Anson Dorrance is one of the most decorated coaches in the history of sports. Under his direction, the University of North Carolina has won 21 of the 31 NCAA Women’s Soccer Championships. As coach of the USWNT, Dorrance won the first Women’s World Cup in 1991. Below, he spoke with Just Women’s Sports about his experience with the USWNT and his subsequent falling out with US Soccer. 

You coached the USWNT to the first Women’s World Cup in 1991. What was special about that team?

What was fabulous about the first Women’s World Cup is that we played a 3-4-3 line-up on the field. Out of the front seven girls, six were extraordinary one-on-one artists and only one of the players in that seven would rather pass the ball instead of dribble through you. The front line was amazing. It was so amazing that the Chinese press called them the ‘triple-edged sword.’ On the left, Carin Jennings would be slicing you up. In the middle was Michelle Akers and on the right was April Heinrichs — all of them extraordinary one-on-one artists.

Then, in the midfield, on the left side was Kristine Lilly and on the right side was Mia Hamm — both could go right through you. Julie Foudy was this wonderful galloping, center midfielder who loved to penetrate off the dribble. Then there was Shannon Higgins, the only girl who liked to pass the ball. She assisted both of Michelle Akers goals in the World Cup final, one off a set piece, one on a through ball. Our foundation was 1 v 1 play but Higgins’ assists were the margin of victory in the final.

Why did you step back from the National Team in 1994? 

When I was coaching the National Team, it was a part-time position. They wanted to make it a full-time position for me. I don’t know if you know anything about my history with the National Team, but what’s interesting about those positions is you spend most of your life pulling daggers out of your back. It’s just not that much fun.

Back then, so much of US Soccer was run by voting. You would be voted into this position, voted into that position, and you would politic your way up the ladders in administration. The dilemma with being a national coach back then was that it didn’t matter what roster you picked — you always ended up cutting star players under different state administrators and regional administrators. Immediately, since they are all politicians, they would have each other on speed dial, whining and complaining to US Soccer about all the players I picked. Part of it was very transparent. I picked a lot of UNC players. Why? Because we kicked everyone’s ass in those days. Most of the best players in the country were Tar Heels, but I would never pick a Tar Heel over a player who was better.

For me, coaching the national team was a political nightmare. I never enjoyed it. I also hated being reprimanded by my superiors for not picking the correct teams. I have so many wounds on the top of my back. It’s just one stabbing after another. On the other hand, I loved everything about the University of North Carolina, so that’s what I decided to dedicate my life to.

Was there one specific moment when you decided to leave the National Team? 

I was at war with US Soccer from the day I was hired. One year, it was so apparent that all of my critics were lined up against me. We were about to play Germany who, at the time, was the reigning World Champion on the men’s side. They were coming over to play us and all of the US Soccer leaders were so afraid that we were going to get humiliated by the Germans on our home soil that I was attacked by so many different people about the roster I had picked. The criticism I received was embarrassingly hollow. Of the 18 players on the National Team, nine were Tar Heels. Of course, you can see how they were screaming favoritism and blah, blah, blah.

Before we played Germany, there was an Olympic development program where the National Team, the Under-19 National Team and two other teams made up of the best players in the country competed in a tournament. We played round-robin and my National Team beat every one, but the team we had the most trouble with was the U-19 team — we only beat them two to zero. One girl said to me, “Anson, your first team is incredible, but at this point we’re not really competing for a position on the first 11. You have 18 players. What about the bottom seven?” And I thought, that’s completely legitimate criticism.

Now we are in the gold medal game playing the U-19 team again, but we’re starting our entire bench. The team that the starters only beat two to zero, the reserves are now beating nine to zero. I had a philosophy back then to never beat a team by more than nine, so I subbed the starters in and instructed them to just play possession. Well, April Heinrichs was a great captain for me and she knew all of the pressure and criticism I was under — and she wanted to make a statement. She went out and, on a corner kick, ran in from the top of the box and volleyed the ball into the back of the net.

Anyway, that is what’s going on. Now we’re about to play the Germans. We had just finished winning the game against the youth team 10 to zero and the Secretary General for US Soccer came into my locker room and said, “What’s this I hear that you haven’t picked the best team?” I’m thinking to myself, are you kidding me? Did you just watch that game? That was our reserve unit against a team the starters only beat two to zero. I was so mad at the guy.

We proceeded to beat Germany by a wide margin. All of a sudden, the same idiot who challenged me after the 10 to zero victory tried to give me a hug after the Germany game. I said, “Get the hell out of here.” Basically, that was it.

Tony DiCicco took over as head coach for the National Team after you left. How did you feel about that transition?

I don’t know if you’re aware of this but I planned my own successor, which of course, isn’t allowed. The US Soccer President is supposed to pick the National Team coach. I didn’t trust any of them to do that. Basically, I conspired with Tony. I said, “Tony, in this upcoming camp, I’m going to appoint you the National Team coach and tell the players I’m resigning. I’m going to move cones for you but you’re in charge and you’re playing them.” Of course, he was nervous because we weren’t following protocol, but I trusted him.

Here’s the other thing that a lot of people don’t understand. In 1991, going into that World Cup, I told my boss, “Just tell US Soccer at the end of this event, I’m resigning.” He told me, “You can’t do that.” And I said, “Yes, I can. I am never going to give these people the satisfaction of firing me. I’m resigning now and I’m timing it for the last game. If we lose in group play, I resign. If we win the World Championship, I resign.”

I made that very clear to him and, after we won the whole thing, he begged me to stay. I stuck around for another two or three years. Then, Tony and I conspired and when I appointed him head coach, of course, US Soccer was mad as hell but I would never work for them.

They offered me a full-time job but there was no freaking way I was going to put my family in jeopardy by working for them full time. I tried to make a deal with Sunil Gulati [former President of the US Soccer Federation] where I wouldn’t talk to the press or tell them I appointed my own successor. In exchange, I asked him if I could be in charge of player development. I even offered to do it for free. I was afraid that all those political operatives would ruin what we started. He said okay, but then they banned me from US Soccer for 17 years.

Why did they ban you from US Soccer?

Because I appointed my successor.

Did they share that publicly? 

No. In fact, you can ask Jill Ellis about it. About 12 or 13 years into my ban, Jill brought me in to help her train the U-20 National Team for a week. So, I went to help and, while I was there, she got a call from Dan Flynn [CEO and Secretary General of US Soccer] chastising her for hiring me to work at the camp. Jill had no idea I had been banned.

Basically, Jill wasn’t allowed to bring me back to the camp anymore once she discovered that I was on the hit list. The irony is that I never threw US Soccer under the bus. I was good. I didn’t criticize any of the coaches they appointed at any level. In fact, I supported them on their mission. I always supported player development. And, obviously, I worked hard to make sure the collegiate game could be a feeding ground for US Soccer.

Were there any other unfortunate run-ins with US Soccer administrators over the years?

While I’m on this US Soccer hit list, I still have things to do. One of my favorite moments came out of the blue. Jürgen Klinsmann read one of my books and loved it. He called me and asked if I wanted to join him in Germany — he was coaching the German men’s national team at the time. I don’t want to pretend that I had anything to do with the German success on that run, but I was there at all the training sessions. I would have breakfast, lunch and dinner with Jürgen. Whenever he flew first class to a game, I was right there next to him. When we were watching Bayern Munich play, I was there in the VIP lounge, dropping caviar into my mouth after my lobster.

To make a long story short, the Germans played the US the week I was there with Jürgen and they beat us by a wide margin, but I’m not sitting in the US section. I’m sitting in the German section. Why? Because I’ve been banned by US Soccer.

I could see Sunil sitting in the US section and he was irate during the game because the Germans were beating the US team. Sunil thought I had something to do with it. I could tell he was angry with me, but I had no issues — every part of that trip for me was first class.

How were you eventually unbanned from US Soccer? 

One day, I finally called up Sunil. He wasn’t the one who banned me. Sunil is a friend of mine. He understood and I understood — I’m not allowed to appoint my successor. I didn’t have any issue with that, but I wanted to run player development. So, I called Sunil and asked, “Am I still on your hit list? Am I still banned from US Soccer?” He said, “No, no. We took you off that list a while ago. You’ve suffered enough.” Then, the next year, I won the Werner Fricker award, which is the highest award in US Soccer.

Given your history with US Soccer, what do you think about everything that’s going on now, especially in terms of equal pay initiatives? 

Cindy Parlow is the US Soccer President right now and she’s a former player of mine. You are never going to hear any criticism from me. Even when I was banned, all I have ever been critical of are the policies for player development. I think that’s the only area I can speak to because that’s my area of expertise.

I’m not going to speak to equal pay — I’m not qualified. I will certainly speak to player development. Here’s what I know. With Cindy Parlow as US Soccer President, there is no way that they are going to treat the women poorly. I think the direction we’re going to go in with Cindy as President is going to be a wonderful direction. Are we going to solve everything at once? Of course not, but we are going to go in the right direction for the men and the women.

Cindy is going to be a wonderful leader. Keep in mind the people that she has on speed dial — Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, Julie Foudy. Her reference book of experts in this game is as long as my arm. I’m actually convinced she’s going to work herself to death. The best thing about Cindy being in this position is that she doesn’t even want it. She is the classic servant leader. I have all the confidence that she’s going to do a good job and that we’re going to go in the right direction.

You mention being critical of the player development policies. How do you think these policies could be changed? 

Here’s what drives me a little batshit crazy. We are a dynastic force in women’s soccer, but who is setting the template for player development in the United States? People from Holland. We are the reigning World Champions. We are four-time World Champions. We are four-time Olympic gold medalists. I think the Europeans should be looking to us on the women’s side for player development ideas.

What we really need are genuine leaders at the top who understand how to win the trust of all the people that work for them. The way you win trust is by being transparent and by bringing people into the room to discuss decisions.

Are there any player development policies you feel particularly strongly about?

Substitution. Here’s what’s happening right now, which is sort of interesting. FIFA is going to have a five substitution rule because they are going to have these crammed seasons and they don’t want people to get hurt. I saw an article where everyone was attacking this new rule, but one person said, “You know, once they go to five, they are not going to go back because they are going to discover the value of substitution.”

Obviously, it’s counter-intuitive to think that substitutions are good for player development. Most people think that the way you develop a great player is you put them out there in the field and you don’t substitute them. According to the culture of our game, when you sub someone out, they have to kick buckets and make it look like they’re really pissed — they turn into flaming idiots as they walk towards the bench, avoiding the coach’s handshake and kicking the first water bottle they see. They feel disrespected.

Here’s what is actually true about substitution. You should use substitution as another marker of competition so that you substitute at the point where a fatigued superior player is not as good as a fresh inferior player. The competition for the superior player is to win more time against her touchstone, her counterpart. That’s the competition. The counterpart’s challenge is to eat into the time of the starter.

If you want to motivate players to their potential, you use substitution as a cattle prod. It drives people to stay on the field longer. And, what qualifies you to stay on the field longer is certainly your fitness base. So, those both play into each other.

How have you put that philosophy into practice during your time at North Carolina? 

We’ve always done things differently at North Carolina. Of course, we suffer from all kinds of criticism because of the way we do things. I understand that you have to do that, especially if you’re recruiting against us. You have to pretend that substitution is bad for player development. You have to tell these great players that they are going to be subbed if they come to North Carolina.

Here’s the other thing that people don’t understand about these ridiculous substitution rules. Are you familiar with the birth month anomaly? On almost every national team’s roster, the players are born in January, February, March or April. Why? Because they are the oldest in their age group.

As a coach, you only have a certain amount of breath at a practice, so who do you coach? You coach the alphas. You don’t coach the betas. It’s human nature. You coach the ones that are going to help you win the most. It’s not like you dislike the other kids. Great coaches are tied in emotionally and spiritually with everyone on their roster. But if we have a game tomorrow and we’re playing Stanford and I’m talking strategy, I’m not talking to the kid who doesn’t even travel with us. I’m talking to the kids who I’m going to play. That’s human nature.

These players then become the starters. And when the national coaches are looking at players to bring in, they bring in the kids who are playing the most and who are invested in the most.

I can’t remember who I was having this debate with. Maybe it was Sunil or maybe it was one of his minions who thinks they are an expert in player development. On whatever roster I pulled up, the US Women’s National Team had a balance of players born in almost every month. Do you know why? Because in our culture, we substitute. A kid born in December is going to get subbed in and she is going to be hanging on by her freaking fingernails against the player born in January who is twice as big and twice as fast. That little wily kid born in December is going to have to develop a skill set to survive.

Substitution has a positive player development quality. Even Mia Hamm at UNC and Kristine Lilly and Tisha Venturini and Cindy Parlow were all subbed out. Did that interfere with their player development? Did that interfere with Tobin Heath’s player development or Crystal Dunn’s? Hell no.

One of the most wonderful comments made during this past World Cup came from someone who did the math and said, “You know, on the four World Championship US teams, one out of three players on all four rosters was a Tar Heel.”

Thank you. You know how we did it? We did it by substituting.

Looking back, UCLA coach Cori Close has mixed emotions about her team’s 2024/25 campaign.

Featuring one of the most talented starting fives in the sport, the team made historic strides all the way to a program-first Final Four appearance. But last season also served up a bittersweet ending.

The Bruins saw their dream postseason unceremoniously ended by eventual national champions UConn in an 85-51 rout. Highly touted but inexperienced on the big stage, UCLA nearly reached the mountaintop before a rough tumble, stirring up questions about the team’s ability to hang with the NCAA’s blue chip establishment.

“There’s nothing like having a historic season, and falling a little bit short,” head coach Cori Close told JWS in October. “The hunger to do it better, but also the attention to detail that it really takes.”

“It’s one thing to know things in your head, it’s a whole other thing to have them in your heart,” she continued. “And I think our team has a higher degree of these things in our heart.”

With renewed focus and deepened experience — plus an even more complete roster that can run the court against just about anyone — the Bruins just might reach the mountaintop again in 2026.

Following another strong offseason recruiting cycle, UCLA currently sits fourth in the AP Top 25 Poll after ranked wins over No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 19 Ohio State, and No. 23 Tennessee. And now the reigning Big Ten Tournament champions are setting their sights on conference play — with Saturday’s showdown with Southern California rivals No. 17 USC front of mind.

From here on out, attention to detail could make all the difference in how this season’s story ends.

UCLA is on a mission to reduce turnovers and own the glass

Before the 2024/25 season even began, coach Close already knew exactly where her team needed to improve.

The Bruins played a fast-paced style last year, facilitating ball movement inside and out with skill players at every position. This year, Close believed her squad could excel in terms of discipline, rather than sheer talent.

“We went back and studied the last five national championship teams and talked about trends that we see that they all have, that maybe we’ve fallen short in,” she said. “We figured that we need to turn the ball over three fewer times a game.”

Defense also plays a factor. “When you really trace championship teams, they have to be dominant in their rebounding,” she added. “We have a goal to get 70 to 75% of the misses.”

13 games into the season, UCLA hasn’t quite achieved all their goals. But they are showing potential. They’re slightly up in average rebounds with 44.1 per game, while lowering average turnovers by more than three per game.

But the team’s limitations against top talent reared its head in their November 26th loss to No. 2 Texas. UCLA grabbed only 32 rebounds while committing 20 turnovers — nearly double their season average.

“I was really honest with [the players],” Close said after the 76-65 defeat. “There’s some things we’ve been talking about that haven’t gotten enough change. Maybe this will get us to change some things that led to this.”

The threat of not sizing up against the best of the best fresh in their minds, UCLA has subsequently looked stronger. They reduced their turnovers even more against then-No. 14 Tennessee in late November, before dominating the boards against No. 19 Ohio State last Sunday.

“We have an abundance of growth opportunities, we have an abundance of opportunities to invest in each other,” Close told JWS.

“We have an abundance of ways in which we can improve week by week. We’re going to just stay focused on those.”

The Lauren Betts blueprint: Efficiency over minutes

Reaching UCLA’s goals relies on team-wide commitment — and figuring out the best way to utilize the team’s biggest star.

The Bruins have a wealth of elite guards, with upperclassmen like Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez running the backcourt. But it’s no secret that the team’s attack and defense runs through 6-foot-8 All-American center Lauren Betts.

The senior is a global talent. She made her USA Basketball debut in December, and is shortlisted to become the 2026 WNBA Draft No. 1 pick once her decorated college career comes to an end.

One of the most dominant two-way bigs in the college game, Betts averaged a near-20-point, 10-rebound double-double last season. She’s an attention magnet on the court, disrupting play at the rim with the motor needed to finish the work back up the court.

Ironically, though, to get the most out of Betts, Close has found she has to actually limit her time on the floor.

“When Lauren and I had our exit evaluation meetings last year, we both agreed that she needs to have less minutes,” said Close. “And honestly maybe even less shots, but more efficiency.”

“As a 6-foot-8 player, you get beat up so much before she even touches the ball,” Close continued. “I think it’s important that we protect her wherever we can.”

Betts is aware that physicality can sometimes throw her off her game. She’s now pushing to hone her tenacity at the rim while leveraging her size through double- or triple-teams.

“Just playing the game, making the right read, is something that’s really important for me, trusting that I know what to do on the floor,” Betts at reporters from USA Basketball training camp last month.

“Also aggressiveness, I think that’s something that I can always grow into.”

UCLA enters 2026 with fresh faces — and family ties

Close sees Betts at her best with nothing to prove individually and a little extra help under the basket. And they worked hard over the offseason to get her that support, shaking things up via both traditional recruiting and the transfer portal.

Take senior transfer Gianna Kneepkins, for example. The former Utah standout is giving the Bruins a scoring boost with 14.3 points per game while carrying minutes alongside more established starters.

“She’s been a pivotal puzzle piece for us in terms of having a 50/40/90 player that’s really able to stretch the floor. She’s making everybody better around her,” Close said of Kneepkins, as the newcomer provides a tall outside presence in the paint.

Close also credits second-year transfer Charlisse Leger-Walker. She’s bolstered the team off the bench after sitting out last season to rehab her ACL.

Betts’s biggest supporter, however, stems from a little closer to home. Lauren’s little sister Sienna, the No. 2 recruit in her class, joined the Bruins this season. And she shares many of her older sister’s attributes on the court.

Listed at 6-foot-4, the freshman can stretch defenses even without her big sister on the court, strengthening UCLA’s reach through negative runs while forcing opponents to game-plan for even more frontcourt power

“[I’m] just trying to help her as much as I can,” Lauren said of her sister prior to the season start. “Especially because we’re playing kind of the same position. Just trying to help her with the plays, help her with tough practices, kind of helping her move on.”

Unfortunately, a lower leg injury delayed Sienna’s college debut by 10 games. The younger Betts missed the loss to Texas, slowing down some of the flow Close is looking to build against a big-heavy lineup. But the plan for the Betts sisters is still very much in motion, even with limited playing time.

Reverse engineering success, one UCLA game at a time

Entering the new year with a healthy roster, UCLA will now have to balance expectations both inside and outside the locker room. Because regardless of how the season ends, significant change looms on the horizon.

“I think it’s really tempting to be championship or bust, and that could not be further from our mission,” Close explained.

“I am such a big believer that you talk about your end goal one time. And then you reverse engineer the process and habits it’s going to take to get there.”

“Just staying present, recognizing that this is also a new team,” senior Kiki Rice told JWS in October. “After what happened last year, there’s lessons in the past. [But we] really just focus on being our best versions of ourselves every day.”

UCLA might have fallen short against Texas last month. But they maintain faith that increased depth, veteran leadership, and a refreshed detail-oriented outlook can guide them all the way through the postseason.

“There were certain levels of preparation, certain ways that we needed to minimize distractions, certain ways we needed to handle all of the ways that are going to be pulling on our attention,” Close said of the team’s Final Four journey, noting that she also learned some major lessons herself.

For now, UCLA is enjoying the moment — and the process — with the hope that the wins keep coming this spring.

“This is probably the most complete team I’ve ever coached,” Close added. “If we can stay healthy and stay focused, we’re going to have big things ahead.”

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.

No. 3 South Carolina basketball suffered a blow this week, as top transfer Ta'Niya Latson exited the Gamecocks' 96-55 win over Providence with a lower leg injury on Sunday.

"She's smiling," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said of Latson immediately following the game, offering an optimistic injury update. "She got treatment all through the second half."

The star senior guard, who turned 22 years old last Friday, joined South Carolina after leading Division I in scoring with Florida State last season.

This year, Latson's 16.9 points per game trails only sophomore forward Joyce Edwards's 21.4-point average on the Gamecocks' scoresheet.

While the full extent to Latson's injury and her potential time off the court is still unknown, any absence exacerbates the team's injury woes, as South Carolina lost standout forward Chloe Kitts to a season-ending injury before the 2025/26 campaign tipped off — with the Gamecocks battling additional availability limits throughout their roster all month.

That said, with the recent returns of forward Madina Okot and guard Agot Makeer from concussion protocol, the Gamecock bench is significantly less sparse, with both returnees impacting Sunday's South Carolina victory with a double-double.

Even more, Staley's squad will see additional roster relief when 18-year-old French center Alicia Tournebize joins the team midseason.

How to watch South Carolina basketball this week

The No. 3 Gamecocks will open the new year by tipping off their SEC slate on Thursday, when South Carolina hosts unranked Alabama at 2 PM ET.

The clash with the Crimson Tide will air live on SEC+.

The world's tennis stars are preparing to open 2026 play in Australia this weekend, with top WTA and ATP leaders on Team USA gearing up to defend their United Cup title starting this Friday.

The two-time champion US enters as the No. 1 seed in the fourth edition of the hard-court tournament, bolstered by the return of world No. 3 Coco Gauff to lead Team USA's six-player United Cup contingent.

With each tournament bout consisting of one WTA singles match, one ATP singles clash, and one mixed-doubles competition, Gauff notably claimed a straight-sets victory over Polish phenom No. 2 Iga Świątek to secure the 2025 title for the US.

"I'm super excited," the 21-year-old star said prior to this year's United Cup. "I had such a good time in my first year playing with the team, and I'm looking forward to going back."

With the 2026 Australian Open beginning in less than two weeks, the United Cup pits 18 national teams against each other as players from both the women's and men's tours tune up for next year's Slams.

Fellow WTA Top-10 stars Świątek and Italy's No. 8 Jasmine Paolini will join Gauff on the 2026 United Cup court, while fan favorite No. 16 Naomi Osaka will feature for tournament debutant Japan.

Also battling for national pride will be two winners of last season's WTA awards, with 2025 Newcomer of the Year No. 18 Vicky Mboko joining Team Canada and 2025 Comeback Player of the Year No. 11 Belinda Bencic competing for Switzerland.

How to watch the 2026 United Cup

The 2026 United Cup runs January 2nd through 11th, with live coverage airing on the Tennis Channel.