It’s a battle of the 2025 titans, as reigning NWSL champion Gotham FC visits defending Shield winner Kansas City on Saturday with both clubs looking to reverse early-season skids.
The Current enters the weekend on a three-game losing streak, riding a 1-3-0 record to sit 13th in the 2026 NWSL standings. No. 9 Gotham has seen similar struggles. The Bats have managed to register just one goal on the season on a 1-1-2 record.
“We’re trying to build, and the games came fast and furious,” said Kansas City manager Chris Armas. “We’re excited to get back home.”
The Bats will be without their leader on Saturday, as head coach Juan Carlos Amorós awaits the birth of his second child.
Assistant coach Shaun Harris will subsequently serve as acting head coach in the pair’s first meeting since Gotham upset Kansas City in the 2025 playoffs. That November game shook up the postseason, after then-No. 8 Gotham ousted the No. 1 Current 2-1 in extra time.
“We’re two teams right now that are both playing with our backs against the wall and something to prove,” said Gotham midfielder Rose Lavelle. “So it’s a game we’re going to have to be really, really, really, really ready for.”
However, Gotham's lineup will be bolstered by star defender Tierna Davidson's welcome return. After tearing her ACL last year, the World Cup and Olympic champion is back in the lineup for both club and country this month.
How to Watch Gotham vs. Kansas City Current in NWSL Action
Kansas City takes on Gotham tomorrow at 4 PM ET, live on CBS.
One of the newest NWSL teams got on the board on Wednesday, when the Denver Summit stunned reigning league champion Gotham FC 2-0 to claim the 2026 expansion club's first-ever victory.
Denver forward Melissa Kössler opened the scoring with her third goal in as many games in the 58th minute, before fellow attacker Natasha Flint sealed the deal with a 73rd-minute strike.
"We know there's going to be difficult moments, we know there's going to be enjoyable moments — we just want to increase them," said Summit manager Nick Cushing afterwards. "And tonight, it's definitely one of those."
Kössler joins Orlando Pride star Barbra Banda as the only NWSL players to score in every match so far this season, leaving Gotham to rue its missed chances.
"This team is full of winners at every level, and we're disappointed to be starting the season this way," said Bats defender Jess Carter. "We expect higher standards from ourselves."
"We know how the NWSL is — often the team that scores first gets the result. When we've done that, we've won," said Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós. "In the last two games, we haven't been able to do it."
How to watch the Denver Summit this weekend
With little time to rest on their laurels, the Summit are gearing up for what will likely be an NWSL attendance record-shattering home debut, with Denver hosting the Washington Spirit at the NFL's Mile High Stadium on Saturday.
The historic match will kick off live at 2 PM ET on CBS.
The Denver Summit are hunting a win, with the 2026 NWSL expansion team shooting for a franchise-first victory against reigning champion Gotham FC on Wednesday night.
The Summit tallied a 2-1 loss to Bay FC and a 1-1 draw with the Orlando Pride to open their inaugural season, managing to avoid shutouts behind a pair of goals from German international Melissa Kössler.
However, Denver was dealt a blow when promising rookie Jasmine Aikey suffered a season-ending ACL tear in her right knee this week.
"We are all thinking of Jasmine and will be with her every step of the way throughout this recovery," said Summit head coach Nick Cushing. "She means so much to this team both on and off the field."
Denver will likely shift focus to new signings Yazmeen Ryan and Delanie Sheehan, with Ryan getting her first start for the Summit last Friday.
As for the match hosts, Gotham will miss star midfielder Jaedyn Shaw (hamstring) on Wednesday, but the Bats can take solace in USWNT star Tierna Davidson's long-awaited return from injury.
"They are building a new team, and they've done a good job so far," Gotham manager Juan Carlos Amorós said about the Summit. "It's going to be an interesting game."
How to watch Gotham FC vs. Denver Summit FC
The Summit will visit Gotham at 7 PM ET on Wednesday, airing live on Victory+.
Gotham is taking soccer fans out to the ballpark on July 15th, with the reigning NWSL champs announcing Tuesday that the club will play its 2025 league final rematch against the Washington Spirit at MLB stadium Citi Field, home to the New York Mets and MLS side New York City FC.
Dubbed "The Queens Classic" in honor of the NYC borough, the summer rivalry event will mark the third MLB stadium-hosted NWSL match, after Bay FC hosted the Spirit at the San Francisco Giants' Oracle Park in 2025 and the Stars battled Bay FC inside Chicago's historic Wrigley Field in 2024.
"The District vs. Empire rivalry belongs on a big stage, and Citi Field delivers," Washington Spirit CEO Kim Stone said in Tuesday's statement. "New Yorkers know a big moment when they see one — this is it."
The midseason matchup is aiming to capitalize on the city's soccer frenzy surrounding the 2026 Men's World Cup — with the FIFA tournament's finale kicking off less than 20 miles east of Citi Field just four days after the NWSL event.
"We're really excited to put women's sports and our world-class athletes at Gotham FC front and center when a global spotlight is on New York," said Gotham chief business officer Ryan Dillon. "It will be a history-making summer of soccer, and this event ensures that we are a part of that."
How to buy tickets to the Gotham FC-hosted Queens Classic
Gotham FC will take on the Washington Spirit in the Queens Classic at Citi Field at 8 PM ET on Wednesday, July 15th.
Tickets to the match will go on sale on Wednesday, March 25th, via GothamFC.com.
Gotham FC will start the 2026 NWSL season flying high, as the reigning NWSL champions look to rev up a fresh regional rivalry against expansion side Boston Legacy FC on Saturday.
"There's a target on your back, but that's what's really fun about this league," Gotham defender and 2025 NWSL Rookie of the Year Lilly Reale told amNewYork. "You want as much pressure and for the stakes to be as high as possible."
"We want to just play free, we want to have fun, and show something about football that is not always seen in this league," said Boston forward Nichelle Prince ahead of the club's debut match.
Prior to kicking off the 2026 season, Gotham added another stellar contributor to their stacked roster, as the Bats officially signed Chelsea winger and Norway star Guro Reiten on Thursday.
The six-time WSL champion will join the NWSL side on loan through July, before entering into a pre-arranged contract running through 2029.
"Her experience competing for major trophies with Chelsea and her impact with the Norwegian national team will bring valuable leadership and attacking creativity to our squad," said Gotham GM and head of soccer operations Yael Averbuch West in the club's announcement.
How to watch Boston Legacy vs. Gotham FC in their 2026 NWSL opener
Expansion side Boston will host the reigning champion Gotham in the Legacy's inaugural match on Saturday.
The East Coast duo will face off at 12:30 PM ET, airing live on ABC.
WSL club Arsenal earned some new silverware on Sunday, lifting the first-ever FIFA W Champions Cup after claiming a 3-2 extra-time win over Brazilian titans SC Corinthians in Sunday's final.
The South American side overcame two one-goal deficits in regulation, with Corinthians midfielder Gabi Zanotti first offsetting Arsenal forward Olivia Smith's 15th-minute opener in the 21st minute before midfielder Victória Albuquerque played hero with a last-gasp stoppage-time penalty to again equalize following Gunners defender Lotte Wubben-Moy's second-half strike.
Arsenal attacker Caitlin Foord sealed the deal in extra time, sinking a breakaway goal in the 104th minute to secure the reigning Champions League victors the inaugural world title.
"It feels good, just to get on the scoresheet," said Foord following the Gunners' intercontinental club victory. "As a forward, that's your job, but to do it in a moment like this is special.... I don't think it's really sunk in yet, but it's nice to write our names in the history books, that's for sure."
Arsenal did have a a couple notable advantages in the debut edition of the FIFA W Champions Cup, with the final hosted on the club's home pitch at London's Emirates Stadium as well as the fact that the WSL season is currently in full swing.
Meanwhile, both Corinthians and the NWSL's Gotham FC — who claimed a dominant 4-0 Sunday victory over Morroco's ASFAR to take third in the competition — entered the tournament during their winter offseasons.
"It is what it is," said Corinthians head coach Lucas Piccinato postgame. "We hope next time Arsenal will come to Brazil to play against us. I think it would be better if it was in a neutral venue."
Another USWNT legend is hanging up her boots, as 2019 World Cup champion and 2024 Olympic gold medalist Crystal Dunn announced her retirement from professional soccer on Thursday.
"This decision has not come easily, but I am at peace and deeply fulfilled with all that I have accomplished," Dunn wrote in her Instagram retirement post. "I've achieved nearly everything I dreamed of in this sport and gave all I had to give. I'm ready to embrace the life that awaits me on the other side."
"I look forward to spending more time with my family and being a more present mom," she continued. "This was not a decision made lightly, but was one made with immense gratitude for everything I've experienced as a professional soccer player."
The 33-year-old won her two major trophies in her 160 caps with the USWNT as an outside back, though the breadth of her talents as a forward and midfielder saw Dunn pick up both the 2015 NWSL MVP and Golden Boot awards with her first pro club, the Washington Spirit.
Across her tenures with the North Carolina Courage and the Portland Thorns, Dunn also amassed three league championships (2018, 2019, 2022), and three NWSL Shields (2018, 2019, 2021).
Most recently competing in the NWSL for Gotham FC before capping her career with top-flight French club PSG, Dunn also retires as one of the USWNT's most prominent Black voices, with US Soccer calling her "a role model to many young players of color across the country who aspired to reach the highest levels of the game" in the federation's Thursday tribute.
"I've grown through challenges, celebrated incredible triumphs, and cherished every part of the journey," added Dunn.
Gotham FC's inaugural Champions Cup dreams ended on Wednesday morning, as Brazil's SC Corinthians upset the reigning NWSL champs 1-0 in the FIFA competition's London semifinal.
Corinthians captain Gabi Zanotti scored the match's lone goal in the 83rd minute, after Gotham standouts Gabi Portilho and Rose Lavelle exited with injury.
"We feel like we probably should have done better throughout the game and been more clinical in both boxes," Gotham defender Jess Carter said postgame. "There's not really much more to say other than probably a little bit disappointed by it."
Gotham was at a calendar disadvantage as the only Champions Cup team entering the semifinals during their offseason, causing the players some frustration as FIFA similarly eyes a January start for the 2028 Club World Cup.
"You're asking [NWSL] players to cut their offseason short when everyone's just had competitions and Euros and traveling across the world," Carter continued. "We all want to play, we want to give everybody the highest level of entertainment, and we can only do that if were all fully fit and that goes across the board for every single women's game."
Gotham will now face ASFAR for a shot at a third-place finish on Sunday, after UWCL winners Arsenal demolished the Moroccan champions 6-0 in Wednesday's second semifinal.
How to watch Gotham in the 2026 FIFA W Champions Cup third-place match
Gotham kicks off against ASFAR for third place at 9:45 AM ET on Sunday, hours before Arsenal takes on Corinthians in the 2026 FIFA W Champions Cup final at 1 PM ET.
Both Sunday matches will air live on CBS Sports.
Gotham FC steps back into the spotlight on Wednesday, when the reigning NWSL and Concacaf W Champions Cup winners take on SC Corinthians in the 2026 FIFA W Champions Cup semifinals in London.
"The hunger they have to win is unbelievable. It's in their nature," Gotham head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said of his team's continued title quest. "They win one competition and they're already thinking about the next one."
"This is where we want to be: competing in the semifinals, competing in the finals, competing to raise another trophy. That's the standard here at Gotham," defender Mandy Freeman echoed.
Further bolstering the US team is recent rookie signee Jordynn Dudley, who joins the NWSL club fresh off her own title-winning run at Florida State.
Hours after Gotham squares off against Brazil's 2025 Série A1 winners, UWCL champions Arsenal will face Moroccan Women's Championship titans ASFAR in the inaugural four-team competition's other semifinal.
The final and third-place matches will take place on Sunday, with a history-making $3.95 million total prize pool on the line.
The tournament winners will take home $2.3 million, while the runners-up net $1 million and each third-place team leaves with $200,000 — with $100,000 and $150,000 already sent to the clubs eliminated from the competition's play-in round.
How to watch the 2026 FIFA W Champions Cup semifinals
Gotham will kick off Wednesday's 2026 FIFA W Champions Cup semifinals against Corinthians at 7:30 AM ET, before Arsenal plays ASFAR at 1 PM ET.
Both clashes will air live on DAZN.
A young USWNT will kick off in California on Saturday, as the world No. 2 takes on No. 46 Paraguay in the first of two January friendlies to open the 2027 World Cup qualifying year.
"It's really exciting to see the opportunity presented to a lot of players in this camp," said midfielder Olivia Moultrie prior to Saturday's match, which will pull from a 26-player USWNT January lineup that boasts an average age of just 24.1 years old. "It's players that I've played with on youth teams, and just seeing kind of start coming into the league."
This month's camp falls outside an official FIFA window, leaving the US without both European club players and Gotham FC's squad as the 2025 NWSL champs prepare to contend in the first-ever FIFA Women's Champions Cup in London next week.
"There is no question we will keep — I hope — improving what we're doing," said USWNT manager Emma Hayes. "You don't do that gradually, you don't do that by changing things all of the time."
Additionally, Saturday's match will honor two-time World Cup champion Christen Press with a pregame ceremony, after the star forward announced her pro soccer retirement at the end of last season.
How to watch the USWNT vs. Paraguay on Saturday
The USWNT will take on Paraguay at 5:30 PM ET on Saturday, kicking off live on TNT.