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USWNT roster: Will we see any changes before 2023 World Cup?

Sophia Smith celebrates a goal against Nigeria with USWNT teammates Rose Lavelle and Mallory Pugh. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

The United States women’s national team finished their series of September friendlies against Nigeria this week, with one dominant performance and one much closer scoreline.

With all eyes on the World Cup next summer, the U.S. took some important steps forward while also showing their hand for the months ahead, including a crucial friendly against Euro champions England on Oct. 7. Here are our biggest questions coming out of the USWNT’s most recent results:

Is the player experimentation period over?

During the Concacaf W Championship, the USWNT roster struck a balance of veteran leadership and new faces due to both unforeseen absences and a desire to add youthful creativity to the squad. That group expertly navigated World Cup qualifying, winning the title over rivals Canada without conceding a single goal in the tournament.

While qualifying was by all quantifiable measures a success, roster tinkering is still expected as the team moves into its final year of World Cup preparation. At the top of the priority list for the U.S. are identifying defensive midfield strengths, making decisions at outside back and addressing goalkeeper depth. The question of the center forward position also remains eternal, as the team waits for generational talent Catarina Macario to return from an ACL injury.

With a number of NWSL players unexpectedly rising in form, and other U.S. nationals performing well outside of the domestic league, September seemed like a good opportunity for coach Vlatko Andonovski to tweak the group of players on the bubble. Instead of bringing new players into camp, however, he made very few changes between the July and September rosters.

Andonovski’s ideology seems to prioritize chemistry over sheer form, despite a renewed commitment by U.S. Soccer to operate otherwise. That chemistry was on scintillating display at times this past week, but the USWNT did ultimately leave players off of September’s roster who have been performing well, and brought in players with high ceilings who have been underperforming for their clubs.

Andonovski showed his preference for the World Cup qualifying group over former champions Abby Dahlkemper and AD Franch. He also called up midfielder Sam Coffey, the 24th person in for Concacaf, while leaving North Carolina Courage outside back Carson Pickett at home.

These small roster moves create a bigger picture that indicates the USWNT might be done evaluating new players, and is more committed to cohesion while waiting for other key contributors to return. With the World Cup still months away, and the team not necessarily dominating competition, that level of tunnel vision could be a mistake. One simply has to look at the way Macario’s injury upended the team’s attack right before a crucial part of the calendar, highlighting how a lack of versatility can undermine the depth of the player pool.

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Sam Coffey played all 90 minutes in her USWNT debut Tuesday. (Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Is the formation set?

Andonovski has been married to the 4-3-3 formation ever since taking over the team in 2019 and hasn’t experimented much with other formations outside of emergencies. Sticking strictly to one system isn’t always conducive to national team play, since simply getting the best players on the field at once can be paramount. Especially if the U.S. isn’t bringing new players into camp, they could stand to develop the versatility of their style of play.

Against Nigeria, the starting XI mirrored that of the Concacaf W championship game, but the team appeared to employ slight formational changes.

With the current 4-3-3, the USWNT at times struggles to shore up its spine down the middle while creating room for all of its best attacking talent. While Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle can run box-to-box, the U.S. midfield frequently plays in what you might envision as an upside-down triangle, with one defensive midfielder holding court and two attacking midfielders pushing forward into the final third. All too often, however, that midfield gets bypassed in favor of the center backs distributing the ball either out wide or up to the forwards.

In the games against Nigeria, it appeared the team was experimenting with different ways to create overloads and get the midfield more involved. At times, Sophia Smith would drift behind Alex Morgan when the U.S. had possession, allowing Lavelle to shift to the right and creating an overload on that side. Together, they opened up channels that we didn’t see from the USWNT in Monterrey, and they resisted the impulse to slow down unnecessarily when their center backs were distributing the ball.

Smith performed well in the role, scoring a brace in game one, but Andonovski could also be saving that underlying striker option for Macario’s return. Macario and Morgan play the No. 9 position very differently, giving the U.S. a chance to present opponents with varied starting looks when both are healthy.

But with a player underneath her, Morgan actually has the room to employ her full skill set, including her off-the-ball work that has flown under the radar for years. It opened up scoring opportunities in both of the games against Nigeria, including Lavelle’s game-winner on Tuesday when Mallory Pugh was filling the underlying striker role.

Those slight changes don’t necessarily reflect the wholesale experimentation fans might be looking for, but they do at least present the next step in building roster cohesion from a sometimes tepid attack in July. The starting group looked in sync against Nigeria, and they’ll need that level of creativity to unlock England in October.

What does this week say about next year’s roster?

Despite the lack of overall roster rotation since Concacaf, the U.S. appears to have both a settled core and number of questions still to answer.

The USWNT’s preferred starters in the first Nigeria match performed well on every line. That group controlled the match comfortably, and if the game was a simulation of a World Cup group stage match, they executed in a way you’d expect from the No. 1 team in the world.

The second half of that match — and much of the second game — showed just how much uncertainty there is about the rest of the squad. Getting Coffey acclimated to the defensive midfield at the international level appears to be a priority, with the 23-year-old playing a full 90 in her USWNT debut. Sofia Huerta was excellent in game one, but a missed-timed header in game two created space for Uchenna Kanu’s equalizer and laid bare her lingering defensive discomfort.

Midfielder Taylor Kornieck, called up for both World Cup qualifying and September friendlies, saw no playing time this week and does not seem to be high on the current depth chart. Megan Rapinoe is a preferred 60th-minute sub, and she showed why after earning the assist on Lavelle’s game-winner on Tuesday. Hailie Mace, brought in after an injury to Kelley O’Hara, got time at left back in both games, but Emily Fox has appeared to cement her starting spot at the position.

Ultimately, this week was about the starters more than it was about determining depth. Roster stability is important, but it would still be fair for USWNT fans to look at the team 10 months away from a major tournament and say, “Is this it?”

The answer is both yes and no. Crystal Dunn is very close to returning to play, and it couldn’t come at a better time for the USWNT. Dunn is not only a positive locker room force, but she also can play the No. 8, push forward in the attack, or even take over either outside back position. Her presence in camp this week served as a reminder that there are very talented players still working their way back to the team.

And if anything, this summer has shown that there’s room for them on the roster. It’s hard not to look at the current USWNT defense and wonder what it might look like with Tierna Davidson at the height of her powers, or what the midfield with Sam Mewis could become. Macario, Christen Press, Lynn Williams, Trinity Rodman and others will give the USWNT coaching staff much to consider when selecting the final attacking group.

What we also learned from the USWNT’s path to the 2019 World Cup roster is that it’s still too early to count anybody out. USWNT-capped players like Jaelin Howell, Dahlkemper, Franch, Julie Ertz and even Tobin Heath could all see their numbers called depending on the needs of the team.

England will present the U.S. with the sternest test it’s seen this year, and if that game doesn’t go the USWNT’s way, there are plenty of players waiting in the wings.

Claire Watkins is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering soccer and the NWSL. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

Seattle Storm Surges up the WNBA Standings Off Weekend Wins

Seattle Storm players Skylar Diggins and Nneka Ogwumike laugh during a 2025 WNBA game.
The Seattle Storm took down both the Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty last weekend. (Jeff Bottari/NBAE via Getty Images)

The biggest victors in the WNBA last weekend were the Seattle Storm, as the fifth-place contenders took down the last two league champions to record six wins in their last seven games.

The Storm first took down 2022 and 2023 champs Las Vegas 90-83 on Friday before toppling reigning title-winners New York 89-79 on Sunday.

Guard Skylar Diggins and forward Nneka Ogwumike powered Seattle's two games, putting up 44 and 51 points, respectively, over the weekend.

Forward Gabby Williams also helped fuel the Storm's weekend with two double-double performances.

Seattle is now just one game behind the similarly surging fourth-place Atlanta Dream, while trailing the red-hot No. 3 Phoenix Mercury by 1.5 games.

"Staying ready is what the group is," Storm head coach Noelle Quinn told reporters on Friday. "They're professionals, they're vets."

Teams at the top of the WNBA standings aren't the only squads that saw weekend success, as the No. 6 Golden State Valkyries snagged their second win in a row with Sunday's 87-63 thrashing of the last-place Connecticut Sun.

Despite registering Friday losses, both No. 7 Las Vegas and the No. 9 Washington Mystics finished the weekend on a high note, earning big Sunday wins over the No. 8 Indiana Fever and No. 12 Dallas Wings, respectively.

How to watch the Seattle Storm this week

The Storm will suit back up for another tricky WNBA test on Tuesday, when Seattle hosts the always-dangerous Indiana Fever at 10 PM ET.

The game will air live on NBA TV.

WNBA Injuries, Absences Fuel New York Liberty Losing Streak

New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart gestures questioningly during a 2025 WNBA game.
A short-staffed New York squad fell to Seattle on Sunday. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

The reigning champion New York Liberty battled through injury and absences over the weekend, narrowly retaining their second-place spot in the WNBA standings despite seeing their losing streak extend to two games with Sunday's 89-79 stumble against the Seattle Storm.

Already missing starting guard Leonie Fiebich, who is overseas competing at the 2025 FIBA EuroBasket tournament, the Liberty also played without center Jonquel Jones and guard Sabrina Ionescu.

While Ionescu is day-to-day with a neck issue, Jones will miss four to six weeks of action due to an ankle injury, the team announced on Saturday.

Despite dropping three of their last four matchups, the champs appear to be taking their recent downturn in stride.

"This isn't going to be the hardest thing that we face all season," said forward Breanna Stewart after Sunday's loss. "We have to kind of embrace the adversity a little bit, whether it's we're down players or things happen in the middle of the game."

New York wasn't the only team in trouble this weekend, though, as the Indiana Fever followed up last Thursday's stumble against the Golden State Valkyries with an 89-81 Sunday loss to the Las Vegas Aces.

Fever guard Caitlin Clark is now one-for-17 from behind the arc in her last two games, as Indiana struggles to break out of their eighth-place standing.

How to watch the New York Liberty this week

New York will hope for added firepower in order to snap their losing streak on Wednesday, when they'll face a rising Golden State squad at 10 PM ET.

Coverage of the game will air live on WNBA League Pass.

Louisville Grabs Momentum as NWSL Races Into Midseason Break

Racing Louisville teammates celebrate a goal by Arin Wright during a 2025 NWSL match.
Racing Louisville enters the midseason NWSL break at No. 7 on the table. (Jeff Dean/NWSL via Getty Images)

The NWSL is officially taking a breather, with the league kicking off the 2025 extended summer break after a roller-coaster weekend slate.

With half the of the 26-match regular season in the books, the No. 1 Kansas City Current extended their lead on the NWSL table to a towering eight points after defeating No. 11 Angel City 1-0 on Friday.

Helping balloon Kansas City's lead was No. 7 Racing Louisville, who kept No. 2 Orlando from claiming any points by securing a 2-0 upset win over the Pride on Friday.

With wins in five of their last seven matches, Louisville's refreshed roster has Racing entering the 2025 summer break with a 6-5-2 NWSL record, as the 2021 expansion side zeros in on a franchise-first playoff run.

"It's all about us. We're not really focused on the other team like we did a little last year," said midfielder Taylor Flint. "What are we going to do — what's our identity? I think that's a huge part of how we've been winning all these games."

On the other end of the table, the bottom four NWSL teams — Angel City, the No. 12 Houston Dash, No. 13 Chicago Stars, and No. 14 Utah Royals — will be looking for a major midseason reboot, after none managed to register a single win in the last five matchdays.

"We go from here, we break now, recharge, and we will be a very difficult opponent for a lot of teams in the second part of the season. That is our target now," said Angel City head coach Alexander Straus after Friday's loss.

There's still a lot left in 2025 NWSL play, with skidding teams banking on fresh starts while surging squads prepare to hit the ground running as soon as the season picks back up in August.

Australian Golfer Minjee Lee Wins KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

Minjee Lee holds the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship trophy after her win.
Minjee Lee won the third major tournament title of her career on Sunday. (Darren Carroll/PGA of America via Getty Images)

Australian golfer Minjee Lee came out on top at the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, lifting the third major tournament trophy of her career on Sunday.

Entering the final round atop the leaderboard, Lee never relinquished the lead, finishing the tournament a solid three strokes ahead of the competition.

"I definitely was nervous starting the day," the 29-year-old acknowledged following her win. "I looked calm, but not as calm as everybody thinks."

The win earned Lee both an 18-spot rankings boost to world No. 6 and a $1.8 million cut of the event's $12 million prize pool.

Finishing the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship just behind Lee in a second-place tie were 21-year-old Thai pro and new world No. 29 Chanettee Wannasaen and 24-year-old US standout and new No. 49 Auston Kim. Each took home $944,867 thanks to their four-day performances.

Kim, in particular, cobbled together a massive comeback run, chipping away at her nine-stroke deficit entering the competition's final round to claim the best finish of her young career.

"I'm very proud of what I did," the LPGA Tour sophomore said afterwards. "Obviously, the result was really good, but I'm really happy how I handled myself, my emotions, all the adversity. The course is playing really, really tough, but I feel like this week my team and I were very locked in."

Notably, the tournament's top three finishers were the only participants to finish below par, as the field struggled with a punishing week of both Texas heat and windier-than-usual conditions.

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