in 2019,” Lloyd said. “Two years ago at the Olympics, we had chances that we weren’t putting away. That’s worrying. Because when you go deeper in a tournament, those opportunities are going to be few and far between.”

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July 23: OL Reign coach believes Megan Rapinoe could take over World Cup

“In the biggest moment, when it really matters, you truly believe she is going to turn up,” OL Reign coach Laura Harvey said on “The Re-Cap Show” with Tobin Heath and Christen Press. “So it just wouldn’t shock me if she sets this thing alight.

“She might set it alight by playing 30 minutes every game, coming on and scoring the penalty that matters. Or taking the corner that matters. Or whipping three crosses in that matter. She just has an ability of doing the craziest things in the craziest moments in the only way that she can.”

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July 22: Alex Morgan laments missed penalty kick in opening win

The 34-year-old striker missed a penalty kick in the USWNT’s 3-0 win against Vietnam to open the tournament. Morgan’s shot became the first U.S. penalty to be saved at a World Cup since 2003, when Mia Hamm’s attempt was stuffed against Norway.

“It wasn’t a good penalty for me and I know that,” Morgan said. She also lamented more missed opportunities throughout the match, in which the USWNT had 28 shots but just seven on target.

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July 21: Tobin Heath: USWNT ‘has a massive question mark’

“It’s the Wild West of women’s football, and I really think that this team has a massive question mark over it,” the two-time World Cup champion told USA Today. “And I think that’s because there’s so many new and exciting players that could, at any point, just go off and have a tournament of their life. But whether that will happen or not is for us to kind of watch and enjoy.”

The 35-year-old forward is sitting out the World Cup for both physical and mental reasons, she told The Athletic.

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July 19: Lindsey Horan navigates honor and burden of captaincy

While Horan and Alex Morgan are co-captains for the tournament, Horan will wear the armband when both are on the pitch at the same time. And she will aim to live up to the example set by longtime Sauerbrunn, whom she called her “role model and inspiration.”

“So much changes, but (it’s) also a very cool thing to be able to take on that responsibility and get to experience this. And I will have a lot of great people that get to help me along the way,” she told Just Women’s Sports.

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July 13: Alex Morgan already is looking toward Paris 2024

The 34-year-old striker is preparing for her fourth World Cup with the USWNT. Yet her soccer goals don’t stop there. She already is looking toward an NWSL playoff run with the San Diego Wave and toward the Paris Olympics in 2024.

“I do want to win another World Cup. I do want to win other Olympics. I do want to win an NWSL championship,” she told the Los Angeles Times.

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July 13: Lindsey Horan compares USWNT coaches Andonovski and Ellis

The 29-year-old midfielder experienced the 2019 World Cup title run with coach Jill Ellis. Now she is part of the 2023 run with Vlatko Andonovski, who took over for Ellis after the 2019 tournament.

“You have two coaches that maybe see the game in a little bit different way,” she told ESPN. “The way Jill managed us through the last World Cup was, you know, we’re going obviously out to win every single game and in the best way possible and we’re gonna play what the game brings us, what we can expose from different teams.”

Read more to see what she had to say about the current USWNT coach.

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July 13: Crystal Dunn offers critique of USWNT’s World Cup kits

The 31-year-old defender discussed her mindset in the lead-up to the World Cup with Just Women’s Sports. She also gave her opinion of the Nike jerseys the USWNT will don Down Under.

“The white ones kind of look like my son took a paintbrush and just literally threw his paintbrush at me, so I think that’s kind of cool,” Dunn said. “I know that’s funny to say, but I think it’s a different look… I think I like our blue jerseys a little bit better. It just looks clean. I like the color blue, and I think it just looks more American.”

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July 12: Carli Lloyd eyes next-generation USWNT stars

The former USWNT star, who is attending this World Cup as analyst with FOX Sports, has her eye on the next generation of USWNT standouts. Lloyd, who played on the 2015 and 2019 title-winning teams, pointed to a few up-and-comers in particular as players to watch: Naomi Girma, Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Alyssa Thompson.

“They’re doing it at the club level, but this is the world’s biggest and best stage,” she told Boardroom. “It’s a whole different ballgame. So it’s going to be really interesting to see what players can rise to the challenge.”

Lloyd also identified several teams (other than the USWNT) that could make deep runs at the tournament, including Germany, England, Brazil, France and co-host Australia.

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July 12: Alex Morgan: USWNT ‘never’ discusses three-peat

The USWNT is going for a third consecutive World Cup title in Australia and New Zealand, but the players do not discuss the potential feat, the USWNT co-captain said.

“It’s actually never thrown around it with the team,” Morgan said. “It’s thrown around with media. I think a lot of fans talk about it. But honestly, this team, we have 14 first timers for the World Cup and we see this as our own journey. Each four-year block is its own.”

Read more from Morgan and her co-captain Lindsey Horan on the team’s quest “to make history.”

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July 10: Trinity Rodman: ‘We’re going to get the title’

Despite the tough road to a World Cup title, Rodman expects her team to take home the prize, she told ESPN’s “Fútbol Americas.”

“My expectations are that we’re the most ruthless team, we’re never going to give up and we’re going to get the title,” she said.

Read more highlights from her interview, which came after her two-goal performance against Wales in the USWNT’s World Cup send-off match.

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July 9: Vlatko Andonovski: ‘The world is catching up’

The USWNT still holds the No. 1 spot in the FIFA ranking entering World Cup, but Andonovski knows the other 31 teams are hot on their heels.

“The top 10 teams have always been there,” he said after the USWNT’s pre-tournament tune-up against Wales. “We saw that. There was a different champion in 2003. It wasn’t the U.S. in 2007, 2011…

“The world that is catching up is Wales, is Vietnam, is Zambia, is Portugal. These are the countries that are catching up. The 7-0, 8-0 games are gone. And we can see that.”

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July 9: Mallory Swanson believed she was ‘going to make’ World Cup roster despite injury

The 25-year-old forward tore the patellar tendon in her left knee during a USWNT friendly against Ireland in April. Despite the typical months-long recovery timeline for such an injury, she still held out hope for a World Cup appearance, at least for a little while.

“Honestly, there was a good time where I was like ‘I’m going to make it in time,'” Swanson told The Sporting News. “Realistically, anyone can go on Google and look up the recovery time for my injury, and it didn’t really correlate [with my expectations], but I was like ‘I’m gonna do it.'”

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July 4: Sam Mewis breaks down World Cup bracket

The 30-year-old midfielder is missing the World Cup with a lingering knee injury, but she still took the time to break down the USWNT’s group-stage opponents and the top teams overall for Just Women’s Sports on the Snacks podcast.

“Can the U.S. win three? Yes. Will Europe get in there and have one of those teams who’ve been at the top get over the hump? Or is there another breakthrough team outside the U.S. and Europe?” she asked.

“I’m obviously rooting for the U.S. If I had to make a prediction, of course it would be them. [That] doesn’t mean that it’s going to be easy.”

Check out her full thoughts on the USWNT’s competitors, in the group stage and beyond.

The New York Liberty dominated Indiana on Thursday night, winning by a whopping 36 points in the Fever's home opener. 

A sold-out crowd of 17,274 was in attendance to watch as star rookie Caitlin Clark finished the 102-66 defeat with nine points, seven rebounds, and six assists. It’s the first time since January 2021 — her freshman season at Iowa — that Clark's been held to single-digit scoring. 

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"The physicality is definitely up there... I'm easily pushed off screens," she told reporters after the loss. "The game seems a little fast for me right now. The more I play and the more comfortable I get, it's going to slow down a little bit. It will be easier for me to make reads, see things develop."

The Fever were outscored by a combined margin of 57 points in their first two games — the largest two-game point deficit in WNBA season-opening history, according to @ESPNStatsInfo.

"We've got to get to a level of toughness," Fever coach Christie Sides in her own postgame remarks. "When things are going south on us, we're not stopping the bleeding."

"I have great perspective on everything that happens," Clark added. "It was the same in my college career. There were some moments that were absolutely amazing. And there were some moments I was not happy with how I played and how my team performed. That's just life, that's just basketball."

Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, who herself experienced a rocky rookie season following a much-hyped college career, offered up some insight on the matter.

"In this league, there are tough defenses all centered around not letting you get the ball, trapping, not letting you score," Ionescu said. "There were many factors that played into what was a tough first season for me in the league, but it helps you be able to figure it out. You have to have those experiences."

But it was reigning league MVP Breanna Stewart that truly stole the show, racking up 31 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks on the night.

"In general, I just wanted to come out more aggressive coming off of last game," Stewart said after putting up the 24th 30-point game in her career.

Stewart she also commended the fans inside Indianapolis's packed Gainbridge Fieldhouse, noting that she hopes that level of support to continue across the WNBA.

"This is how you want every game to be and when it's a sell-out crowd, it gives you a similar playoff atmosphere feel," she said. "People want to be a part of this and the thing now is to continue to sustain it, continue to take the momentum that we have and turn it into something more."

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert admitted to a "faulty rollout" of the new charter travel initiative on Thursday, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Ahead of Tuesday's season opener, it was announced that the only teams flying private this week would be Indiana and Minnesota. The announcement came mere days after the league made a new charter flight program for all WNBA teams public. At the time, they said it would be implemented "as soon as we have the planes."

But as two teams out of 12 chartered to their first games of the season, others like the Atlanta Dream and Chicago Sky were forced to fly commercial.

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A town hall meeting between Engelbert and the players was held in response to the confusion. Everything from the league's new media rights deal to private travel was covered in the meeting, with players submitting their questions ahead of time. Sky center Elizabeth Williams told Sun-Times reporter Annie Costabile afterwards that cross-country flights were prioritized.

"Flights that are across the country like [the Lynx] going to Seattle, crossing multiple time zones, or flights that usually require a connection, those were the priorities," Williams said. "That’s why New York didn’t go to DC with a charter, but Minny goes to Seattle."

What’s unclear under that metric is that the Atlanta Dream played the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday, which could technically be classified as a cross-country flight. 

On Tuesday, rookie forward Angel Reese shared a photo on her Instagram story lamenting the league's use of commercial flights.

"Just praying that this is one of the last commercial flights the Sky has to fly," Reese posted. The team still has at least three commercial flights awaiting them in the near future.

"Obviously, I think all teams should be able to get chartered," Reese told the Sun-Times. "But I know moving forward... going in the right direction, being able to have some teams [chartering] is cool. Within the next weeks, everybody will be flying charter, which will be really good."

On Thursday, Lindsay Schnell of USAToday Sports confirmed that the league intends to have all teams on charter flights by May 21st.

Brazil has been named the host for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, with FIFA announced early Friday. 

The decision came after a vote at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok, with Brazil earning 119 votes to the joint European bid’s 78. 

This will be Brazil’s first time hosting the Women’s World Cup, with the country having hosted the men’s World Cup twice before in 1950 and 2014. It will also be the first Women’s World Cup held in South America. The tournament will follow the same 32-team format as the 2023 WWC in Australia and New Zealand.

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Brazil winning the bid was not entirely surprising after FIFA issued a report just last week, stating that the Brazilian bid had pulled ahead as host following technical inspection. After evaluation, Brazil was given a score of 4.0 out of 5, compared to the 3.7 awarded to the Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Brazil ranked higher in a number of key areas, including stadiums, accommodations, fan zones, and transport infrastructure. Though considered to be a frontrunner, the US and Mexico withdrew their joint bid prior to the technical inspection period, saying they would instead focus their efforts on 2031.

On Friday, Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) president Ednaldo Rodrigues called it a "victory." 

"We knew we would be celebrating a victory for South American women's soccer and for women," he told reporters. "You can be sure, with no vanity, we will accomplish the best World Cup for women."

"We are working on a transformation, not only for the country but for the continent," added bid team operational manager Valesca Araujo.

Brazil intends to use 10 of the venues utilized at the 2014 men’s World Cup, including holding the final in Rio de Janeiro on July 25th. The CBF's proposal outlines that the 2027 tournament run from June 24th through the end of July. Last summer’s World Cup began at the end of July and concluded on August 19th.

Another notable element of Brazil's newly unveiled plan to grow of the women’s game is that "all [men’s] clubs wishing to take part in high-level national and continental competitions must now provide a structure for a women’s team." While the definition of "structure" was not specifically identified, the country has set targets with CONMEBOL to help increase the number of women’s club teams in the country.

In last week's inspection findings, FIFA noted that selecting Brazil as the next WWC host could "have a tremendous impact on women's football in the region."

Chelsea did what they needed to do on Wednesday in order to make Saturday's slate of season-ending WSL fixtures interesting: Beat Tottenham.

The Blues are now number one in the league, with an edge over Manchester City on goal differential thanks to an eight-goal outing against Bristol City last week. 

Yesterday's result tees up a league finale for the books as Chelsea looks to send coach Emma Hayes off with another trophy to add to her cabinet. The Blues will play FA Cup winner Manchester City at Old Trafford on Saturday, while City is away at Aston Villa.

"We will be leaving nothing on the pitch, we will be giving everything and no matter what the result is," Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert said after Wednesday's win. "At least we can look each other in the eye and say we gave everything."

It makes for a thrilling end to Chelsea's Emma Hayes era, as the decorated WSL coach will take over the USWNT in June. And it comes after Hayes all but conceded the title race early this month after Chelsea fell to Liverpool 4-3.

"I think the title is done," Hayes said at the time. "Of course, mathematically, it's not, but I think the title is done. Our job between now and the end of the season is to keep pushing until the end, but I think it will be very difficult.

"We will never give up. But the title is far from us; it's not in our hands. I think City are deserving, their consistency has put them in that position. Of course, we will go to the end, but I don't think the title will be going to us this year."

Be it mind games or Hayes truly thinking her team was that far off, her words lit something in Chelsea. Their following two performances showed the team’s determination to have a shot at some silverware.

As for Saturday's schedule, Hayes believes her team is facing the "tougher of the two games."

"It's a fitting finale for me, being my final game," she told BBC Sport. "As I said to the players if someone gives you a second chance in life, make sure you don't need a third one. We're in the position we want to be in, and we'll give it everything on Saturday no matter what."