No. 5 Kansas City is on the up and up. The Current rocketed up the NWSL standings after dismantling No. 14 Bay FC 5-1 on Saturday.
Kansas City scored the first back-to-back hat tricks in league history behind midfielder Debinha’s three tallies. That stat mirrored forward Haley Hopkins’s scoreline in last Saturday’s 4-1 over No. 10 Denver.
“She runs for the team, she plays for the team, she works hard every day for her game,” Current manager Chris Armas said of Debinha.
The win launched KC three spots up the NWSL standings, cementing a +10 goal differential with just three regular-season matches remaining.
No. 8 North Carolina beat No. 9 Seattle 1-0 to enter the international break above the playoff line, while Shield hopeful No. 1 Gotham holds a four-point lead over No. 2 San Diego despite Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Angel City.
“Our ambition is big,” said Gotham FC manager Juan Carlos Amorós. “We want to win the Shield. We want to be the best team.”
No. 3 San Diego is on a roll, winning four of its last five matchups to sit just six points back from No. 1 Gotham in the 2026 NWSL Shield race.
Friday’s 2-0 victory over No. 8 Kansas City showcased the Wave’s momentum, taking the lead behind a 50th-minute Current own goal before defender Kennedy Wesley sealed the result with a late-game header.
“It’s a wide league — any team can beat any team,” said San Diego manager Jonas Eidevall. “What is important is what you have in front of you.”
The San Diego Wave isn’t the only SoCal club making a splash, as No. 6 Angel City skyrocketed up the NWSL table with Sunday’s 3-0 win over No. 5 Utah.
On a five-match unbeaten run with just five regular-season games remaining, ACFC upset the Royals via goals from Ally Sentnor, Taylor Suarez, and Sveindís Jónsdóttir.
“The professional job and the hard work that our players did made it clear who was winning this game,” said LA manager Leif Smerud.
No. 7 Kansas City is cutting ties, parting ways with sporting director Vlatko Andonovski as it navigates its first season under new manager Chris Armas.
The move comes less than a year after Andonovski led KC to a franchise-first NWSL Shield. In 2025, he served as both head coach and sporting director.
“Both parties determined that Andonovski's requested transition from coaching into the Sporting Director role at the end of last season was not the right fit,” the Current said in a team statement.
Andonovski transitioned from day-to-day sideline duties to the front office role ahead of the 2026 season. The move came shortly before Armas’s January start.
The Current currently sits three points above playoff contention. They’re subsequently riding a three-game unbeaten streak after Friday’s 2-1 win over Bay FC.
Sam Kerr returned to the record books, becoming the first player in NWSL history to reach 80 regular-season goals as she lifted No. 1 Gotham FC over No. 7 Kansas City 2-1 on Friday.
After Midge Purce equalized an early Current chip, Kerr redirected Jaedyn Shaw’s 41st-minute pass past keeper Marisa Jordan, netting her franchise-record 31st tally. The win stretches Gotham’s unbeaten run to eight games.
“We have the talent across the board,” said Gotham coach Shaun Harris. “Sam is only just getting started. We haven’t seen the best of her yet.”
Purce joined Kerr and Esther González as the only Gotham players with 20+ regular-season goals, with all three of her 2026 contributions coming inside the opening 15 minutes.
The win also marked Gotham FC’s first-ever regular-season victory over Kansas City, while cementing the club’s seven-point cushion atop the NWSL table.
The Current now falls to 9-8-3 on the season, as the 2025 Shield winner fights to stay above the postseason cutoff line.
Gotham returns Sunday, facing No. 9 Angel City at 8 PM ET (ION).
Ted Lasso returned today with women's soccer fueling its comeback. The Apple TV+ series premiered its fourth season on August 5th, with the real Kansas City Current NWSL team —and its women's soccer stadium — anchoring the opening episode.
'Ted Lasso' Season 4 Filmed at KC Current's CPKC Stadium
Kansas City Current co-owner Angie Long said producers from the show approached the organization in April 2025 with the concept. The Ted Lasso cast then spent roughly three weeks filming in the city. One shoot at CPKC Stadium alone ran 11 hours, as the crew captured scripted scenes alongside real Kansas City Current game footage.
The blend is seamless on screen.
After the characters settle into their seats at the Kansas City women's soccer stadium, the broadcast cuts to two-time NWSL MVP and Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga scoring a goal for her team. The crowd erupts, just as it does on any given matchday.
That move wasn't a coincidence. Jason Sudeikis, a Kansas City native, has attended multiple Current matches. Long describes him less as a celebrity guest and more as a friend of the team.
For Long, the crossover validates everything the franchise has created. CPKC Stadium, the first venue purpose-built for a professional women's soccer team, now doubles as Ted Lasso's on-screen argument that investing in women's soccer pays off.
"It is a little bit proof of concept," Long told ESPN. "Everything that we've built, even a show like Ted Lasso is seeing it. So, I think it's endorsement. But again, what it means for sport, for women's soccer is huge."
The NWSL playoff race is taking shape, with postseason hopefuls No. 6 Kansas City and No. 8 LA jockeying for positioning in Saturday’s Current vs Angel City match as the 2026 regular season cruises past its halfway mark.
The Current leads ACFC by six points in the NWSL standings heading into the weekend clash — though LA has two games in hand.
KC arrives in blazing form despite losing back-to-back MVP Temwa Chawinga to WAFCON, riding high after routing No. 16 Louisville 5-1 on Wednesday.
ACFC is looking to regain its footing, after seeing its three-game post-break winning streak snapped in Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Louisville.
Angel City is struggling with absences of its own, announcing star striker Jun Endo suffered another season-ending knee injury in July 11th’s upset win over No. 4 San Diego.
“This is not the news you ever want to receive about an athlete,” said Director of Medical Hollie Walusz. “Especially someone who has worked so incredibly hard to get back on the field doing what she loves.”
Kansas City hosts Angel City tomorrow at 6:30 PM ET, live on ION.
Kansas City is making its case for the 2031 Women's World Cup, and the timing couldn't be better. The city is wrapping up its role as a 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup host, drawing thousands of international visitors to its FIFA Fan Festival and local businesses.
Now, officials are turning that momentum toward US women's soccer.
In November 2025, US Soccer joined Mexico, Costa Rica, and Jamaica in a joint bid to host the 48-team tournament. The 273-page proposal lists Kansas City among 35 potential host cities, naming both GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium and CPKC Stadium as match-day venues.
KC Current's CPKC Stadium Gives Kansas City a Women's World Cup Bid Edge
The Kansas City World Cup pitch carries extra weight because of what the NWSL's KC Current have already built. The club's CPKC Stadium became the first venue purpose-built for a women's professional team, and a planned expansion would add enough capacity to host early-round matches. That investment has reshaped the city's identity around women's sports in a way few other bid cities can claim.
Still, the path forward has hurdles. FIFA postponed a scheduled April vote over unresolved government guarantees, then rescheduled for November 23rd, 2026. Several cities currently hosting the men's tournament are also reportedly holding out for better economic terms.
Even so, Kathy Nelson of the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission expressed confidence, pointing to the region's infrastructure and deep ties to women's sports as reasons why KC should be in the Women's World Cup conversation.
"We think our city is electric and on fire right now … and you sprinkle on women’s sports for the city? My gosh, it should be held here," she said. "We just have to find a path to make it happen."
No. 5 Gotham FC lifted another trophy on Friday, taking down No. 6 Kansas City 2-0 in Columbus, Ohio to win its first-ever NWSL Challenge Cup.
In a sometimes chippy affair, Gotham forward Esthér opened the scoring from the penalty spot just before halftime, before rookie Jordynn Dudley called her own second-half shot to secure the title.
“She’s such a winner, and she has the mentality,” Gotham manager Juan Carlos Amoros said of Dudley. “She does that from a humbling position to put the team first and produces on both sides of the ball.”
With the regular season resuming this weekend, the neutral-site match gave both mid-table teams a head start coming out of the midseason break.
“It gives us a good bite,” said Current defender Izzy Rodriguez. “Coming off of a loss, you don’t like that feeling. So now to carry that into the rest of the season, I think it’ll only help us.”
“A final lives its own life — you never know what to expect,” said Gotham FC defender Guro Reiten. “We punished them in two good moments, and that’s all we needed today.”
Where to Watch the NWSL This Week
The NWSL returns Friday, as No. 4 Washington faces No. 11 Houston at 8 PM ET, live on Victory+.
The NWSL is officially back, as the Current and Gotham kick off tonight’s 2026 Challenge Cup — the league’s first competitive match since May 31st.
Reigning NWSL Shield winner Kansas City will hunt revenge against defending champion Gotham, after the Bats knocked the Current out of last year’s quarterfinals.
“This kind of brings it back a little more to the playoffs,” said KC midfielder Lo’eau Labonta. “So absolutely we want to get that win.”
The 2026 Challenge Cup also marks Columbus’s first-ever NWSL game, just two months after the Ohio capital landed its own 2028 expansion team.
“I don’t think that there’s any doubt that the team here is going to have a fantastic fan base,” said Gotham and USWNT defender Tierna Davidson. “It’s really just getting them excited for women’s soccer.”
“It’s a sports town in general,” said Ohio State alum and Current defender Izzy Rodriguez. “People get hype around their sports here.”
How to Watch Gotham vs Current in the NWSL Challenge Cup
The 2026 NWSL Challenge Cup kicks off tonight at 8 PM ET, live on Prime.
Temwa Chawinga is sticking with Kansas City, as the two-time Golden Boot winner signed a contract extension that keeps her on the Current through 2029.
The Malawi international has been dominant since joining KC in 2024, going on to become the first player to earn back-to-back MVP honors in her first two seasons.
Chawinga has notched 42 goals, 11 assists, and 15 game-winners across 56 regular-season appearances. She subsequently helped lead the Current to its first NWSL Shield in 2025.
Despite missing the first month due to injury, Chawinga’s tallied seven goals this season. Those stats putt her second behind Orlando’s Barbra Banda atop the Golden Boot race.
“Temwa is truly special,” said Current co-owners Angie and Chris Long in a team statement.
“She displays an unwavering commitment to scoring goals under pressure and when it matters most. Combined with her defensive presence, she is, without question, one of the best players in the world.”
See the striker in action as Kansas City and Gotham kick off the 2026 Challenge Cup on Friday at 8 PM ET, live on Prime.