Vlatko Andonovski wanted three things for the USWNT during their friendly in England on Friday.

Take on a good opponent. Check.

Experience adversity. Check.

Experience a hostile environment. Check.

His checklist didn’t include a goal being called back by a controversial VAR call, but Andonovski got that, too, in his team’s 2-1 loss to England in front of 76,893 fans at Wembley Stadium.

Down 2-1 in the first half, Sophia Smith fielded a pass up the right wing. With her signature bubble braid swinging behind her, Smith took her touches carefully as Millie Bright stayed in stride to defend the dangerous goal scorer.

As Smith approached the box, Trinity Rodman sprinted from the right side of the field, well behind Smith, across the middle and into the left half of the box.

Smith threaded a pass between two England defenders to Megan Rapinoe, who heel-flicked the ball to the foot of a streaking Rodman.

The 20-year-old fired with her right foot and, as the ball hit the back of the net, commenced celebrating with an open-mouthed smile.

Rodman leapt into the arms of Lindsey Horan, and their U.S. teammates joined one by one for a massive group hug.

What could have been 😭

This Trinity Rodman goal was disallowed by VAR pic.twitter.com/JemzMWDCQD

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) October 7, 2022

But moments later, the goal was being reviewed due to VAR, a type of technology used for the first time in a women’s soccer match in a 2019 World Cup match between France and South Korea. In that game, a goal scored by Griedge Mbock Bathy France in the 26th minute was called back after VAR showed she was offside.

VAR was used the same way in Friday’s friendly. The review, according to the referees, showed that Smith was offside, overturning what would have been the game-tying goal.

But VAR, which the NWSL plans to introduce in 2023, may have gotten it wrong.

Several soccer stars took to Twitter to express their dismay at the call.

Alex Morgan, who didn’t make the trip to England with the USWNT due to a knee injury, was less than convinced by the replay.

“I can’t see any offside in that play,” she wrote. “And the ref didn’t even check the video herself. Anyone else wondering why exactly the goal was called back?”

The "offside" call......... pic.twitter.com/rOywlghNcp

— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) October 7, 2022

By definition, VAR is a fifth official who watches the game via video and is able to access various angles while also slowing down the play. Essentially, it is a tool to ensure correct calls are being made on the field.

Morgan wasn’t the only player at home who was confused by the call. OL Reign forward Bethany Balcer expressed her skepticism as well.

“That VAR line didn’t help the case at all,” she tweeted. “looks more onside every time i watch it.”

VAR was used three times in the game, and all three instances negatively impacted the U.S.

The first use came at the 32-minute mark, when Hailie Mace appeared to kick Lucy Bronze in the head. After a review, England was given a penalty kick, which Georgia Stanway converted to give her squad the 2-1 lead that would hold for the final score.

A penalty was given to England after a VAR review of this sequence pic.twitter.com/YicGKAm6ev

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) October 7, 2022

Lauren Hemp also scored for England, and Smith was responsible for the USWNT’s lone goal.

VAR made its third appearance midway through the second half when Rose Lavelle fired a shot that looked at first to have hit off an England player’s arm. Upon review, the call, which would have given the U.S. a penalty kick of its own, was overturned.

Despite the overall chaos of the match and the one-goal defeat, Andonovski was pleased with his team’s efforts against the reigning Euro champions.

His squad, he said, got everything it needed to out of the contest.

“We pretty much saw they were very well organized or physical, and obviously well coached. So that’s why we came here to experience that,” Andonovski said. “We needed to go through those tough moments, and hopefully learn from it.”

The purpose of this friendly, and next week’s match against Spain, is for the USWNT to prepare for the 2023 World Cup.

“There’s a reason why we wanted to play this far away from the World Cup,” Andonovski said. “Just because we wanted to have enough time to fix the things that get exposed or the areas that we get exploited. And we have a good learning opportunity.”

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer for Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

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.