Christen Press still has so much that she wants to do. The two-time World Cup champion with the U.S. women’s national team is on the road to recovery from an ACL injury that has sidelined her for over a year, but while working her way back to the pitch, she’s been anything but idle.
On Wednesday morning, the Angel City forward announced a new partnership with Degree as part of the company’s Change the Field program, which is “working to create safe and inclusive environments for girls of color on and off the field with the ‘Girls Can’ module series,” per a release. It’s a cause close to Press’ heart, she says, as a woman of color in a sport where girls of color are two times more likely to drop out of soccer than girls who are white and live in the suburbs.
“I grew up in an incredible place of privilege,” Press tells Just Women’s Sports, noting that her parents had the ability to fully support her soccer ambitions. “But I feel like I deeply understand the impact of racism and how that impacted myself and my family and being welcomed into spaces, including my own community that was predominantly white.”
Press played youth soccer in Orange County, which she describes as that kind of predominantly white environment that can be isolating for a girl of color playing the sport she loves.
“One thing that my parents taught me at a really young age, through their own action, was how to use that privilege to create change,” she says.
Press says her parents sponsored inner-city girls to join her club teams throughout her career, resulting in rosters that were more diverse and inclusive than the norm.
She now wants to help pass that experience onto the next generation, including the lesson that with privilege comes responsibility. Press notes that the common pay-to-play structure of elite youth soccer in the U.S. is prohibitive to a wide swath of talent, denying girls of color what she considers to be a vital outlet.
“I think when it comes to opportunity, it always boils down to me (as) hope,” she says. “And when you really have an environment, a structure and a society that is limiting to people based on their identity, based on their socioeconomic status, what you get taken is the hope. This idea that you can get out, that you can create change, that you are valuable, that gets taken by the infrastructure.”
That’s where the visibility of international athletes who reflect diversity and inclusion can be so important, as well as breaking down the socioeconomic barriers that exist between girls and their ability to participate in soccer at a high level. And it should surprise no one who is familiar with Press’ ambitions that she’s thinking even bigger.
“The second thing is reimagining the business of sport,” she says. “I think it’s essential that we look at putting women and people of color in leadership positions — that’s owning teams, that’s sitting on boards, that’s owning media divisions, being true decision-makers in women’s sports. And that’s how you’re going to see change.”
Press is leading the charge herself, recently taking the time away from active playing status to dive into women’s sports media through RE-INC, the company she founded alongside Tobin Heath, Megan Rapinoe and Meghan Klingenberg. She and Heath are both recovering from knee surgeries that have kept them off the field for the USWNT and their NWSL club teams for an extended period of time.
During the World Cup, they have been hosting “The RE-CAP Show” on YouTube, providing crucial insights both from a USWNT perspective and from years spent playing club soccer across the globe.
Press and Heath have welcomed guests from the NWSL and USWNT systems, as well as friends like Sweden’s Kosovare Asllani, The Netherlands’ Vivianne Miedema, and England’s Leah Williamson to offer a refreshing look inside international women’s soccer. Press describes the show as a labor of love, and credits her and Heath’s total creative control as the driving force behind her comfort level in front of the camera.
“I don’t think there has been any time where I felt like I had to be a certain way,” she says. “There’s like an ease in front of the camera that I would not have if I wasn’t, you know, producing the show.”
RE-INC would like to pivot the success of “The RE-CAP Show” into a media division of the larger company, with the hope of providing more voices with that same creative space where they can tell their own stories and not shy away from difficult conversations.
“There’s a missing element that we all collectively can fill through beautiful storytelling, and through honesty, and through authenticity,” says Press.
The USWNT’s disappointing World Cup campaign — their Round of 16 loss marked the earliest exit in team history — quickly transitioned into the loudest voices in the media space getting to dictate the conversation surrounding the team. Press and Heath sought to provide a compelling counter-narrative that came from earned experience.
“There’s just something that happens when you get filtered through someone else’s lens,” Press says. “Like a big broadcast agenda, (or) a partnership that doesn’t align with what you truly are.”
That gap also doesn’t always give real insight into what players are experiencing, and Press knows well that it does not fool the USWNT’s avid soccer fanbase.
“I swear anytime I hear something that is in the fan rumor mill, it’s always true, like the fans know what’s going on,” she says with a laugh. “And there is this, like, intimacy between our audience and us. And that has just been the way that it is because we’re accessible.”
Tobin and Christen react to USA losing to Sweden and have conversations with Dawn Scott and Kosovare Asllani ⚽️. This episode of The RE—CAP Show will get you right in the heart, find it anywhere you get your podcasts or watch at https://t.co/Qwtu12sHf8 pic.twitter.com/rgZAHrvZUA
— re—inc (@re__inc) August 7, 2023
“The RE-CAP Show” is about amplifying those connection points, as Press puts it.
“I think that through our show, we’re able to just put words to our why’s,” she continues. “Why we’re doing the things we’re doing, why it matters, and I think that’s just important for people to hear because it’s already felt, it’s already real. Like the community has been there and they’ve been asking for this, and they’ve been fighting for change alongside us.”
While she’s been participating in this year’s World Cup as a media voice rather than a participant, Press is still locked in on the bigger picture. She has hundreds of takeaways from what she’s seen on the international stage this year: Support at the federation level is inconsistent, but gains at the club level worldwide have ushered in a new level of global parity, and the next generation appears ready to pick up the reins.
“We’ve seen some super young talent be fantastic in this tournament,” she says. “We’ve seen a lot of first goals, first qualifications, first wins, and that’s so exciting. It’s been surprising. We saw world powers fall out far before any of us would have ever predicted, and yet in the semifinal you’ve got a lot of familiar faces and top-six teams and a host country.”
Whatever she does next, Press hopes that the legacy of her generation of players will not carry the same burdens, whether for equal pay or basic levels of professionalism and safety.
One of the topics Press has spoken freely about on “The RE-CAP Show” is the feeling of expendability she and her contemporaries struggled with in the NWSL and USWNT, with very little power to control their careers in toxic environments. Press played a key role in the eventual investigation into Rory Dames’ behavior while he was coach of the Chicago Red Stars, filing a formal complaint with U.S. Soccer in 2018. Dames was eventually pushed to resign in 2021 amid allegations of emotional and verbal abuse, and was officially banned from the NWSL in the wake of formal investigation findings in early 2023.
If Press has her way, the experiences she’s had as a player will never even cross the mind of the next generation of stars, like 18-year-old Alyssa Thompson, the youngest player on the USWNT’s World Cup roster.
“I hope that the next generation of player is unburdened,” she says. “I hope that the fight that we have had, that we are having is lesser, that it’s lighter, that it’s possible for a player to just be a professional player and they don’t have to be ‘and’ something else. They don’t have to, ‘and fight to get paid,’ ‘and be’ all these other things that were required of us.
“I think if that’s true for Alyssa Thompson, and she gets to grow up and be a pro and get paid and never have to worry about that, that would be a sign of huge success.”
Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.
Leah Williamson is proud of everything England has accomplished so far at the 2023 World Cup.
While the Lionesses’ captain and star defender is missing the tournament due to an ACL tear, she has kept a close eye on the squad during its run to the semifinal round, she told Christen Press and Tobin Heath on their World Cup podcast “The RE-CAP Show.”
“When I look, I’m proud of the environment that’s been created there,” she said. And even though she knows that she has had a hand in it, there is a small part of her that feels as though the team’s run has “nothing to do” with her.
“Obviously I know that I’ll have played a part in that however small or large that be,” she said. “But also I feel it’s weird, it’s like I’m watching … It has nothing to do with me. If they win, it will have absolutely nothing to do with me. It’s that group of players that have found a way.”
That doesn’t stop Williamson from feeling “so proud” of her teammates.
“I want them to win,” she said. “Like I said before the tournament, I’d give my other ACL if it meant winning.”
Still, she would still love to see more goals being scored by the Lionesses, who have scored 10 goals in five matches so far — but six of those in one match against China in the group stage. That’s the last tweak she would like to see from the Lionesses as they head into the final stretch of the tournament.
“But the resilience, I think our stability as a team and how we’ve adapted,” she said, noting that despite losing players to injury before and during the tournament, the team has remained “rock solid.”
“It fills me with, ‘OK, let’s go and win!'” she continued. “But yeah, I just want to see them being closer together, a bit higher up and figuring out with a change of formation.”
The stakes get higher as the World Cup progresses, and she’s excited to watch the team play Australia.
“[Australia is] arguably the toughest test because I think it’ll bring out the best in our girls as well,” she said. “I know they’re sort of on fire and I do believe it’s one of those games you beat the horse in a semifinal you get a major lift going into a final.”
Rooting for Spain at the 2023 World Cup can be complicated, as U.S. women’s national team players turned World Cup podcast hosts Christen Press and Tobin Heath admitted.
Last September, 15 Spanish players were left off the national team roster amid a dispute with the federation, one which remains unresolved. The players did not want to compete under head coach Jorge Vilda, who has remained with the team through the World Cup. While three of those players returned to the national team for the tournament, others remained off the team, including FC Barcelona stars Patri Guijarro, Mapi León and Sandra Paños.
“It will really piss me off not to go to the World Cup but my values come first,” León said in March.
So Spain has been left with a “complicated” dynamic as the team makes its first-ever World Cup semifinal appearance, as Press and Heath discussed on the latest episode of “The RE-CAP Show.”
“You’ve got this mix of some of their most important players [who] have now come back into the squad and then there’s all these new players that kind of took the place of the traditional 11,” Press said. “So you’ve got this weird dynamic and when I’m looking at the energy I see so much pride in Spain. I saw so many tears from my friends on the Spanish side.”
Both Press and Heath understand the tough position that creates for World Cup fans, with many wanting to support Spain but feeling uncertain over Vilda’s continued presence.
“I think for us fans it’s a little bit complicated too,” Heath said. “I think Spain is another team that it’s loved in football in terms of the way they play and the way that they’ve developed another part of what was missing I think in the women’s game. But it’s complicated, right?”
Someone tell Heath that they didn’t “feel good” rooting for Spain, which essentially meant rooting for the success of the coach. But for those who still want the players themselves to find success, the position leads to internal conflict.
“I think that the hope is that the more success the team has, the bigger voice and the more respect that they get from their country,” Press said. “I think that they deal with a lot of sexism in Spain. I think that in the course of our careers, it has gone from a federation that had absolutely no regard for their women’s program — they didn’t even qualify for World Cups, they weren’t even there — and now they’re winning Ballon d’Ors and they have established a league that can compete in the Champions League. It’s just transformed so quickly.”
The club experience in Spain is transforming, Press has heard from players, but the national team experience has lagged behind. It’s an interesting reversal from what U.S. players experienced, with their national team setting the precedent for club play in the country.
“Ultimately I will always root for the players on the field,” Press continued, “and I will hope that their success, their greatness, their beautiful performances, their goals – I hope the whole country can get behind them and I hope that it will help them get a voice. That’s sort of what you want to celebrate in sport is this idea that you can play for these these changes.
“They shouldn’t have to. They should be heard and listened to and respected the first time that they say something if someone’s talking about an unfriendly unhealthy environment, I don’t need to hear anything more.”
“There is no place for abuse in in women’s football any kind of it there’s no place for it,” Heath added. “It’s not okay, winning does not make abuse okay. And I wish that these players win so they get the platforms and the ability to really change the culture and the narrative that’s going on there because they all deserve better.”
Even still, Press remains behind both the players who chose to play within the system in hopes of changing it and those that opted not to play and put their personal well-being and values above the World Cup. To her, “there’s no wrong decision” from the players.
“I think when I see how much pride these players have, being in their first semi-final how complicated it is,” she said. “All those tears knowing that their play has driven the sport forward and driven the respect for women in their country in such a profound way, I know there it’s a really really hard thing to to process and to understand and we’re we’re with the players we’re rooting for them. Team Spain all the way.”
Just a few pixels doomed the U.S. women’s national team to elimination at the World Cup. FIFA’s official graphic of Sweden’s winning kick in the penalty shootout shows the ball nearly kissing the goal line, with the tiniest sliver of green in between.
“We just lost the World Cup by a millimeter,” USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher said after the game.
Yet while that assessment may hold true for the 5-4 shootout loss to Sweden, the USWNT lost the World Cup before it even arrived in Australia and New Zealand, Tobin Heath said on her World Cup podcast “The RE-CAP Show.”
“It may seem like we lost this game by a millimeter,” she said. “But we lost this tournament by a mile.”
Heath and co-host Christen Press both agreed on the gut-wrenching nature of the Round of 16 elimination, which ended the USWNT’s shortest World Cup run ever,
“I didn’t see a gap between the line and the ball,” Press said. “It was right at the edge. And you just think, this doesn’t make sense.”
“But the whole thing didn’t make sense,” Heath responded. “Like, the whole thing didn’t make sense. The whole tournament didn’t make sense. If you want to go back to the Olympics, that whole tournament didn’t make sense. Like, something’s not making sense here.”
On the previous episode of the podcast, Press had pointed out the larger issues plaguing head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s system, which extended beyond the World Cup group stage to the whole of 2023. She returned to that point after the shootout loss to Sweden.
“I look at the game and like we did not lose the World Cup last night. We lost the World Cup, over weeks, months, days, whatever the timeframe is,” Press said. “It was a slow burn all leading to that moment where the ball was parried and up in the air and it barely went over the line.”
The misuse of star striker Alex Morgan at the World Cup, including her absence from the penalty kick shootout against Sweden, underscores those larger issues, Heath said.
Morgan was asked to drop back in the attack, taking on more responsibilities as playmaker in contrast to her typical role as goalscorer. She struggled at times to juggle those two sides of her game. And then, in extra time against Sweden, she was removed from the game in favor of Megan Rapinoe, which left her unavailable to participate in the deciding shootout.
“I don’t know in what situation we don’t have Alex Morgan in taking a penalty in what seemingly feels like it’s her last World Cup,” Heath said. “She had to watch that. She couldn’t help the team in that moment… You want your biggest players in the biggest moments. And that was hard…
“Were all the players prepared in the way that (they) needed to be for a world championship? Was the group as a whole prepared in the way that it needed to be for a world championship?”
Press provided a succinct response to Heath’s questions: “Clearly not.”
The U.S. women’s national team program failed the U.S. players at the 2023 World Cup, Christen Press said after the USWNT’s elimination at the hands of Sweden in the Round of 16.
While the team looked much improved against Sweden as compared to the group stage, the performance and the results still did not live up to the high standards for the USWNT, Press told Heath on their World Cup podcast “The RE-CAP Show.”
“Why was there any conversation about being OK with being in the Round of 16?” Press asked.
For Press, the mentality of the USWNT boils down to: “We win or we bust.” She remembers that being drilled into her head through her two World Cup title runs with the team in 2015 and 2019. And while she saw that mentality in the players, she didn’t see it “reflected in the way that we combined on the field.”
Heath pointed out the attention paid to the group-stage exits of Germany and Brazil, seemingly to soften the blow of the USWNT’s early exit.
“The fact that we were celebrating because Germany’s out, Brazil’s out, so maybe it’s OK if we go out because we can say, ‘Well, they went out,’ so we can kind of hide behind the shadow of, ‘The world’s catching up. The game’s changing.’ No, that doesn’t belong in the U.S. women’s national team. That talk, get rid of it,” she said. “Get rid of it, because I wouldn’t want to be a part of a program that settled for the Round of 16. I wasn’t a part of that program.
“I become passionate about this because I dedicated my whole life to that team since I was a kid. It’s awful, because when I see that team, I don’t see myself in that team. And I love those players to death. Those players are closer to me than anything in this world. And when I don’t see my players being set up to succeed, that breaks my heart.”
For Press, the system put in place for the team ahead of the World Cup led to the team’s downfall. And while players attempted to “smile and make it through it,” according to Press, the cracks still showed on the field. Conversations about the world catching up are true. But that doesn’t mean the USWNT can’t still thrive.
Press could see that belief in the players, even until the very end, because “that’s the heart and soul of this team,” according to Press.
“It’s win no matter what, it doesn’t matter if you’re saying something that you don’t believe if you’re faking it to making it,” she said. “I believe that every single player did and said every single thing with the most intention to win. And I think that it was the program that let every person down.”
Abby Dahlkemper looks back on her time with the North Carolina Courage with mixed feelings. In 2017, Dahlkemper was named NWSL Defender of the Year and then helped the team win the NWSL Championship the following season.
But Dahlkemper said on The RE-CAP Show that those years now feel “grimy.” The Courage were coached by Paul Riley, who was banned from the NWSL for life in 2023 after revelations of sexual and verbal abuse.
“Doesn’t take away from the success I had, or our team had, but it does feel a little heavy for me,” she said. “Wishing it could’ve been for a better human.”
Riley was fired from the Courage in September 2021 after a report in The Athletic detailed his abuse from 2011-15.
“When you’re in the situation and you’re kind of getting a little gaslighted, you’re not really realizing what’s happening,” Dahlkemper said. “It’s hard to notice the bad behavior and what’s happening.”
Christen Press, co-host of the The RE-CAP Show alongside fellow USWNT veteran Tobin Heath, noted she endured a similar situation playing for the Chicago Red Stars under then-coach Rory Dames.
“It was an abusive and toxic environment the whole time, and I didn’t even know it,” Press said. “I have this whole complex of, I can’t leave the girls, I can’t leave the girls. I tried to fix everything from the inside. I thought I was the one who could stand up.”
Press eventually asked Dames to be traded because of his treatment and filed a formal complaint against him with US Soccer.
Dames was also banned from the league for life, along with Christy Holly and Richie Burke.
Press said it feels like players are living on a “knife’s edge,” because of the financial rewards tied to playing for the U.S. Women’s National Team. And than can be a disincentive for players to speak out against coaches.
“Scoring goals in club, meant I got to go into camp, which means I actually have a job that I can support myself with,” she said. “We’re, like, living in this world where, anything that goes awry, it feels like it’s going to take our whole dream away.”
The U.S. women’s national team is playing in the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand without a number of familiar faces.
Just Women’s Sports is taking a look at who those players are and why they’re absent. Next up: Christen Press.
Position: Forward
Total caps: 115
Most recent USWNT appearance: Aug. 5, 2021 vs. Australia (Tokyo Olympics)
Where is Press?
The 34-year-old tore her ACL while playing for Angel City FC last June. Back in May, she said she was in “the final stretch” of her recovery, and she wouldn’t rule herself out of a World Cup push.
“It has been a unique recovery journey. I’ve had some setbacks, and I’ve had some ups and downs. I think that’s normal,” she said. “I think this took a bit longer than I had hoped up until now. But I’m in the final stretch of my recovery. I’m starting to feel like myself again, getting my body back. Hopefully I’ll be joining the team soon.”
Press revealed on Instagram in March that she had undergone three surgeries on her knee in eight months. Still, she had referred to the World Cup as a motivator during her recovery, despite the “tough” timeline to make the team.
“There has never been a moment where I lost hope and that I took my focus off of the World Cup, from the moment that I got injured until now,” she said. “It’s the North Star for all of us professional players and it’s a motivation.
“Obviously the timing’s really tough. But I’m doing everything I can to get back as quickly as possible because it would be a dream come true to represent my country again at that level.”
But Press suffered another setback, as she revealed on July 17: She will require a fourth surgery to repair her knee. While she still is “working toward” her goal of returning to the pitch, she had to give up on her World Cup dream.
Even if healthy, Press may have faced an uphill battle to make the roster, as she did not make the cut for the the Concacaf W Championship roster in 2022 even before her injury.
When will she return?
While the Angel City forward made a return to the practice field in cleats in early June, she remains on the season-ending injury list. She didn’t provide a timeline for her fourth knee surgery, but the procedure seems likely to rule her out of the 2023 NWSL season. But she does want to return to professional soccer, she said.
“Despite the fact that, on paper, this is an athlete’s recovery-nightmare, I feel in my heart that to climb the mountain — yes, even one more time — is the dream,” Press wrote.
Who else is absent from the World Cup roster?
For Christen Press and Tobin Heath, the lackluster performance of the U.S. women’s national team so far at the World Cup is a symptom of larger issues plaguing head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s system.
The USWNT failed to make any tactical adjustments in its group-stage matches, Press pointed out to Heath on their World Cup podcast “The RE-CAP Show.”
“It wasn’t that we didn’t put players into the match, right? That’s what everybody was emotional about,” added Heath, who herself had commented on the USWNT’s lack of substitutes. “But the point was the team didn’t structurally change to win that game (against Portugal).”
Press called Tuesday’s scoreless draw with Portugal a “micro moment” that is reflective of the “macro moment” for the USWNT. Andonovski failed to make adjustments not only in that match but in all of 2023.
“Have we seen any tactical adjustments in the last year?” Press asked. “Have we seen any different formations tried? Have we seen any adjustments to the way that we’re pressing? We’ve seen the team come out for the last year in the same general shape in the same general pressing structure.
“And the question I have is, now we’re in this tournament and we’re saying, ‘OK we’re not super happy with the first three performances, but we’re going to grow, and we’re growing into this tournament.
“But if we haven’t seen growth in the last year, then how can we expect growth now to happen over the next seven days?”
The World Cup may have exacerbated the USWNT’s problems, but those problems didn’t happen overnight, as both Press and Heath argue. For Heath, the problem started in roster construction: Rather than opening up the player pool and looking at all the pieces available and how they could work together, the USWNT got lost in the details.
“I think we never generalized, we went straight specifics,” Heath said. “We went straight to: this player is playing really really well. This player is the best in their position, this player, this player, this player. And for me there was never this idea of a team.”
Take Crystal Dunn as an example. While Heath took issue with Alexi Lalas reducing Dunn to a player that looked like she had never played soccer before, calling the comment “really harsh,” she pointed out the kernel of truth within the criticism. It boils down to the system
How does a world-class player like Dunn “become nothing?” Heath asked. And the answer boils down to the system, which is not working for her or for the team as a whole.
“Right now, our most effective players not only aren’t effective for themselves, they’re not being effective for others,” Heath said.
France’s Wendie Renard returned in triumph on Saturday, while Haiti’s Jennyfer Limage received the unfortunate distinction of sustaining the first torn ACL of the 2023 World Cup.
Just Women’s Sports is keeping track of the biggest names dealing with injuries at the tournament, which kicked off July 20.
Possible to return
Keira Walsh, England
The 26-year-old midfielder exited England’s 1-0 win against Denmark on July 28 with an apparent knee injury. Walsh twisted awkwardly while trying to intercept a pass, and she could be seen telling team medical staff: “I’ve done my knee.”
After she was stretchered off the field in the first half, she returned to the sidelines in the second half on crutches. On Saturday, the Football Association confirmed that Walsh has avoided an ACL tear, but has been ruled out of the team’s match against China and her status is in doubt for the remainder of the World Cup.
Ada Hegerberg, Norway
After being named to Norway’s Starting XI against Switzerland on July 25, star forward Ada Hegerberg was pulled moments before kickoff.
The former Ballon D’Or winner felt discomfort in her groin while warming up for the match, Fox Sports reported. She was evaluated by the team doctor and returned to the locker room to receive treatment, according to Norwegian TV. Following the game, Hegerberg addressed her absence on Twitter.
“I felt discomfort when sprinting right after the anthems,” she wrote. “We decided with the staff that no risk should be taken and no subs should be wasted in such an important game for us, and we all trusted Sophie, Karina, and the team to do the job, which they did. We move on.”
Marina Hegering, Germany
Defender Marina Hegering missed Germany’s first match against Morocco with a bruised heel.
Mary Fowler and Aivi Luik, Australia
Australia will be without Mary Fowler and Aivi Luik for at least its second group-stage match after the duo sustained mild concussions in separate incidents during practice on July 25. Both have “fully recovered” and are in return to play protocol, per the team. But as of 2018, Football Australia’s return to play protocol “provides for a minimum of six days before the player can play a competitive game.” Australia plays its third and final group-stage match on July 31.
Sam Kerr, Australia
Two hours before Australia’s World Cup opener, the star striker announced that she would miss the Matildas’ first two group-stage games with a calf injury.
“Unfortunately I sustained a calf injury yesterday in training,” she wrote. “I wanted to share this with everyone so there is no distraction from us doing what we came here to achieve. Of course, I would have loved to have been out there tonight but I can’t wait to be apart of this amazing journey which starts now.”
Even without Kerr, Australia pulled off a 1-0 win against Ireland thanks to a penalty from Steph Catley in the second half. They lost to Nigeria 2-1, however, in their next match.
Kerr said Saturday she is “definitely going to be available” for the team’s game against Canada, while coach Tony Gustavsson noted that the time frame is “tight.”
Lena Oberdorf, Germany
Star midfielder Lena Oberdorf missed Germany’s first match against Morocco with a thigh injury.
“It looks as if we won’t be able to fall back on either of them in the first game,” head coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg said of Oberdorf and Hegering. But even without the pair, Germany pulled off an impressive 6-0 win.
Out for World Cup
Jennyfer Limage, Haiti
Haitian defender Jennyfer Limage will be out for the rest of the World Cup after tearing her ACL and rupturing her meniscus in her team’s 1-0 loss to England on July 22. Limage had to be carried off the field and is slated to undergo surgery.
Her injury marks the first ACL tear of the World Cup and continues what has become a growing injury trend in the women’s game, with a number of stars missing this year’s World Cup due to ACL tears.
Returned to play
Denise O’Sullivan, Ireland
O’Sullivan went down with a shin injury during an “overly physical” friendly on July 14 between Ireland and Colombia, which was halted after 20 minutes. The 29-year-old midfielder was taken to the hospital for treatment after the match was abandoned.
O’Sullivan underwent scans, with the team tweeting out that the results were “positive news,” and she played in the World Cup against Australia on July 20.
Wendie Renard, France
The France captain underwent an MRI on July 24 after feeling pain in her calf. She briefly appeared at training, where she spoke with the team doctor and later left the field, according to L’Équipe.
French media outlet Le Progrès has reported that Renard’s injury could keep her out of France’s final two group-stage matches. The injury is similar to one she suffered prior to the 2022 club season with the NWSL’s Portland Thorns, which kept her out of play for a month, the outlet noted.
But Renard made her return on Saturday, even after her status was unclear on the eve of the match.
“Our hope is that everything goes well because we need her,” France coach Herve Renard said Friday night. “We are not sure tonight 100%. Our trainings are quite intense and we will have to see how things happen once we face the match.”
Renard was ready to go, playing the full 90 and even scored the game-winning goal in the 83rd minute.
Did not appear at World Cup
Janine Beckie, Canada
The 28-year-old forward tore her ACL during a preseason NWSL game in March. She later confirmed in an Instagram post that she will miss this summer’s World Cup after helping Canada to its first Olympic gold medal in women’s soccer in 2021.
“Having worked so hard during off-season for what was set to be one of the biggest seasons of my career, defending the title for @thornsfc and of course playing in the World Cup for Canada, being out for an extended period of time is a difficult pill to swallow,” she wrote.
Delphine Cascarino, France
French winger Delphine Cascarino suffered a partial ACL tear while playing for Lyon in a league win over Paris-Saint Germain on May 21. As a result, she will be sidelined for “several months” and will miss the World Cup.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to take part in the World Cup this summer with my teammates, whom I’ll be supporting from here,” Cascarino said on Instagram.
Cascarino has made 56 appearances for France, scoring 14 goals. Her loss is a blow to France’s chances at the World Cup, as the team also could find itself without Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who is still making her way back from an ACL tear.
Amandine Henry, France
The midfielder was ruled out of the World Cup on July 7 after sustaining a calf injury while training with the France national team two days earlier. She underwent an MRI that confirmed the diagnosis, France coach Hervé Renard said.
Henry, who signed a three-year contract with Angel City FC in June, will be replaced on the roster by Aïssatou Tounkara, the French Football Federation announced.
The former French captain had recently returned to the national team after a longstanding dispute with Corinne Diacre, who was fired as head coach in March due to a “very significant divide” within the team.
Marie-Antoinette Katoto, France
The 24-year-old striker tore her ACL last July during the Euros tournament. She reportedly had to pull back from her recovery at the beginning of the year, and while she has since resumed running and weight-bearing exercises, she will be unable to join France at the World Cup.
Katoto underwent medical exams on May 30 at the training ground for the France women’s national team, and she was ruled unfit to participate in the tournament, French news agency AFP reported. France coach Herve Renard will reveal his World Cup roster on June 6.
Fran Kirby, England
Kirby is slated to undergo surgery on a knee injury she sustained in February, which will keep her out of World Cup contention, she revealed on May 2.
The 29-year-old midfielder had been trying to rehab her knee since exiting the pitch during a Chelsea match on Feb. 9. But after a reassessment with a specialist and the Chelsea medical team, she will have surgery to repair the injury. Details of the injury have not been disclosed.
“I have been trying my best to not have to undergo this but unfortunately my progress has been limited due to the issue in my knee,” Kirby wrote in a social media post. “I’m absolutely gutted to announce that this means my season is over and I will not be able to make the World Cup in the summer.”
Catarina Macario, United States
After tearing her ACL last June, the initial recovery timeline would have had the 23-year-old back on the pitch in plenty of time for this summer’s World Cup. But she “won’t be physically ready for selection,” she announced on May 23.
“The desire to return to play for my club and country has driven my training and fueled my everyday life,” she wrote. “However, what’s most important right now is my health and getting fit and ready for my next club season.”
Beth Mead, England
Another Arsenal injury, the 27-year-old striker ruptured her ACL last November during Women’s Super League play.
While Mead said in early May that she was “ahead of schedule” in her recovery, she did not make the England roster for the World Cup, as revealed on May 31.
Sam Mewis, United States
After dealing with a nagging injury since the Tokyo Olympics in August 2021, the 30-year-old midfielder underwent knee surgery in January.
“I don’t have a timeline for return to soccer,” she said after the surgery, all but certainly cementing her absence from the U.S. women’s national team lineup for the World Cup.
Vivianne Miedema, Netherlands
Miedema went down with a torn ACL while playing for Arsenal in December. The all-time leading scorer for the Netherlands, the 26-year-old forward ruled herself out of the World Cup in a statement.
“I won’t be able to help my team anymore this season, no World Cup, surgery and rehab for a long time,” she said.
Hazel Nali, Zambia
Zambia’s starting goalkeeper Hazel Nali will miss the World Cup after suffering an ACL tear. The announcement came on July 12, mere days before the World Cup kicks off on July 20.
Nali has been a standout in net for Zambia, making her senior national team debut in 2014. She played for the senior team at the 2014 African Women’s Championship, the 2018 Africa Women Cup of Nations and the 2020 COSAFA Women’s Championship, as well as at the Tokyo Olympics.
Christen Press, United States
The 34-year-old forward has had three surgeries on the same knee in eight months since she tore the ACL in her right knee last June during the NWSL regular season.
She has yet to feature for Angel City FC this season and is still listed under a season-ending injury designation carried over from 2022. Press had held out hope for a spot on the plane to New Zealand, but she was not selected to coach Vlatko Andonovski’s final 23-player roster as she continues to recover.
“There has never been a moment where I lost hope and that I took my focus off of the World Cup, from the moment that I got injured until now,” Press said in May. “It’s the North Star for all of us professional players and it’s a motivation.”
Katie Rood, New Zealand
The 30-year-old forward has “joined the ACL club,” she announced Monday via Instagram.
Rood tore her ACL while playing for Heart of Midlothian WFC in the Scottish Women’s Premier League. A member of the New Zealand national team since 2017, she’s made 15 appearance and notched five goals.
“Obviously gutted about it,” she wrote. “I have intended to return to NZ in June for a training camp to have one final crack at making the World Cup team. Looks like life has other plans for me.. and as gutted as I am about the World Cup dream being over, I’m beginning to look forward to seeing what other opportunities are out there for me.”
Becky Sauerbrunn
USWNT captain Becky Sauerbrunn was ruled out of the World Cup due to a lingering foot injury, in news she confirmed days before the team’s roster reveal.
The starting center-back said she, too, had held out “like 10% hope” of making the U.S. roster, but ultimately her timeline for recovery did not match up with the USWNT’s needs.
“It sucks, like it’s such a bummer,” she said on the Snacks podcast. “I really thought that I was gonna get back in time. Had a setback, you know, we gave them timelines where I could feasibly have played minutes at the World Cup. But the variability of it was, they just didn’t want to have to deal with that.”
Mallory Swanson, United States
Swanson’s injury is not a torn ACL, but it’s just as serious: a torn patellar tendon. The 24-year-old forward had surgery to repair the ligament, which she tore in the USWNT’s first April match against Ireland. Patellar tendon tears typically have at least a six-month recovery timeline, although that can extend to as long as 12 months, so Swanson will miss the World Cup.
Leah Williamson, England
The 26-year-old Arsenal defender tore her ACL during an April match.
“Unfortunately the World Cup and Champions League dream is over for me and everyone will think that’s the main focus, but it’s the day to day of what I’m going through that’s the most draining of my thoughts,” she said in an Instagram post.
Lynn Williams did not play for the U.S. women’s national team in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in the World Cup group stage. Two-time World Cup champion Tobin Heath joined the chorus of voices asking: Why not?
Through the first two USWNT matches, Williams has not seen the pitch for the USWNT. Head coach Vlatko Andonovski considered subbing the 30-year-old forward into the match against the Netherlands but opted to stick with his trio of starting forwards in Sophia Smith, Alex Morgan and Trinity Rodman.
“I just didn’t want to disrupt the rhythm at that point,” he said afterward.
Heath, who won the 2015 and 2019 titles with the USWNT, questioned that decision, and she is not alone in doing so. Injured USWNT forward Midge Purce did the same, asking: “No subs? That’s very confusing. Where’s Lynn?” Just Women’s Sports writer Claire Watkins called the choice “baffling,” pointing out that Williams skill set “seemed tailor-made for the game.”
“I think that Trinity should have come out in the 60th and I think Lynn Williams should have come in, personally,” Heath said. “Vlatko raved about Lynn Williams being the best 15-minute player he could put on this roster. And in that moment we needed a 15-minute player to come in.”
While Heath did not take issue with Rodman’s performance, she wanted to see Andonovski dip into the USWNT’s deep bench, she said in conversation with Christen Press on “The RE-CAP Show.” Particularly after Lindsey Horan scored the equalizer in the 62nd minute, Williams could have provided a boost.
“The U.S. got momentum from that goal,” Heath said. “And I think you insert, you inject a Lynn Williams into the game, all of a sudden the couple instances that you saw saw Trinity actually break through, I think if you have a fresh Lynn Williams breaking through, there’s a different result at the end of that play.”
In the end, the USWNT did not get a second goal, which resulted in a 1-1 draw and left the top spot in Group E up for grabs heading into the final group-stage match. The USWNT will face Portugal at 3 a.m. ET Tuesday, and the Netherlands will face Vietnam at the the same time.
“Look, we didn’t get that second goal,” Heath said. “Like, I think it was there, I think there were a couple different adjustments that could’ve been made to the team to get us that second goal. I don’t think there’s any reason why that game had to end 1-1.”