The U.S. women’s national team exited the Concacaf W Championship group stage with a clean sheet through three victories but plenty of questions.

USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski used the team’s three group-stage matches in the World Cup qualifying tournament to maximize rotation and player looks. With the knockout stages ahead, roster speculation is running rampant, with certain players making their case while others still have more to prove.

The USWNT will take the pitch again at 7 p.m. ET Thursday for a semifinal match against Costa Rica.

Goalkeeper

The starting goalkeeper role appears to be up for grabs, with the race down to veteran Alyssa Naeher and up-and-comer Casey Murphy.

Murphy got the starting nod against Mexico after Naeher played in the USWNT’s Jamaica matchup, adding to speculation about who holds the USWNT’s starting goalkeeper position. Andonovski has said he wants to give Murphy experience — she also started the opener against Haiti — as the coaching staff is well aware of what Naeher can do.

The race for starting goalie will likely come down to Naeher’s experience and proven success at big tournaments versus Murphy’s upside and potential.

Defense

Andonovski has yet to settle on a core defensive unit, but certain players have made their cases for places in the starting lineup.

Emily Fox looks to have locked up her place as the starting left back. Though the Racing Louisville defender missed the team’s last group-stage matchup against Mexico due to COVID-19 protocol, Fox’s starting spot doesn’t appear to be in jeopardy. Andonovski has spoken about Fox’s impressive one-on-one defensive capabilities and ability to spark the USWNT’s attack from the flanks.

On the other side of the pitch, Kelley O’Hara and Sofia Huerta are the final two players in contention for the right-back role. Following the group stage’s trio of games, O’Hara seems to have upped her stock with a goal and a series of solid performances. Huerta, however, has shown her ability to make plays from the flanks, launching quality services into the box.

The center-back duo of Alana Cook and Becky Sauerbrunn looked to be Andonovski’s starting pick ahead of the Concacaf W Championship, but a breakout performance from Naomi Girma may have complicated that choice. The San Diego Wave defender hasn’t put a foot wrong this tournament, shutting down opponents’ attack while distributing quality balls up the pitch.

A shining quality of Naomi Girma is her ability to set the attack with long-range accuracy or dribble out of pressure. This is the type of incisive pass the #USWNT needs more of. It's paying off already.pic.twitter.com/tcrdPC4CqQ

— Jeff Kassouf (@JeffKassouf) July 7, 2022

Midfield

The midfield is the area of the roster with the most questions. After Julie Ertz’s injury and maternity leave, the USWNT has struggled to fill the defensive midfield position. Andi Sullivan is the apparent heir to Ertz, but has yet to find her footing during Concacaf competition as she comes back after a season plagued by injury. Andonovski has toyed with playing Lindsey Horan and Kristie Mewis in the No. 6 position, but neither looks to be a natural fit, as both are attacking-minded players.

Sam Coffey, midfielder for the Portland Thorns, has been called into Concacaf after forward Ashley Hatch suffered a tournament-ending injury, perhaps acknowledging the lack of depth in the defensive midfield position.

Rose Lavelle and Ashley Sanchez have proved their ability to inject creativity into the USWNT’s attack, with the duo overloading and exposing opponents’ defenses when on the pitch together. Depending on the opponent, and their defensive lift, Sanchez may be able to sneak into the starting lineup in the future.

For now, however, Andonovski appears to be committed to a Sullivan, Lavelle and Horan midfield.

KRISTIE IN THE 89TH 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/8RhSJz4pXJ

— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) July 12, 2022

Attack

The USWNT’s attack is the deepest point on the team’s roster, but the starting lineup is essentially locked in. Andonovski has made it clear Sophia Smith and Mallory Pugh are his two starting wingers, while Alex Morgan has earned her No. 9 spot with a stellar season for club and country.

Hatch got quality minutes before exiting Concacaf early with an injury but failed to make her case as the starting No. 9, especially when put next to an in-form Morgan.

Margaret Purce has also dazzled in Mexico, perhaps solidifying her place as the second-in-line on the right flank. Trinity Rodman, the NWSL Rookie of the Year, hasn’t seen too many minutes in Mexico, making Megan Rapinoe the apparent relief winger on the left side of the pitch.

US swimming icon Katie Ledecky is back on top, earning her 22nd world title with a gold medal-winning 1,500-meter freestyle performance at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships on Tuesday.

Finishing with a time of 15:26.44, Ledecky now owns 25 of the top 26 times in the event's history and holds six World Aquatics Championships titles at that distance.

"Each one has meaning, and I love every race that I've had at Worlds over the years," the 28-year-old swimming star told broadcasters following her Tuesday victory.

That 22nd title brought Ledecky's combined Worlds total to an overall 28 medals, lifting the star to second on the all-time most decorated list where she trails only retired US men's star Michael Phelps's 33 podium finishes.

Earlier in the week, the Team USA standout took bronze in the 400-meter freestyle, coming in third behind China's silver-medalist Li Bingjie and Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh, who won the race with a time of 3:56.26.

Gold medals have been hard to come by for Team USA at this year's World Championships.

Other than Ledecky's win and the 100-meter butterfly title snagged by Gretchen Walsh on Monday, the US women have struggled to claim gold medals as they push to recover from the acute gastroenteritis that hit several team members at their pre-meet training camp in Thailand.

That stomach bug inhibited multiple US swimmers from traveling with the team to the Singapore meet, and saw contenders like 100-meter butterfly Olympic gold medalist Torri Huske pull out of initial heats.

"We're taking it a day at a time," said Team USA head coach Greg Meehan about the impact of the illness. "Obviously, this is not how we thought the first few days of this competition would go. But I'm really proud of our team."

How to watch Ledecky at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships

The 2025 World Aquatics Championships runs through Sunday, and US star Ledecky has two events left to swim at the meet.

On Thursday, she'll compete in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, before facing another showdown with rival McIntosh in the 800-meter freestyle on Saturday.

Preliminary heats kick off the night before at 10 PM ET, with finals seeing staggered starts beginning at 7 AM ET.

Live coverage of the meet airs on Peacock.

UEFA Women's Euro 2025 made a splash across the pond, drawing an average of 458,000 US viewers per match across FOX platforms to mark a 97% viewership increase over the 2022 edition — making this year's tournament the most-watched English-language Women's Euro on record.

Building off the 2025 competition's previously reported record-breaking numbers, Sunday's grand finale between defending champs England and 2023 World Cup winners Spain averaged 1.35 million US viewers — a 53% increase in viewership over the last Women's Euro championship match.

Even more, the broadcast ultimately peaked at 1.92 million fans tuning in, making it the most-watched English-language Women's Euro Final on record.

View this post on Instagram

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

The historic viewership is a major win for broadcaster FOX, who secured the women's tournament's first-ever US media deal back in May.

Initially committing to live coverage of 20 of the tournament's matches, record returns motivated the broadcast giant to quickly pivot and air all 31 matches live as part of its FOX Sports Summer of Soccer campaign.

"More and more people are tuning in to watch soccer in the US," FOX Sports commentator and UWSNT vet Carli Lloyd told The Athletic. "There's just been an incredible amount of soccer on display, which has been fantastic for the sport."

As the NWSL preps for this weekend's return from an extended summer break, No. 4 Washington Spirit star forward Trinity Rodman is also hoping to re-take the pitch for the first time since April.

Rodman is currently back training with the team, rejoining her club after undergoing extended treatment overseas for chronic back issues.

"I'd never really dealt with something like that," Rodman admitted after an open practice earlier this week. "So, for me, mentally, it was very difficult."

"[I was] trying to function through pain, and kind of gaslight myself to thinking it was fine every day, when it wasn't," she said. "I can now kind of openly say, I was in pain all the time."

Rodman also admits that stepping away was, though difficult, the right call to make for her healing.

"Obviously, it sucks being away from the team and being away from soccer in general," she added. "But I got to work on things that I wouldn't have gotten to work on if I was in the team environment all the time, so I think that was a positive."

Rodman's availability fluctuated after she earned an Olympic gold medal with the USWNT in Paris last summer, with the soccer superstar featuring in just four Spirit games this season — and none since stepping away in April.

Now functioning pain-free, Rodman's next on-pitch challenge is balancing her competitive intensity with her newly found health.

"It's really understanding my body and acknowledging [when] it's in pain," she explained. "And not pushing through things that I shouldn't."

View this post on Instagram

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

Rodman eyes new contract amid NWSL return

On top of navigating her return to play, Rodman is also actively negotiating with the Washington Spirit for a contract renewal.

Her current deal expires at the end of 2025, and with interest in the US standout reportedly mounting from overseas clubs, the 23-year-old could eventually field multiple offers.

Considering her lack of minutes so far this season, the star called the assumed interest "a weird situation."

"I'm trying not to stress about it or put too much pressure on it," she said of the ongoing talks. "At the end of the day, I'm worried about health first.... Everything else can come next."

Wednesday's WNBA bill puts a heavyweight battle in the spotlight, as 2024 finalists and 2025 league leaders Minnesota will host reigning champion No. 2 New York in their first face-off of the season — with the Liberty hoping to rattle both the Lynx and the standings.

"I think common sense would say that those two teams probably should have played earlier in the season," Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve told media this week, referencing the apparent scheduling idiosyncrasies that delayed the championship rematch.

"It doesn't feel like a Finals rematch anymore, honestly," Lynx forward Napheesa Collier echoed. "It's a new year for us. And it's been so long, it's almost August, so it's just the two top teams going against each other."

Both squads enter the clash on uncharacteristic skids, as Minnesota and New York look to avenge recent losses while other WNBA teams jockey for positioning during the league's Wednesday night slate:

• No. 3 Phoenix Mercury vs. No. 6 Indiana Fever, 7 PM ET (ESPN3): The Fever must continue to contend without injured star guard Caitlin Clark, as Indiana faces a newly healthy Mercury side striving to steal back the No. 2 spot with a win.

• No. 5 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 11 Dallas Wings, 8 PM ET (ESPN3): After a disappointing Tuesday upset loss, the will Dream close out a back-to-back against a bolstered Dallas squad fresh off a big victory over New York.

• No. 2 New York Liberty vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, 8 PM ET (ESPN): With a four-game lead in the standings, the Lynx aren't in danger of giving up their perch at the top, but a strong performance from the Liberty could provide a much-needed boost to the ailing title-holders.