The 2023 Women’s World Cup is underway in Australia and New Zealand.

The knockout stage kicks off Saturday. The U.S. women’s national team, which is looking to defend its 2015 and 2019 titles, faces world No. 3 Sweden at 5 a.m. ET Sunday in the Round of 16.

What is the World Cup format?

The 32 teams are split into eight groups of four countries each. The two highest-finishing teams from each group will advance to a 16-team bracket for the knockout rounds.

What is the complete World Cup schedule?

New Zealand and Australia kicked off the tournament as hosts on July 20. All times listed below are in Eastern Time.

Group A: New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Switzerland

• Thursday, July 20
  • New Zealand 1, Norway 0
• Friday, July 21
  • Switzerland 2, Philippines 0
• Tuesday, July 25
  • Philippines 1, New Zealand 0
  • Switzerland 0, Norway 0
• Sunday, July 30
  • Switzerland 0, New Zealand 0
  • Norway 6, Philippines 0
• Group winner: Switzerland
• Group runner-up: Norway
• Eliminated: New Zealand, Philippines

Group B: Australia, Ireland, Nigeria, Canada

• Thursday, July 20
  • Australia 1, Ireland 0
  • Canada 0, Nigeria 0
• Wednesday, July 26
  • Canada 2, Ireland 1
• Thursday, July 27
  • Nigeria 3, Australia 2
• Monday, July 31
  • Australia 3, Canada 0
  • Nigeria 0, Ireland 0
• Group winner: Australia
• Group runner-up: Nigeria
• Eliminated: Canada, Ireland

Group C: Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia, Japan

• Friday, July 21
  • Spain 3, Costa Rica 0
• Saturday, July 22
  • Japan 5, Zambia 0
• Wednesday, July 26
  • Japan 2, Costa Rica 0
  • Spain 5, Zambia 0
• Monday, July 31
  • Japan 4, Spain 0
  • Zambia 3, Costa Rica 1
• Group winner: Japan
• Group runner-up: Spain
• Eliminated: Zambia, Costa Rica

Group D: England, Denmark, China, Haiti

• Saturday, July 22
  • England 1, Haiti 0
  • Denmark 1, China 0
• Friday, July 28
  • England 1, Denmark 0
  • China 1, Haiti 0
• Tuesday, Aug. 1
  • England 6, China 1
  • Denmark 2, Haiti 0
• Group winner: England
• Group runner-up: Denmark
• Eliminated: China, Haiti

Group E: United States, Netherlands, Portugal, Vietnam

• Friday, July 21
  • United States 3, Vietnam 0
• Sunday, July 23
  • Netherlands 1, Portugal 0
• Wednesday, July 26
  • United States 1, Netherlands 1
• Thursday, July 27
  • Portugal 2, Vietnam 0
• Tuesday, Aug. 1
  • United States 0, Portugal 0
  • Netherlands 7, Vietnam 0
• Group winner: Netherlands
• Group runner-up: United States
• Eliminated: Portugal, Vietnam

Group F: France, Jamaica, Brazil, Panama

• Sunday, July 23
  • France 0, Jamaica 0
• Monday, July 24
  • Brazil 4, Panama 0
• Saturday, July 29
  • France 2, Brazil 1
  • Jamaica 1, Panama 0
• Wednesday, Aug. 2
  • France 6, Panama 3
  • Jamaica 0, Brazil 0
• Group winner: France
• Group runner-up: Jamaica
• Eliminated: Brazil, Panama

Group G: Sweden, South Africa, Italy, Argentina

• Sunday, July 23
  • Sweden 2, South Africa 1
• Monday, July 24
  • Italy 1, Argentina 0
• Thursday, July 27
  • Argentina 2, South Africa 2
• Saturday, July 29
  • Sweden 5, Italy 0
• Wednesday, Aug. 2
  • Sweden 2, Argentina 0
  • South Africa 3, Italy 2
• Group winner: Sweden
• Group runner-up: South Africa
• Eliminated: Italy, Argentina

Group H: Germany, Morocco, Colombia, South Korea

• Monday, July 24
  • Germany 6, Morocco 0
  • Colombia 2, South Korea 0
• Sunday, July 30
  • Morocco 1, South Korea 0
  • Colombia 2, Germany 1
• Thursday, Aug. 3
  • South Korea 1, Germany 1
  • Morocco 1, Colombia 0
• Group winner: Colombia
• Group runner-up: Morocco
• Eliminated: Germany, South Korea

Round of 16

• Saturday, Aug. 5
  • 1 a.m. — Switzerland vs. Spain
  • 4 a.m. — Japan vs. Norway
  • 10 p.m. — Netherlands vs. South Africa
• Sunday, Aug. 6
  • 5 a.m. — Sweden vs. United States
• Monday, Aug. 7
  • 3:30 a.m. — England vs. Nigeria
  • 6:30 a.m. — Australia vs. Denmark
• Tuesday, Aug. 8
  • 4 a.m. — Colombia vs. Jamaica
  • 7 a.m. — France vs. Morocco

Quarterfinals

• Thursday, Aug. 10
  • 9 p.m. — Round of 16 winners
• Friday, Aug. 11
  • 3:30 a.m — Round of 16 winners
• Saturday, Aug. 12
  • 3 a.m. — Round of 16 winners
  • 6:30 a.m. — Round of 16 winners

Semifinals

• Tuesday, Aug. 15
  • 4 a.m. — Quarterfinal winners
• Wednesday, Aug. 16
  • 6 a.m. — Quarterfinal winners

Third-place match

• Saturday, Aug. 19
  • 4 a.m. — Semifinal losers

Championship match

• Sunday, Aug. 20
  • 6 a.m. — Semifinal winners

What are the tie-breaking procedures?

What happens in the event of a draw in a match?

Teams can draw in the group stage, with each team taking a singular point from the game in the event of a tie after 90 minutes.

During the knockout rounds, a 30-minute extra period will be added, split into two 15-minute halves. If, after the extra period, the teams are still tied, the match will be decided via penalty shootout.

A coin toss will determine which team takes the first penalty, which each team taking five shots each. Each penalty shot must be taken by a different player. Once each team has taken its five penalty shots, the team in the lead will win the match. If the same amount of penalties have been scored by either side, the shootout will continue in a sudden-death format.

What happens if there is a tie in points in the group stage?

If two or more teams are tied on points in their group at the end of the three games, the team with the greatest goal differential (goals scored minus goals conceded) will finish higher. If the teams are still tied, then the team with the most goals will finish higher.

If the above qualifiers don’t break the tie, then the teams’ head-to-head record will be the deciding factor.

If two teams have the same amount of points and tied in their match against each other, fair play will be the deciding factor. Fair play is determined by how many cards the teams have been shown during the group stage, using the following point values:

• Yellow card: -1 point
• Indirect red card (two yellow cards): -3 points
• Direct red card: -4 points
• Yellow card then direct red card: -5 points

The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) enters its inaugural postseason this weekend, with the Talons and Bandits to battle in the 2025 Championship Series to determine the first-ever title-winner of the new four-team pro league.

The 2025 AUSL Championship Series will run as a best-of-three competition between the top two finishers in the standings, with the Talons entering as favorites behind a league-best 18-6 season record.

Meanwhile, the offense-heavy Bandits finished regular-season play in second place with a 15-9 record, despite leading the AUSL in batting average, runs scored, doubles, home runs, total bases, slugging percentage, hits, triples, on-base percentage, and RBIs.

The Bandits' offense — led by 2025 AUSL Hitter of the Year Erin Coffel — will have to contend with the Talons' league-leading defense.

Helmed by this year's Defensive Player of the Year, Talons shortstop Hannah Flippen, the inaugural 10-player AUSL All-Defensive Team included a full five athletes from the league-leading roster.

Pitcher of the Year Georgina Corrick also made the elite defenders list, earning her two honors behind an AUSL-leading 2.04 ERA for the Talons and the league's only perfect record in the circle.

Notably, despite the Talons finishing the 2025 regular season on top, the Bandits have been the toughest task for the league leaders this season: The No. 2 squad handed them four of their six losses, outscoring the Talons 45-31 across their eight matchups.

"They've been a thorn in our side a little bit," acknowledged Talons head coach Howard Dobson.

Even so, this weekend wipes the slate clean.

"It doesn't matter what's happened up to this point," said Bandits head coach Stacey Nuveman-Deniz. "It's literally which team comes at it the sharpest, making the fewest mistakes."

How to watch the 2025 AUSL Championship Series

The Talons and Bandits will take the field for the inaugural AUSL Championship Series at 3 PM ET on Saturday, airing live on ESPN.

Sunday's 2 PM ET clash will also air on ESPN, with ESPN2 claiming Monday's potential 7 PM ET winner-take-all finale.

With one last match remaining, the 2025 UEFA Women's Euro has already become the most-attended edition in tournament history, bursting through the 600,000-fan attendance mark during the first match of this week's semifinal round.

That Tuesday mark officially surpassed the previous tournament record attendance of 574,875 fans, set during the 2022 edition in England.

Exceeding event organizers' predictions, Switzerland's iteration is currently on track to become the first Women's Euro to see average crowds of over 20,000 fans per match — a mark made even more impressive by the fact that half of the eight 2025 venues have capacities well under 17,000 seats.

Along with the competition's record-smashing attendance, global TV viewership of the 2025 Euro has also boomed, with live coverage reaching new highs both in Europe and abroad.

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A peak of 10.2 million UK viewers tuned in to see the defending champion Lionesses defeat Italy in their semifinal on Tuesday, delivering broadcaster ITV their largest audience of 2025 so far.

US broadcaster Fox Sports is also seeing historic numbers from the company's history-making media deal, with US viewership continuing to climb.

With an average of 925,000 US viewers tuning in to see Germany advance past France in last week's quarterfinal, Fox is already gearing up for an even better turnout for Sunday's grand finale.

How to watch the 2025 Euro final

World No. 2 Spain will take on No. 5 England in the 2025 Euro final at 12 PM ET on Sunday, airing live on Fox.

As injured guard Caitlin Clark looked on from the bench, the Indiana Fever refused to quit, silencing Las Vegas 80-70 on Thursday night to overtake the Aces at No. 6 in the WNBA standings.

Indiana guard Kelsey Mitchell led the team with 21 points, helping the Fever secure back-to-back wins over the now-No. 7 Aces for the first time since the franchise landed in Las Vegas in 2018.

"It started out with our defense," Indiana forward Natasha Howard said after the game. "We don't rely on our offense a lot…. When our defense is going, our offense is going."

The rest of Thursday's slate saw standout individual performances give way to blowout victories, with the No. 4 Seattle Storm and No. 10 LA Sparks both earning results.

Sparks guard Kelsey Plum tied LA-turned-Seattle star Nneka Ogwumike for the most 30-point games in franchise history during LA's 101-86 Thursday win over the last-place Connecticut Sun, hitting the milestone in just 24 matchups.

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Elsewhere, 19-year-old Seattle rookie Dominique Malonga also made waves, becoming the youngest-ever WNBA player to record a double-double with her 14-point, 10-rebound showing in the Storm's 95-57 drubbing of the No. 11 Chicago Sky.

All in all, as some teams heat up, others are out in the cold as the race to the 2025 WNBA postseason grows fiercer by the day.

The final WNBA team returning to regular-season action from the 2025 All-Star weekend hits the court on Friday night, when the Golden State Valkyries resume their quest to become the first expansion side to make the playoffs in their debut season.

Entering the WNBA All-Star break on a three-game losing skid, No. 9 Golden State will shoot to regain momentum with games against No. 12 Dallas and No. 13 Connecticut this weekend.

The weekend action features tight clashes across the WNBA standings, with serious positioning implications on the line:

• No. 3 Phoenix Mercury vs. No. 2 New York Liberty, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): Both the Mercury and Liberty are getting healthy, with Phoenix aiming to curb a two-game losing streak during their visit to a surging New York.

• No. 12 Dallas Wings vs. No. 9 Golden State Valkyries, Friday at 10 PM ET (ION): It's a youth-fueled battle as the quick-start Valkyries attempt to re-enter the win column against the young and hungry Wings.

• No. 4 Seattle Storm vs. No. 8 Washington Mystics, Saturday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The up-and-down Mystics look to prove they can hang with some of the best as they host perennial playoff contenders Seattle.

• No. 5 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Sunday at 7 PM ET (NBA TV): Following a turbulent July, Atlanta faces a tough test of their resilience in Sunday's clash with the league-leading Lynx.