The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is less than a year away, with the countdown to Australia and New Zealand officially on.

The U.S. women’s national team will look to defend its 2015 and 2019 titles — and the squad has a lot to prove after a disappointing bronze-medal performance in Tokyo.

The women’s game, however, has changed rapidly since 2019’s World Cup in France, and plenty of challengers will look to derail the USWNT’s bid for a three-peat.

Biggest threats to USWNT’s World Cup defense

England

Fresh off a thrilling victory at the UEFA Women’s EURO, England looks more dominant than ever. The Lionesses took out Spain, Sweden and Germany on their road to the title, a promising sign for the team’s World Cup hopes.

The England squad of 2023 will look much different than the one that fell to the USWNT in the 2019 World Cup semifinal.

First and foremost, the Lionesses have a new coach in Sarina Wiegman, who led the Netherlands to a World Cup final against the USWNT in 2019. Under Wiegman, England looks much more organized, with a well-oiled attack.

The Lionesses, much like the USWNT, have ushered in a new era, with Alessia Russo and Beth Mead stepping up as veterans Ellen White and Jill Scott announce their retirements.

England is a much-improved team since its 2-0 loss to the United States at the 2020 SheBelieves Cup, and the team will be eager to show off its current form when the two squads clash in October in a friendly at Wembley Stadium.

CHLOE. KELLY. @Chloe_Kelly98 😱#WEURO2022 pic.twitter.com/TgTUvvZJW3

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) July 31, 2022

Germany

Never count out Germany.

While the Germans fell to England in the Euro final and were stunned by Sweden in the quarterfinals of the 2019 World Cup, the European powerhouse is still a favorite heading into Australia and New Zealand next July.

With more youth being integrated into the team’s roster, the German team looks sharper this World Cup cycle. The mix of young talent with proven veterans like Alexandra Popp has created a squad with the experience and drive necessary for a World Cup run.

France

France will be a force to be reckoned with at the upcoming World Cup, especially if Marie-Antoinette Katoto is fully recovered in time for the tournament.

The star striker had an impressive 2022 as the anchor to Les Bleus’ attack before suffering an ACL tear during France’s Euro campaign,. For club Paris Saint-Germain, Katoto registered 18 goals in 21 regular-season appearances during her 2021-2022 Division 1 Féminine run.

France will hope Katoto returns to form in time for Australia and New Zealand, which would allow her to join the likes of Delphine Cascarino, Kadidiatou Diani and Grace Geyoro on a young and eager roster.

Les Bleus will also enjoy a more relaxed environment in 2023, away from the limelight and pressure of playing hosts in 2019.

Marie-Antoinette Katoto doubles France's lead over Italy 👏🇫🇷

(📽️: @TUDNUSA )pic.twitter.com/ZcntVSlQfx

— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) July 10, 2022

Spain

Spain has been a thorn in the side of the USWNT in recent years, with the United States battling to a narrow 2-1 win in the 2019 World Cup and a 1-0 victory in January 2019.

Since their last meeting, Alexia Putellas has emerged as one of, if not the best, players in the world for Spain. Should she be able to fully recover from her ACL tear in time for the 2023 World Cup, Spain could spell trouble for the USWNT.

Spain likes to dominate possession, a style of play that the USWNT has traditionally struggled against. The USWNT wants to dictate tempo, but against Spain, the United States will have to be comfortable playing without the ball for prolonged periods.

Should Spain’s Putellas and Jenni Hermoso return from injury, Spain will be in an excellent position to challenge the USWNT down under.

Honorable mention: Brazil

Though Brazil has suffered losses to France, Denmark and Sweden in 2022, the Pia Sundhage-led squad may come up big in Australia and New Zealand. Sundhagen has Brazil playing a disciplined game, grounding a capable attack propelled by Debinha and Kerolin.

The 2025 US Open has officially landed in New York, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka looks to kick off her 2024 title defense when the main draw of the tennis season's final Grand Slam hits courts on Sunday.

The Queens-based tournament marks Sabalenka's last shot at winning a major title this season, with the three-time Slam victor falling in both the 2025 Australian Open and 2025 French Open finals as well as stumbling out of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships in the semifinal round.

With the sport's biggest payday on the line, tennis's top talent are preparing to battle Sabalenka for both hardware and the tournament's record $5 million champion's check.

Joining the 27-year-old on this year's US Open roster are reigning Wimbledon champion No. 2 Iga Świątek, 2025 French Open winner No. 3 Coco Gauff, and home-state hero and 2024 US Open runner-up No. 4 Jessica Pegula.

With five of the WTA's Top-11 players, the US contingent is hoping the reclaim the host nation's Grand Slam trophy this year, as reigning Australian Open champ No. 6 Madison Keys, 2025 Wimbledon runner-up No. 9 Amanda Anisimova, and No. 11 Emma Navarro join Gauff and Pegula as the USA's frontrunners.

Two-time US Open winner and fan favorite No. 25 Naomi Osaka also enters the tournament as a seeded competitor for the first time since 2021, while 45-year-old icon Venus Williams will take the main-draw court for her 25th Queens Slam after headlining this year's wild card list.

How to watch the 2025 US Open

The US Open singles tournament begins on Sunday and runs through the September 6th final.

Live coverage of the New York Grand Slam will air across ESPN platforms.

The race to the 2025 WNBA Playoffs is heating up, with Thursday night upsets shooting rising contenders like the No. 2 Atlanta Dream and No. 3 Las Vegas Aces up the WNBA standings.

In Atlanta, the Dream handed the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx their first consecutive loss this season, holding on for a 75-73 victory behind guard Allisha Gray's game-leading 27 points.

"It'll help build some confidence to know that we're capable of having beaten Minnesota at Minnesota, and then able to do it again here," remarked Atlanta coach Karl Smesko, referencing his team's July 27th win over the Lynx.

It was a similar story in Las Vegas, where the Aces tacked on a ninth straight victory to their 2025 season tally, pulling off a 83-61 upset win over the now-No. 5 Phoenix Mercury.

Las Vegas star center A'ja Wilson led the charge with a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double, while guard Dana Evans added 17 points off the bench.

"My belief in them has never wavered," Aces coach Becky Hammon said afterwards. "Our locker room, it would've been very easy to fall apart in June when things were not going well for anybody."

"Obviously, at the beginning, we had some rough patches," echoed Evans. "But that made us closer, that brought us closer together, to lean on each other more."

How to watch the Atlanta Dream, Las Vegas Aces this weekend

Both the No. 2 Dream and No. 3 Aces will be back in action on Saturday, when Atlanta hosts a now-No. 4 New York Liberty side at 2 PM ET before Las Vegas shoots for a perfect 10-game winning streak during their visit to the No. 10 Washington Mystics at 3 PM ET.

CBS will provide live coverage of the New York vs. Atlanta clash, while the Las Vegas vs. Washington matchup will air live on WNBA League Pass.

The New York Liberty are officially in free fall, with a 91-85 upset loss to the already-eliminated No. 11 Chicago Sky sending the reigning champs skidding down two spots to No. 4 in the WNBA standings on Thursday.

Despite New York center Jonquel Jones's game-leading 25 points, double-doubles from Sky stars Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso secured the Chicago upset, with Cardoso pairing a team-high 22 points with 15 rebounds.

"Anyone can beat anyone in this league, anyone can win this championship — it's wide open," New York head coach Sandy Brondello said following the upset in which her Liberty struggled to dominate the defensive paint. "But our inconsistency is mind-boggling at times."

"When you give a team hope, that's all they need," added star guard Sabrina Ionescu afterwards. "I'd say in the first half we made things way too easy for them, and that gave them hope going into halftime, knowing that they could hang with us."

New York won't have much time to reflect on their mistakes as they gear up for a Saturday clash against a surging No. 2 Atlanta Dream — all while the Liberty remain without a clear-cut timeline for two-time WNBA MVP forward Breanna Stewart's return from injury.

"I think we have to play more physical in the beginning, and set the tone early," Jones told reporters ahead of the weekend's test.

New York does have some light at the end of the tunnel, as next week's potentially lopsided matchups against the No. 13 Connecticut Sun and No. 10 Washington Mystics follow Saturday's top-table meeting.

How to watch the New York Liberty this weekend

The No. 4 Liberty will aim to get back on track by hitting the road this weekend, taking on the No. 2 Dream in Atlanta at 2 PM ET on Saturday.

Live coverage of the clash will air on CBS.

No. 8 Gotham FC's results disparity deepened this week, as the NJ/NY club claimed all three points off Liga MX side Monterrey in Wednesday's Concacaf W Champions Cup group-stage play after falling 2-1 to the No. 11 Houston Dash last Sunday — leaving the 2023 league champs without an NWSL win since late June.

Gotham has struggled in the league since returning from summer break, entering the match weekend with two draws in addition to Sunday's upset — fueled in part by veteran defender Emily Sonnett's own goal — under their belts this month.

"We try to always look at the glass half full instead of half empty," head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said after last weekend's loss. "Football sometimes throws you some difficult curves."

Now hitting the pitch on short rest, Gotham will aim to take advantage of the last-place Utah Royals on Saturday as they hunt a boost in the NWSL standings.

With just one regular-season win this year, the No. 14 Royals look ready for an offseason refresh after recently sending star forward Ally Sentnor to the No. 1 Kansas City Current.

"I think we're at 60%," Utah manager Jimmy Coenraets said earlier this week. "The 40% margin is getting people to be able to play 90 minutes in the way that we wanted to play."

How to watch Saturday's Gotham FC vs. Utah Royals FC match

No. 8 Gotham will kick off against the visiting No. 14 Utah Royals at 7:30 PM ET on Saturday.

Live coverage of the match will air on ION.