The U.S. women’s national team will end its year with two friendlies against Germany, the first on Thursday and the second on Sunday.

Thursday will mark the first time the two teams have played since 2018, and the first time they’ve played in a friendly since April 2013, a match that ended in a 3-3 tie.

In total, the teams have met 33 times, the most for the United States against any European team other than Norway (50) and Sweden (42). The USWNT holds a 22-4-7 advantage (W-L-D), including a victory in the 2015 World Cup semifinals and in the 1999 World Cup quarterfinals.

Germany is fresh off a runner-up finish at the 2022 UEFA Women’s Euros this summer, while the USWNT won the Concacaf W Championship weeks earlier. But the U.S. is coming off consecutive losses to England and Spain in October.

“Playing Germany in the final matches of the year will be ideal for our World Cup preparations for all of our players and coaching staff, but it’s also fantastic for all the fans,” USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “USA-Germany is always one of the most entertaining match-ups in women’s international soccer and it’s a rivalry that has some wonderful history as well.”

Ahead of Thursday’s match, Just Women’s Sports hit the rewind button. Take look back at three key matches in the history of the rivalry — going back to the USWNT’s most recent loss to Germany in 2003.

March 1, 2018 – SheBelieves Cup
USA 1 – Germany 0

The USWNT opened up its 2018 SheBelieves Cup championship run with a 1-0 win over Germany. It marked the third year in a row that the U.S. beat Germany in the tournament, including a gold-medal win over Germany in 2016, but the teams have not played since then.

Megan Rapinoe scored the game’s lone goal – the 35th of her career at the time – and was assisted by Alex Morgan. Fittingly, the two players will feature once again for the USWNT on Thursday.

Things @mPinoe just did: THAT

The #USWNT strikes first in its #SheBelievesCup 2018 opener! pic.twitter.com/x0YnuVMh93

— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) March 2, 2018

June 30, 2015 – World Cup semifinal
USA 2 – Germany 0

The 2015 Women’s World Cup featured Germany as the top-ranked team in the world, but USWNT pulled out the upset win in the semifinal round.

Carli Lloyd and Kelley O’Hara each scored, and Hope Solo set the record for the longest shutout streak in U.S. World Cup history. Her 10th clean sheet also set the FIFA Women’s World Cup record.

But the game wasn’t without controversy, as Lloyd’s goal came on a penalty kick after a questionable call outside the box. O’Hara, though, provided a second goal to quiet the complaints and send her team to the final.

The USWNT would go on to win its third title, defeating Japan 5-2 in the final after Lloyd recorded her historic hat trick. Lloyd was named the tournament’s best player, tying for top scorer with Germany’s Célia Šašić at six goals apiece.

Oct. 5, 2003: World Cup semifinal
USA 0 – Germany 3

Germany got the best of the USWNT in the World Cup semifinal in 2003 — and got revenge for its loss to the USWNT in the 1999 World Cup tournament.

German players gave credit in part to the eight-team WUSA, as the professional league gave them the opportunity to play with and against some of the best U.S. players outside of international competitions.

“This time, we knew we could play against them,” three-time FIFA World Player of the Year and all-time leading scorer Birgit Prinz told reporters after the game. “We knew that they are not better than us.”

In the 16th minute, Kerstin Garefrekes struck first. Two more stoppage time goals were added later as German goalkeeper Silke Rottenberg recorded the clean sheet.

Germany would go on to win the World Cup, defeating Sweden 2-1, and Prinz would be named Player of the Tournament after scoring a tournament-high seven goals.

Since that World Cup defeat, the USWNT hasn’t lost to Germany, going 10-0-5 in the last 19 years. (Full disclosure: That does include one regulation tie but shootout loss to Germany at the 2006 Algarve Cup, but the USWNT still has had the clear upper hand.)

The USWNT will face Germany at 7 p.m. ET Thursday at DRV Pink Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and at 5 p.m. ET Sunday at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. Thursday’s game will air on Fox Sports 1, and Sunday’s game will air on ESPN.

As the NWSL returns from the international break, powerhouse clubs below the playoff line are preparing for a midseason push that could make — or break — the 2025 regular season.

With just three matchdays left before the league's extended summer break, which begins June 23rd and ends on August 1st, clubs will look to shore up their spots on the NWSL table before pressing pause on regular-season play.

Hovering just outside the 2025 postseason line in a 12-point tie are a trio of NWSL clubs, all hunting midseason weekend wins to boost them back into contention:

• No. 9 Gotham FC vs. No. 1 Kansas City Current, Saturday at 1 PM ET (CBS): Having slipped under the playoff line while off hoisting the first-ever Concacaf W Champions Cup, the Bats have their work cut out for them against the league-leading Current on Saturday — though Gotham could see their midfield bolstered by the return of star Rose Lavelle from her 2024 ankle injury.

• No. 11 Bay FC vs. No. 5 Portland Thorns, Saturday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): Bay FC's bid to jump into the league's Top 8 runs through the second-hottest club in the NWSL right now, with the Thorns looking to add to their five-match regular-season unbeaten streak this weekend.

• No. 4 Washington Spirit vs. No. 10 North Carolina Courage, Sunday at 4 PM ET (Paramount+): The Courage have dropped just one of their last five matches after a winless season start, but they'll face a Washington side hungry for a win in DC. Despite holding a league-record 5-0-0 road tally this season, the Spirit have stumbled on the home front, earning just one 2025 victory in Washington.

The NWSL outlined new rules for expansion roster building and intra-league loans on Thursday, as two new franchises prepare to enter the league in 2026 without the benefit of an expansion draft.

"With the introduction of free agency and the elimination of the NWSL Draft and Expansion Draft, it was important for us to establish alternative player acquisition assets that support incoming teams while maintaining competitive balance across the league," said NWSL VP of player affairs Stephanie Lee in a league announcement.

Incoming clubs Boston Legacy FC and NWSL Denver will each have access to over $1 million in allocation funds to spend on players beginning on July 1st through the end of 2027.

Both teams can also sign players without being held to a salary cap until the secondary transfer window in 2025, providing players can be loaned out, put on Season Ending Injury designation, or acquired with allocation money used toward the salary cap.

Once the secondary transfer window opens this year, both Boston and Denver will have a $250,000 cap under which they can ink college athletes or international players not under contract.

In addition, the NWSL declared open season on intra-league loans on Thursday, allowing all teams to add athletes to their rosters from other league entities — provided both the player and the league approve the loan.

Each team can have no more than 12 players either in or out on loan at a time, and clubs can only bring in or send out a maximum of three athletes to/from any other single squad.

Overall, the NWSL intends these moves to bolster competition for both its current and future clubs.

"The introduction of intra-league loans — available to all teams — adds greater flexibility and opportunity for player development and strategic roster management league-wide," noted Lee.

World No. 2 Coco Gauff earned a ticket to her third career Grand Slam final on Thursday, advancing to the 2025 French Open championship match by ending French wild-card No. 361 Loïs Boisson's Cinderella story with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 semifinal victory.

"This is my first time playing a French player here. I was mentally prepared that [the crowd] was to be 99% for her, so I was trying to block it out," said the 21-year-old US star. "When [the crowd was] saying her name, I was saying my name to myself just to psyche myself up."

"[Loïs has] shown she's one of the best players in the world," Gauff added about her opponent's remarkable tournament run following their clash. "I hope we have many more battles in the future, especially here. Today it was just my day."

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The player standing between the 2023 US Open champ and her second Grand Slam trophy is none other than world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who looked at ease taking down four-time French Open winner No. 5 Iga Świątek 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-0 in the tournament's other semifinal on Thursday.

Notably, the three-set defeat was Świątek's first Roland-Garros loss in an astounding 1,457 days — a 26-match winning streak that dated back to 2021.

The 2025 French Open will now be the third straight Slam in which Sabalenka has reached the final, with the top-ranked tennis star making six WTA title-match appearances in 2025 alone.

Head-to-head, Sabalenka and Gauff have an evenly split 5-5 record.

While Gauff earned her US Open title with a Sabalenka defeat, Sabalenka has the recent edge, snagging wins over Gauff in three of the pair's last four meetings — including May's clay battle in the 2025 Madrid Open final.

How to watch the 2025 French Open final

The world's top two tennis players will square off at the 2025 French Open championship match at 9 AM ET on Saturday, airing live on TNT.

The 2025 Women's College World Series (WCWS) are headed to a winner-take-all Game 3, as Texas Tech evened this week's best-of-three championship series with a 4-3 victory over Texas on Thursday.

Anchored by another gutsy performance from star pitcher NiJaree Canady, the Red Raiders capitalized on missteps by the Longhorns, plating their four runs thanks to a hit-by-pitch, a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly, and a fielding error.

Down but not out, Texas broke through with a sixth-inning home run from star senior Mia Scott before plating two more in the game's final frame.

With the tying run just 60 feet away, Canady locked in, ending the Longhorns' threat with a strike-out to claim Texas Tech's first season win over their state rivals at just the right time, keeping the Red Raiders' national title hopes alive.

"NiJa was huge," said Texas Tech head coach Gerry Glasco about his ace's Game 2 performance. "She went out there and pitched her tail off."

Canady likely to toss every Texas Tech pitch at WCWS

After Wednesday's botched intentional walk put Texas within one win of the NCAA trophy, Canady bounced back by again assuming control in the circle, tossing every Texas Tech pitch for the seventh postseason games in a row — a streak dating back to the Red Raiders' first Super Regional game.

"Obviously [Wednesday] night wasn't my best game. I feel like this game wasn't my best game, either," said Canady, despite stifling Texas's late surge. "I was just leaving it out on the field."

Glasco will undoubtedly tap Canady to throw Friday's decisive clash as well, with Texas Tech's championship hopes resting on their $1 million player.

Should she complete Game 3 and secure a program-first national championship in the process, Canady will become the first pitcher since 2012 Alabama ace Jackie Traina to toss every WCWS pitch for a title-winning team.

On the other hand, Texas's four-pitcher bullpen game means sophomore ace Teagan Kavan — who threw just two outs on Thursday night — should be fresh and ready to test the Red Raiders in the final game of the 2025 NCAA softball season.

How to watch the 2025 WCWS championship game

The decisive Game 3 of the 2025 WCWS championship series will take the field in Oklahoma City at 8 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage on ESPN.