International soccer fans should start saving airline miles, as organizers for the LA Olympics announced on Tuesday that the 2028 Summer Games' soccer tournament will play out in seven stadiums across the US.
Giving the competition a coast-to-coast footprint, organizers tapped venues in New York, Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis, San Jose, and San Diego to host both men's and women's matches, before returning to the Rose Bowl in LA for both tournament finals.
All six venues outside LA house MLS clubs, with San Diego's Snapdragon Stadium and San Jose's PayPal Park also serving as home pitches for the NWSL's Wave and Bay FC, respectively.
"Bringing Olympic Football group-stage and knockout matches to stadiums across the United States means more fans will witness this global event and experience the Olympic spirit firsthand," said LA28 chief of sport and games delivery officer Shana Ferguson in a Tuesday statement.
Joining several other off-site LA 2028 events including Oklahoma City's softball tournament and canoe slalom races, the Summer Olympics' expanded soccer competition will likely kick off before the Opening Ceremony.
The tournament will also follow a progressive east-to-west itinerary to minimize travel demands for the teams, with dates and match distribution set to drop this April.
The LA Olympics' women's football final will take place on July 29th, 2028 — the Summer Games' penultimate day of competition.
The hit Apple TV show Ted Lasso is switching sides, with the streamer announcing details about the upcoming Season 4 release — including the series' new focus on women's football — on Wednesday.
"In season four, Ted returns to Richmond, taking on his biggest challenge yet: coaching a second division women's football team," reads Apple TV's Wednesday statement. "Throughout the course of the season, Ted and the team learn to leap before they look, taking chances they never thought they would."
Currently in production, Ted Lasso stars Jason Sudeikis, who previously picked up a pair of Emmys for his role as the titular character, with the longtime women's sports fan also serving as executive producer of the series.
Fan favorites Juno Temple, Brendan Hunt, and Jeremy Swift also return to reprise their roles alongside the Emmy-winning Hannah Waddingham and two-time Emmy winner Brett Goldstein, who also executive produces and writes for the show.
Debuting in August 2020, the smash-hit shattered records, earning the most Emmy nominations for a comedy show in its first season. It later took home the award for Outstanding Comedy Series in both 2021 and 2022.
Season 4 of Ted Lasso will premiere this summer.
When is Ted Lasso Season 4 streaming on Apple TV?
Fans can catch up on Ted Lasso before the summer's Season 4 release by streaming the first three seasons on Apple TV+.
As the world of women’s soccer approaches 2026, the last year may well be remembered for its dynasties.
Chelsea won a sixth straight WSL title, Euros champion England and Copa winner Brazil retained their continental crowns, and Gotham FC lifted a second NWSL trophy in three years.
The winds of change also began to blow in new directions, with Arsenal upsetting Barcelona to win the Champions League final, top NWSL talent departing the US for opportunities overseas, and Kansas City reminding everyone what happens when regular-season dominance meets playoff vulnerability.
Through it all the game continued to grow, with increasingly interesting results on both sides of the pond, as the ramp-up to the 2027 World Cup and a new slate of regional competitions coincide with an ever-shifting economic landscape
So instead of looking back, we’re keeping the spirit of progress alive by presenting five bold predictions for women’s soccer in 2026.
Sophia Wilson’s return: A top contender for 2026 NWSL MVP
News of USWNT Sophia Wilson’s impending return to the Portland Thorns gave NWSL fans a boost earlier this month, with the Triple Espresso forward signing a single-year extension with her original club team.
Expect Wilson to hit the ground running as she comes back from pregnancy. The 2022 NWSL MVP has been very consistent throughout her career, and she’ll be joined by other returning Thorns attackers to bolster her opportunities in front of goal.
Fellow extended Portland star Olivia Moultrie will be paramount to the 25-year-old’s MVP campaign, especially as Wilson looks to challenge two-time reigning MVP Temwa Chawinga.
Don’t bet against Wilson showing shades of Alex Morgan’s 2023 Golden Boot run. That's when the USWNT legend blew past expectations for what new mothers could achieve in their first season back on the pitch.
No repeat champs: Why the women's soccer guards are changing in 2026
Reigning WSL winner Chelsea’s repeat bid is already shaky, with Everton snapping their 34-game unbeaten streak earlier this month. And they’re preparing to enter the new year six points behind Manchester City in the league table.
Blues manager Sonia Bompastor has seemed to prefer a static roster rotation. Of course, she’s charged with managing players from two eras: ex-coach Emma Hayes’s success and the team’s modern iteration. If there was a time for a changing of the WSL guard, 2026 is the year.
Stateside, 2025 NWSL Shield winners Kansas City continue to navigate offseason changes. The Current will start 2026 under brand new leadership, after former head coach Vlatko Andonovski announced he’ll move to a Sporting Director role.
ESPN recently reported Kansas City’s plan to hire former MLS head coach Chris Armas in 2026. But without a formal announcement and the offseason clock ticking, the Current might run out of runway to set up a repeat bid.
2025 NWSL champion Gotham has both FIFA and Concacaf Champions Cup commitments this year, complicating their quest as they maneuver a jam-packed season. The club landed one major re-signing in Midge Purce, but forward Ella Stevens departed for expansion side Boston. Thus, the team is left relying on a title-winning core with an average age over 28.
Arsenal hasn’t looked too terribly far off their Champions League game yet. But the subsequent resurgence of Barcelona and OL Lyonnes could see the WSL on the outside looking in once the tournament reaches May's final.
Despite having a few worthy clubs — including strong newcomers Manchester United — the UK league’s chances of claiming another UWCL title appear overshadowed by mainland Europe’s renewed dominance.
Emma Hayes's USWNT: Expect major roster overhauls in 2026
USWNT coach Emma Hayes embraced change in 2025, giving 43 players their first national team cap this year — the most since 2001.
Though the approach came with some speed bumps. The US matching the single-year total loss record with three dropped matches.
Considering Hayes’s approach, it seems that the future of the USWNT has arrived much sooner than expected. And looking back, those losses actually made an emphatic argument for more lineup overhauls — not less.
The team’s November loss to Portugal showcased a veteran midfield trio in Rose Lavelle, Lindsey Heaps, and Sam Coffey. The lineup exposed the old guard’s weaknesses as the team looks to hold ground among the world’s elite.
Remember — Hayes made the call to leave Alex Morgan off the gold medal-winning 2024 Olympic roster. In doing so, she laid the groundwork for even bigger calls as the US gears up for a tough World Cup qualifying run in 2026.
The global talent war: NWSL salary cap faces European threats
The NWSL closes 2025 with flashy off-field headlines and waning on-field enthusiasm, as it attempts to grapple with a rash of overseas departures.
They’ve even gone so far as to institute a new “High Impact Player” rule allowing teams to exceed the salary cap for top talent. The move comes after rejecting the Washington Spirit’s blockbuster play for superstar striker Trinity Rodman.
Viewed as a half-measure to circumvent larger salary cap issues, the NWSL Players Association has come out against the newly approved mechanism.
The union is advocating for the league to raise the base salary cap across the board. This will help clubs keep up in an increasingly competitive global market without destroying parity.
Whether or not the two parties will reach a compromise remains to be seen. Meantime, it leaves NWSL fans to hope for a solution as wealthy European clubs continue to draw top free agents away from the US league.
Of course, money isn’t everything. Raising the salary cap won’t guarantee NWSL favorites remain Stateside, as another league’s pull features more than just a pay bump. Thoughugh should the NWSL figure things out in time, US clubs might bring in a few big names themselves.
Regardless, expect more players to test their abilities in new environments when the transfer window opens back up in January. And it's especially pressing considering the looming World Cup and its national team implications.
The 2026 Men’s World Cup will transform women’s soccer
International soccer’s largest event lands in the US next year, as the 2026 Men’s World Cup promises to reshape football fandom in this country and beyond.
The NWSL remains bullish on the tournament’s ability to convert soccer fans across gender lines. Though the competition itself is subsequently bound to have a serious and immediate impact on the women’s game.
The NWSL plans to pause for the duration of next summer’s World Cup. This is in part due to infrastructural strains, as the tournament takes over venues shared between men’s and women’s club teams. The USWNT’s World Cup qualifying campaign will also hit the breaks, rendering the team’s summer international windows largely meaningless.
And with Concacaf qualifiers kicking off immediately after the 2026 NWSL Championship, top players will have to balance commitments at the end of a long year.
No matter how the 2026 World Cup ends up influencing US soccer culture, it will inevitably present some challenges as the domestic women’s game pushes to be more than an afterthought alongside the sport’s biggest stage.
Just Women’s Sports (JWS), the leading multimedia platform dedicated exclusively to women's sports, today announced the continuation of its partnership with the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) for the fourth consecutive year as an official digital media partner.
Just Women’s Sports has secured the rights to distribute official NWSL game highlights for the ongoing season as the league returns from its summer break and the playoff push begins.
From its launch, JWS has been a go-to platform for NWSL fans. Last year, the platform drove 172 million social impressions across its NWSL content, while also hosting a live show at the NWSL Championship as well as the official NWSL Championship Weekend party.
Just Women’s Sports’ studio show Sports Are Fun! is hosted by NWSL alum and two-time NWSL champion Kelley O’Hara, with guests including Gotham FC star Midge Purce and recent NWSL vets Merritt Mathias and Darien Jenkins.
"Throughout the NWSL’s partnership with Just Women’s Sports, our joint efforts in amplifying and elevating female athletes while inspiring fans have been a major driver in the growth of women’s sports," said NWSL director of media partnerships Servi Barrientos. "The sky is the limit as we continue to build on this momentum to reach fans in new ways and elevate our league."
"Covering the NWSL is core to our mission at Just Women’s Sports," said JWS founder and CEO Haley Rosen.
"The league’s growth has been incredible, and there’s still so much more to go. Being able to share these highlights with our next-gen audience is key to serving our fans and growing this league."
The 2025 European Championship kicks off today in Switzerland, with this year's tournament set to have the largest US broadcast footprint in Women's Euros history.
All games are set to air live on FOX Sports, so Stateside soccer fans can enjoy some top-notch football alongside their morning cup of coffee. The 16-team event runs from July 2nd through July 27th, with a four-team group stage followed by quarterfinal, semifinal, and final knockout rounds.
To double down on US interest, more than a few Euro 2025 rosters feature standout NWSL players. The heroes of this year's UEFA Women's Champions League are also well represented, with top UWCL athletes vying for continental glory across the 16 national teams.
Still have questions about what to expect from the most hyped Women's Euros on record? Check out this handy group stage guide, setting the scene for USWNT and NWSL fans looking for a European favorite to cheer for throughout Euro 2025.
Group A: Finland, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland
Euros players to know:
Finland: Natalia Kuikka (Chicago Stars)
Iceland: Sveindís Jónsdóttir (Angel City)
Norway: Caroline Graham Hansen (FC Barcelona), Ingrid Engen (FC Barcelona), Ada Hegerberg (OL Lyonnes), Guro Reiten (Chelsea), Frida Maanum (Arsenal)
Switzerland: Ana-Maria Crnogorčević (Seattle Reign), Lia Wälti (Arsenal)
Major Euro 2025 storylines: You likely won't find a tournament winner in this group, with Group A's teams uniformly considered to be some of the weakest contenders. Despite serious talent, Norway has been an underachiever in recent years, though their positioning should see them sail through to the knockouts.
But Norway's stumbles might be the average fan's gain, as the right performance could always spell an upset. Iceland plays physical, end-to-end football, while Finland lists individual players that can flip a game on its head.
Host nation Switzerland isn't exactly considered a threat, but head coach Pia Sundhage (formerly of the USWNT, Sweden, and Brazil) brings a pragmatism that can stir up wins. But barring truly wacky results, Norway should make their way out of Group A on top. And with a little help, Iceland could join them by keeping games close.
Most likely to advance: Norway, Iceland
Group B: Belgium, Spain, Italy, Portugal
Euros players to know:
Spain: Aitana Bonmatí (FC Barcelona), Alexia Putellas (FC Barcelona), Esther González (Gotham FC), Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal), Leila Ouahabi (Manchester City), Salma Paralluelo (FC Barcelona)
Portugal: Jéssica Silva (Gotham FC), Nádia Gomes (Chicago Stars)
Italy: Sofia Cantore (Washington Spirit)
Belgium: Amber Tysiak (West Ham United)
Major Euro 2025 storylines: Spain is Group B's obvious frontrunner, and is considered one of the favorites to win the whole tournament. Their 2023 World Cup-winning roster remains mostly intact, stocked with enough international experience and on-pitch chemistry to intimidate any opponent. Spain's also got a solid track record against European competition, taking down continental neighbors en route to the World Cup knockouts before winning 2024 Nations League.
But despite high hopes to win a first-ever Euros, Spain's isn't invincable. The team is still dealing with availability issues stemming from both injury and their World Cup-related federation dysfunction. On-field, they can also fall victim to their own style of play. And while many of their players already play together at Barcelona, there's always a big difference between club and country.
Of course, these are minor criticisms for a Spanish side predicted to break out of their Euros slump. Spain should comfortably finish atop Group B, with a heated competition for second nipping at their heels.
Portugal, Italy, and Belgium have all seen success at the Nations League level. But they remain unproven on the greater global stage. Italy and Belgium have swapped important wins in recent matchups — including Belgium's upset over England — while Portugal has struggled to get results. That means Group B's second place slot is wide open, but Italy's roster depth might lead them to break ground.
Most likely to advance: Spain, Italy
Group C: Denmark, Germany, Poland, Sweden
Euros players to know:
Germany: Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham FC), Sara Däbritz (OL Lyonnes), Jule Brand (Wolfsburg), Lea Schüller (Bayern Munich)
Denmark: Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich), Janni Thomsen (Utah Royals), Josefine Hasbo (Gotham FC), Nadia Nadim (Hammarby, previously Racing Louisville)
Sweden: Magda Eriksson (Bayern Munich), Hanna Lundkvist (San Diego Wave), Sofia Jakobsson (London City), Kosovare Asllani (London City), Stina Blackstenius (Arsenal), Fridolina Rolfö (FC Barcelona), Lina Hurtig ( Fiorentina, previously Arsenal)
Poland: Ewa Pajor (FC Barcelona)
Major Euro 2025 storylines: The competition really starts to heat up when you reach Group C — at least on paper. Germany has won the Euros eight times, and consistently qualifies for major tournaments. Their struggles in the 2023 World Cup notwithstanding, Germany has never been a team that gets grouped easily.
But the other Group C teams could absolutely push through via talent and opportunity alone. Sweden has one of the deepest rosters in the competition, from UWCL winners to a wealth of international experience. Sweden in particular, as USWNT fans know, frequently starts a tournament looking like a frontrunner, blowing through teams before eventually fizzling out in the late rounds.
Both Denmark and Poland have attackers that can rise to the occasion on any given day. Poland is making their Euros debut this year, after putting in consistent performances against smaller countries with few big-name club players at their disposal. Denmark has performed similarly, though they've had trouble when up against more formidable competition.
Most likely to advance: Germany, Sweden
Group D: England, France, the Netherlands, Wales
Euros players to know:
England: Jess Carter (Gotham FC), Anna Moorhouse (Orlando Pride), Esme Morgan (Washington Spirit), Lucy Bronze (Chelsea), Leah Williamson (Arsenal), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Alessia Russo (Arsenal), Lauren James (Chelsea), Aggie Beaver-Jones (Chelsea), Kiera Walsh (Chelsea), Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United)
France: Griedge Mbock (PSG), Sandy Baltimore (Chelsea), Amel Majri (OL Lyonnes), Delphine Cascarino (San Diego Wave), Marie-Antoinette Katoto (OL Lyonnes), Kadidiatou Diani (OL Lyonnes)
The Netherlands: Vivianne Miedema (Manchester City), Daphne van Domselaar (Arsenal), Danielle van de Donk (London City Lionesses), Damaris Egurrola (OL Lyonnes), Kerstin Casparij (Manchester City), Dominique Janssen (Manchester United), Victoria Pelova (Arsenal), Jackie Groenen (PSG), Esmee Brugts (Barcelona), Sherida Spitse (Ajax)
Wales: Jess Fishlock (Seattle Reign), Angharad James-Turner (Seattle Reign), Gemma Evans (Liverpool), Hayley Ladd (Everton), Charlie Estcourt (DC Power FC), Sophie Ingle (Chelsea), Ffion Morgan (Bristol City)
Major Euro 2025 storylines: Mutually assured destruction? Even in a tournament with more than one competitive group, Group D is capital-D difficult enough that it's guaranteed to send a Euros front-runner home before they even reach the knockout stage.
Despite entering as the reigning European champs, England fans will have to do a quick assessment on the team's mental focus. Ups and downs in recent Nations League matches and more than one sudden high-profile retirement have recently called the squad's locker room vibes into question.
The Lionesses have been criticized for lack of roster rotation after their second-place 2023 World Cup finish. Coach Sarina Wiegman has quickly upended that status quo, however, making several major changes that left a younger, new-look team unsettled ahead of their 2022 Euros title defense. Of course, they still have the depth and style it takes to make a deep run this year, but they'll have to avoid lapses in play and shifting chemistry to get there.
As for France, Les Bleues have also grown more youthful, leaving longtime leaders Wendie Renard and Eugenie Le Sommer off the roster for the first time in recent memory. Reaching the semis in 2022, they've been contenders in every Euros cycle. But despite the strong showings, France has yet to lift a major international trophy.
The biggest thing holding France back is their own record. Les Bleues crashed out of the 2024 Paris Olympics on home soil after failing to make it beyond the 2023 World Cup quarterfinals. France could be a Euros favorite, but they'll have to make history to succeed.
The Netherlands might be the worst possible group stage assignment a team could draw aside from a clear frontrunner. The 2017 Euros champs arrive with serious experience, able to overpower any opponent with smart, matter-of-fact football. If France and England show weakness, expect the Dutch to ride physicality and speed all the way to the knockouts.
Armed with a surprisingly solid lineup led by NWSL legend Jess Fishlock, underdog Wales is here to play spoiler. If they grab points off mercurial England or pressure an underachieving France, these Euros debutants could have a real shot.
Most likely to advance: The Netherlands, England
How to watch UEFA Women's Euro 2025 in the United States
US viewers can catch all the Euros matches across FOX Sports. 19 matches will air exclusively on FOX, 11 airing on FS1, and one airing on FS2.
Cord-cutters can also access English-speaking Euro 2025 broadcasts live on Disney+ while VIX will carry the Spanish-language versions.
The NWSL has submitted a formal application to US Soccer to launch a Division II league in 2026, with CBS Sports first reporting the league's move to strengthen player development in a shifting domestic landscape early last Friday.
Similar to the academy system overseas, the lower league would serve as both a testing ground and feeder system for the top-flight NWSL, keeping talent in-house while also providing professional resources and competition.
Eight NWSL clubs — North Carolina, Kansas City, Louisville, Gotham, Orlando, Bay FC, Seattle, and Washington — will participate in the second-tier league's inaugural year. The NWSL intends for all clubs to join within Division II's first four years.
Rapid growth reflects increased demand for women's soccer
Pro sports in the US have long relied on the NCAA to prepare future prospects, but with more young players forgoing NCAA soccer to sign pro contracts directly — not to mention the abolishment of the NWSL draft last season — new leagues are emerging to meet the development demand across North America.
Division I operations like the USL Super League and Canada's Northern Super League offer fully professional opportunities, while the amateur-focused WPSL will launch its own second-tier league, WPSL Pro, in 2026.
That said, the NWSL's Division II league would be the only secondary system sharing ownership, infrastructure, and staffing with top NWSL sides.
According to The Athletic, the NWSL has yet to agree upon full details for the new venture, with the submission primarily intended to meet a sanctioning deadline.
Should the application prove successful, club soccer in the US will see a rapid expansion, growing from a single pro league in 2023 to two Division I and two Division II leagues by 2026.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved a proposal to expand the women’s soccer tournament from 12 to 16 teams for the 2028 LA Olympics on Wednesday, solidifying the event’s international importance as the women's game continues to see skyrocketing growth.
"We wanted to do something to reflect that growth, and equally with the United States being the home of the highest level of popularity of women's football," IOC sports director Kit McConnell said on Wednesday.
IOC balloons multiple 2028 LA Olympics women's events
Soccer isn't the only women's event expanding, with additional IOC decisions pushing the total number of women athletes participating in the 2028 LA Games over the 50% line.
The women’s water polo field will grow from 10 to 12 teams to align with the men’s competition, while 3×3 basketball will expand its field from eight teams to 12.
Even more, women’s boxing will gain an additional weight category, and the IOC will incorporate new mixed events across several other Olympic sports.
Ultimately, increased parity will only intensify competition, with the IOC making moves to keep the Olympics in line with the continued demand for and rise of women's sports.
"The message of gender equality is a really important one for us," added McConnell.
The NWSL’s final pre-Olympic break matches are in the books, but that doesn’t mean club teams won’t get a workout before the league’s August 23rd regular season return.
All 14 squads — minus their Paris-bound teammates — will square off in the first-ever NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil Summer Cup beginning July 19th.
Going up against the NWSL are Mexico’s top six 2023 Liga MX teams: Tigres UANL, Club América, Chivas de Guadalajara, Rayadas de Monterrey, Pachuca, and Tijuana.
All 33 matches will air on CBS Sports platforms, with Seattle Reign FC kicking off the tournament against the Utah Royals at 9 PM ET on CBS Sports Network and Paramount+.
How the NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil Summer Cup works
The Cup’s 20 teams are split into five groups of four, with each group facing off round-robin style over a total of 30 group stage matches.
Only four of those five teams will advance to the August 6th semifinals. To move on, a club must both win their group and have amassed enough points to be amongst the top four winning teams, eliminating the group stage-winning team with the lowest points.
The two Summer Cup finalists will then have months to prepare for the title-winning match, set for October 25th — one week before the NWSL’s last regular season match weekend.
Interleague cups in the women's game
While interleague contests aren’t new to the women’s game — think UEFA Champions League — they’ve been relatively rare until recently.
The Women’s International Champions Cup, which featured at least one NWSL team alongside two or three international clubs, ran for four years, with its final 2022 edition including the Portland Thorns, Liga MX’s Monterrey, the WSL’s Chelsea FC, and Cup champions Olympique Lyonnais.
The inaugural edition of the W Champions Cup, which kicks off next month, will pit Gotham, the Thorns, and the Wave against eight other Concacaf clubs, all vying for a spot in the newly minted 2026 FIFA Women’s Club World Cup.
In the US and abroad, new interleague competitions are continuing to pop up in an effort to meet growing demand — though subsequent injury concerns plague the increasingly packed calendar.
In the USWNT’s opening game of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, six of the 11 starters were World Cup rookies: Naomi Girma, Emily Fox, Savannah DeMelo, Andi Sullivan, Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith.
Per U.S. Soccer, they contributed to what was the USWNT’s youngest World Cup starting lineup (an average age of 27.8 years) since 2007.
Sophia Smith scored two goals in her World Cup debut and assisted another by Lindsey Horan, leading the U.S. to a 3-0 win over Vietnam. Smith seemed so ready for the World Cup stage it was almost easy to forget that this is her first major global tournament; the 2022 NWSL MVP was one of the final cuts from the U.S. Olympic roster in 2021.
“I don’t usually get nervous, but I was nervous,” the 22-year-old Smith said. “I mean, it’s a World Cup.”
After the game, USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski noted that while there may have been some nerves, the rookies performed as he expected.
“I thought Fox and Trinity were really good on the right side,” he said. “I thought Andi was a key figure in the middle of the field and regaining possession in some important attacks. And Naomi in the back, I thought she looked like she had three World Cups behind her. (She looked) so comfortable and flawless.”
As for DeMelo, who not only recorded her first-ever USWNT start but also just her second international cap, Andonovski said: “We felt like this was a game that (would) suit Savannah very much. I think that she did an incredible job in creating room and creating space for her teammates.”
Andonovski thinks the win should give the rookies a confidence boost heading into the rest of the World Cup tournament, including this week’s game against a much tougher opponent in the Netherlands.
“Going into game two, they will go (in) a little more encouraged, less nerves, no stress,” Andonovski said.
Smith expressed a similar sentiment. “It honestly just makes me more excited for the next game,” she said.
Just Women’s Sports is here with your daily World Cup Digest, breaking down all of the biggest storylines from each day of action in Australia and New Zealand.
Today’s top World Cup story: Sweden escapes upset thanks to 90th minute goal
Sweden pulled off a dramatic, come-from-behind victory on Sunday in its World Cup opener against South Africa. Amanda Ilestedt scored the game winner in the 90th minute to secure a 2-1 victory and 3 points for Sweden, ranked No. 3 in the world.
While Sweden controlled possession for much of the game, No. 54 South Africa nearly pulled off a major upset in rainy and misty conditions at Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand.
Three minutes into the second half, and with Swedish players looking as if play hadn’t yet resumed, South African striker Hildah Magaia capitalized on a rebound to make it 1-0. But Magaia injured herself in the process, falling hard into the back of the net, and was ultimately subbed out a few minutes later.
Sweden notched the equalizer in the 66th minute. A cross in the box initially appeared to ricochet off the foot of a defender, but the goal was ultimately credited to Fridolina Rolfo.
With the two teams even, Ilestedt notched the game winner in the 90th minute, capitalizing off of the 11th corner of the night and heading the ball past the fingers of goalkeeper Kaylin Swart. (A video highlight of the game winner is embedded below.)
Sweden's 11th corner may have just sealed the victory!
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 23, 2023
Amanda Ilestedt gives the Blue and Yellow the 2-1 lead over South Africa 🇸🇪 pic.twitter.com/iQjHHWo1cg
South Africa managed to secure a corner during the six minutes of injury time that followed, but couldn’t find the equalizer.
With the win, Sweden continues its group play streak. The Swedes haven’t lost a group game at the Women’s World Cup since 2003. Meanwhile, South Africa — which made its Women’s World Cup debut in 2019 — is still searching for its first ever point after losing all three group stage games four years ago.
In the lead-up to this year’s Women’s World Cup, the South African team — nicknamed Banyana Banyana — boycotted a World Cup send-off game, citing issues with its federation after a $30,000 FIFA payment had not been included in player contracts. Ahead of their tournament opener against Sweden, South African captain Refiloe Jane told reporters that disputes with the federation had been resolved prior to players arriving in New Zealand.
Today’s World Cup results
- Sweden 2, South Africa 1
- Netherlands 1, Portugal 0
- France 0, Jamaica 0
More World Cup news
- Jamaica held France to a scoreless draw, a remarkable performance for a Jamaican team that criticized its federation ahead of this year’s tournament, citing issues with training facilities and compensation.
- In yet another close game, the Netherlands, the 2019 runner-up, defeated World Cup debutant Portugal, 1-0. The game winner, scored by Stefanie van der Gragt, came in the 13th minute.