SoccerWise - USWNT Roster Reaction, Thorn's Statement Win & Transfers Around Washington/San Diego

Episode Date: June 18, 2025

Emma Hayes said she would give the USWNT Euro based players the summer off so we have a fascinating roster release to dig into. This USWNT release comes in the middle of a big week of NWSL action. A few teams have a chance to prove their credentials so Soccerwise starts handing out grades to Louisville, Portland and San Diego.1:50 Women’s Club World Cup Potential6:10 Lousiville’s Grade On Their Big Test In KC15:45 Portland’s Statement Win21:30 Washington Add Italy International Sofia Cantore26:45 Star Of Kenza Dali & Potential Maria Sanchez Sale32:45 Exciting New Faces Called To USWNT Soccerwise Live 2pm ET Every Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday on Youtube/Twitch/Twitter

I was dancing before I put the song on. Me too. So I felt like it was playing. I was like the music is going. The music flows through us. If you think about it, the music is really the friends we make along the way. And then I realized, oh, I'm the one who has to push the button and play the music. And now we're on.

David and Jordan with you here for a little bit of live NWSL, US Women's National Team action. If you're listening via podcast, welcome and thank you. We've got a big show coming up for you. We've got a lot to talk about. We're going to break down the US Women's National Team's newest roster going into the games against Ireland and Canada coming up this summer. We will talk about the games we saw in NWSL. We were very excited for this Louisville, Kansas City game. So was Kansas City. Louisville

maybe a little less excited or maybe they just didn't get the schedule on the game time, which is something that totally happens. and we'll talk about that as well as now the weekend to come because pretty much the same slate of teams have big games and I think we're going to put together a nice little report card coming out of this these two weeks going into this international break. But I think Jordan, you had said you'd wanted to do about 35, 40 minutes on Ulsan Hyundai's defensive block and how they defend as a team. And the floor to you.

Yeah, I also wanted to start it with, na na na na na na na na na na na. If anybody else is watching this Club World Cup, that is living, rent-free inside of your brain. Yeah, Ulsan, where do I start, really? If you want a good tactical analysis of what they're doing, just watch the game from last night. It's pretty cool though, Goss. I'm calling Club World Cup games.

I've dreamed of being a part of a World Cup, and I didn't think it would be a Club World Cup because this iteration is brand new, but it's pretty stinking cool. I have had some pinch me moments that's for sure. It's been awesome hearing you on the games. It definitely kept me on probably longer than I would have on watching the rain delayed Ulsan Hyundai Mammalody Sundowns. But you went quick to Sundowns which is a cool nickname to have. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Know your strengths and weaknesses.

You got to call the Flamengo game, which is that's one of those ones I think is just really cool. We have heard the reports, I believe, and I think I said it coming off Gotham's CONCACAF W Championship, that there will be a women's edition of this that FIFA is going to put together. This tournament has been fascinating on the men's side, just watching things that you've never seen on the same field play out. And I think one of the things I've come away with is the game's a lot closer than you realize.

And I actually think clubs shows that more than national team because teams are more cohesive and can work a little together. But you don't have this debate on the men's side of which is the best league in the world in which there are leagues that never play in competitive competition. And that's where a women's club World Cup becomes really interesting. Like if you can imagine a sold out stadium in DC with Washington playing Arsenal and we I know we saw it last year in a friendly but the potential I think on the women's side is even bigger than on the men's side. It's it's at least there. Is it bigger? I don't know. But I think it would really help us

understand where the game is at in different leagues to be able to compare some of the best from around the world. And I think that's been the the fun way about it. You know, just my game last night, Wilson didn't have the ball at all. and yet they still could have won that game with some really good defensive tactics, switching at halftime with some of those. There's just nuances to the way the game's played in South Korea versus South Africa and it has been really cool to get to see that firsthand and we want this on the women's side. I think it's in 2028, so it's not like, don't hold your breath like it is in a little while. Although we said that when every World Cup host gets announced and then they're like,

oh, they're around the corner. True. It happens quickly. But yeah, and it will go fast, right? Because next year's men's World Cup, then women's World Cup, then the women's club World Cup. Yeah, there you go. We saw it in the CONCAPW, I think, right? Compared to the Summer League Series last year, I think you saw having home field advantage make things a little bit more competitive.

And I think the more experience you get on the field in moments like this where there's like, the same as you're feeling, I think, off the field of like pinch me moments for players. If you live it a little bit more often, maybe then it becomes less intimidating. We're obviously going to see an expanded World Cup in 2027. I think that's more dangerous to me than the Club World Cup of like, I think the range of quality and talent and cohesion. I think the big one is resources. And that is going

to look even more stark than it would at a Club World Cup Because I think you do have that sort of like you have teams what we're seeing here of like teams that are underdogs But like heart of a champion stuff. Yeah, like you've been through battles together and you've won So there's some belief to stick together with math national teams don't always have because they're not together as often and all of that That was a huge non sequitur. We went through Yeah they're not together as often and all of that. That was a huge non sequitur we went through. Yeah. But I think really, really fun to think about because this two weeks has been this like weird fever dream of like seeing this thing you've never seen,

thinking about it on the women's side, I think is really, really exciting and really interesting. To go to that a little bit, Washington Spirit did add another attacking player. I believe it's the first full Italian international to now come to NWSL. So starting to continue to see what does the game that's played here look like

and translate to other parts of the world? Shout out to John Rawlins in the chat who was an Orlando native and I believe was at the game last night and said the Ulsan fans in the wall understood the assignment. So two of 600 or three of 600 of you. I appreciate it. Who were locked in for this game.

Let's dig into NWSL. We spent a lot of time last week talking about Louisville. They were tied with Kansas City, the two hottest teams in the league. They were in the best form in their club's history winning four out of five. And this was going to be the benchmark. This was going to be the test. What would they do going on the road to the best team in the league and being tested in their style in a different way? I did the weekend recap and I kind of flopped flip flopped

on this. They went down 3-0 in 19 minutes and it looked like played off the field. They claw back to 3-2 and eventually lose 4-2 to Schwingo with a stoppage time goal to sort of seal things. Do you have a grade for what this team is and what they showed coming out of this one game? I feel like in the first half they that was poor, right? It was poor high line. It looked at with that Cooper goal looked like they were trying to pull her offside.

Everybody's arms go up like an offside trap looking. Just bizarre with not only when you have Schwinga, but Michelle Cooper has been lethal. And then in the second half, I would say they looked a lot better. And so I don't know is it an average grade here like is it the average of the both halves? I would say a C plus B minus because I think they could be you know if if they would have played in the first half the plate the way they played in the second half I think we're talking about a Louisville team who goes in to Kansas City like

they did last year and at least gets a point. And they could have done that in this game, but they just started off so slow. They were a little lethargic in the first half. And then in the second half, the thing that I felt it wasn't, they were being the aggressor in a lot of moments. Granted, Kansas City plays this game a lot, right, Goss? We see them score early. They sit back. They're like, eh, even if we give up a couple, like we're fine. Honestly, a little bit, right? It's very different than I think when Orlando gives up a goal or scores a goal early, Orlando's like, you're not scoring against us. Um, I, so I would say C plus their identity started to show more in the second half of winning first and second balls being a little bit quicker when they do get the ball on regains in the attacking

third to play it out of that space quickly or combine quickly through the space. But for Louisville, I think they're going to be disappointed about the first half and really going to try to right the wrong because it doesn't get easier. Here you go. You got Orlando this weekend. Yeah, they are in this run that is ridiculous. So they have Orlando this weekend. Then we have this international summer break.

We have Euros, we've got Copa America. I think Euros starts like July 1st. Then coming back from that, Louisville hosts Kansas City. Then they go to Orlando. Then they go to Kansas City, then they go to Orlando, then they go to Washington Spirit, then they go to San Diego. So yes, there's this huge break in between, there's a transfer window, like things will change. That's wild.

But across these six games, they are arguably playing the three or four best teams, however you want to count that. And they are playing the two reigning finalists or one of the reigning finalists. My words are everywhere. Reigning champion and the league leader. They are playing them twice in this span. So we're going to learn a ton. I think it's a little unfortunate that we talked about it. So everyone knows that there was going to be questions on how you played that pressing style. And they kind of just went in and ignored all the questions. And the answer was you couldn't. And like that doesn't feel realistic to me to go into this game and say, yeah, we're just going to do what

we do. And I think even specifically, I remember last week you bringing up like, and you can overload on Schwinga and try and slow that down. And then Cooper is going to have space. And that was the exact story. Not only do they try and pull an offside trap on that second, on Michelle Cooper's goal, your fullbacks are pushed so high up the field and Cooper doesn't even break out that early. And yet she's the only one on her entire side of the field from midfield all the way on.

And that I just think is again, a lack of awareness of what you're going up against. I don't mind belief. I don't mind saying like, we think we're good. And if we do what we do at our best, but you're going to their building. There has to be some level of recognition. And I don't know that that even really came

in the second half. It was just like you said, Game State, Kansas City sitting a little bit deeper, Louisville getting a little bit more confident. But I don't know that there was a ton of specific tactical things in which they shifted. What I said on the recap show was then they brought Borges on in the 60th,

they get the goal. I don't want to say that it's because of that. And I think that brings a little more possession to their team in midfield. It changes the way they play. She can't press the same way, but also you can play through pressure in different ways. The problem for Louisville is that hasn't been the road to success. So how far do you lean into that in some of these big games coming up?

Yeah, it's a good point. And it'll be interesting how they start to if they when they pick and choose utilizing Ari Borges, because now you're playing Orlando, you would think playing a team like Orlando, who typically have two central midfielders, you would use a player like Ari because then you can overload that with a really good footballing player and utilize that extra number centrally. But it has been pretty evident from what we've seen in that run that Louisville had, it was all about our identity is high press, turn the ball over high on the field, be difficult to play against. And not that Ari doesn't give them that, I just, they get it more from other players.

So I'm interested to see what Louisville looks like this weekend. They're at least at home. Don't have to deal with fans right on top of them like they had to in Kansas City. But yeah, I think it'll be a really good, did we learn anything from that game? And can we execute what we learned? Yeah. It will be a good example to see what they learn and where they move forward Then we go into the offseason or not the offseason this break feels like it dies where the transfer window open Louisville were really quiet in the offseason. I think some of that was belief in the group They had I think some of that is still trying to find their feet of where they sit in overall spending across the league. I Wonder if they whether or not even, they get a good result in this one,

if that convinces ownership, front office, to open up the books a little and say, okay, we've got a real shot at something this year. And is that enough of a like focus thing? They made the trade for Bolster last year because they thought they had a road to the playoffs. This would be a different way, because it would, with the, you know the lack of trades and all of that, you

need to spend some money to bring a player in whether that's inside the league or outside the league. But they seem like a prime candidate to look around. For them, it might be depth. It may not even be starters, but this team needs to get a little bit deeper because they're relying on a lot of rookies and they're relying on a lot of players who don't have clear backups where if you get an injury or if the opponent plays a different style, they don't really have another ace up the sleeve that they can go to.

And I think that's going to decide a lot for them going forward. For Kansas City, by the way, just don't mess with them. Yeah. Don't mess with us. Not in our house, baby. It is. Did you see the clip of the football player, the chief's player? Yes.

I don't know his name because I don't know the names of the football players. But I'm like, dude, stay in your lane. You're going to take our jobs. I just love that he was fully committed. Oh yeah. He was like, Michelle Cooper's best player on the field and now every other player around me, they have to think that too. Yeah, we're just gonna keep doing stuff to promote it It was really really fun to watch. I think it was their entire rookie class that came to the game

There's nothing like a Casey Curran came. No, I think for a lot of people If you're not in a market that has a team, you have no idea if you're in some other markets It's not the same experience Like I can't imagine going in a KC current game and then not saying like I'm a fan of this and I watch more of this And I want to experience it and the way they play. Yeah, it's just so fast-paced Aggressive direct go at you that once you're there they will hook you because they are they're deadly in that in that arena. And they put on a show it was it was fun. They won every ball centrally

just suffocated Louisville and should have had more goals. They really should have had more goals. And I think that's one of the fun things about this style that they play is you're never going to go you're never going to go to that field and not feel like you didn't get a show. And they're there to entertain. That's our jobs as players. We want to entertain the fans and they figured it out there. Kite And that symbiotic relationship of fans get

excited so the team pushes harder. There's no team that's easier to do that for than this Kansas City team, like you said, of just constantly, constantly putting on pressure. Izzy Rodriguez, another big game, adds her name now to this national team pool, as we're gonna talk about coming up as Emma Hayes, giving the European players outside of Nairobi, Kermadej the summer off,

and so a lot of players getting their first opportunities. But before we get there, let's talk about a couple other big NWSL games from the weekend that was. I'm gonna skip over to the last game of the weekend and go to Portland here. Because Portland had a big home win over the Washington Spirit.

They remain undefeated at home. Two of the really young pieces in this team get goals. They are another squad that's sending some young players to this US women's national team pool. But I've sort of talked about it on the recaps and talked about it a bit with you of I think there's still a huge range in performances from Portland because they're so young, but like this is the model. And I think what's really exciting about this game is that midfield three of experienced players carried them through this and that feels repeatable between Seguita, Fleming and Koffi. It is and you have to rely on those three when there's so many changes everywhere else

around them. Jayden Perry didn't play right? Am I? Didn't? Now you're questioning me at the worst possible time. But then Kaia Hanks came off with an injury, still no word on what happened to Hanks and those are two really young bright players. Yes, O'Bain is in Hyatt.

Right. And Perry had a knock I believe. So you know, it's just, it's in there somewhere. It's in the brain somewhere. Below South African and South Korean soccer. Just for the moment. Just for the moment, just for the moment. And I think when you can't really with younger players, you just don't expect consistency. And that's the hardest thing as a professional to be consistent, to go into a game and say,

I know that Jordan is going to give me XYZ because that's what she always gives me. That is something that you have to build as a pro. And I think when you have a midfield with Fleming Zagita, Coffee, you can have a stable piece where you can get the ball at whatever moment. You can win the ball back and you could set the tone. So I think that that is really big. Sam Coffee has been great. I know Jessie Fleming had herself a day and she's been really on and off. And so could this be a good week for her to kind of kickstart?

It's weird because she's been in the league for a while, but I don't feel like we've seen the best of her. I think Jackie D in the chat just said Fleming's best game for Portland. That was my thought the whole time too. It was the talk about consistency. It was almost dominant performance the full time on the field for her. And it was, I think, our first great example, like we've seen for Canada, of both being goal creating dangerous

and controlling pace of game. She just hasn't been able to do that in NWSL. And this was a difference for her and it wasn't against an easy opponent, but it wasn't against an easy midfield. So I think this could be a difference for her and it wasn't against an easy opponent, right? It wasn't against an easy midfield. So I think this could be a changing for her. And I think part of it could be starting to like feel the comfort about what's going on around you. Yeah.

Coffee is like the easiest central midfield partner probably to play with right now in the league. Probably. Yeah. And now that I think you understand, okay, these young players are runners around me and I know that they're going to make the runs into the channel at this time. And so you saw Fleming on that second goal, right? Okay. Reed's Moultrie has the ball, know that you can come be a partner. She'll attack. And then it's maybe a little fortunate, but help set up Turner on the goal. And I think you're seeing that for this team and for her maybe in a different way than we did all of last year.

Yeah. And we want her to be successful. This league, that team is better with the Jesse Fleming, with all the tools and expressing those and utilizing them. But it hasn't worked. It feels like at times the game is just bypassing her and she's chasing. And I loved watching her create and find the little spaces to help Portland in the way that they attacked. Yeah, this Portland team has just surprised a lot of us.

Yeah. Yeah, they have. They've surprised, they've entertained. And I think it's good to see the reward for some of them to get into national team conversations for multiple countries. I think Ali-Doo has been a really nice addition and slightly unexpected from me. It felt more like a depth and sort of like we need to make moves because so much fell apart right before the season. And now you're looking at a player who was a starter for Canada coming into her time in Portland has probably established that through her play in Portland locked in as a starter

and they're gonna play against the US in Washington, DC coming up on July 2nd, which is gonna be a really cool game to watch. But I think you come out of this weekend and at the same time saying this about Louisville, like I think Portland's performance was one of the shows and now they've reestablished home field as dominance and can they go on the road and start to pick up more points? It feels like a top five team right now and the question is just how high they can go.

Yeah, I think it's also the question of how healthy they can stay because it does feel like they're top five when they have some of these pieces that right now in the middle of the week, we don't know what the... I'm not going to speculate, but I did not like the way that that looked with Hanks. It really makes me worry. I didn't quite know what was going on with Perry, but for her to have the start that she did, probably the hardest start for a rookie playing against Kansas City and getting walloped and then coming back and showing consistency game after game and now not being available. Without those two, I mean, center back, you're maybe at a little bit better of a place, but

how many forwards have they they gone through this year and to finally like to see Kai Hanks come in and have that flair I think their success will probably hinge on that. We'll talk about Olivia Moultrie I think a little bit more in the national team conversation on the Washington side real quick. It doesn't get easier for them by the way they go to San Diego this weekend which is a brutal week and And that is another Sunday game. They might have just stayed out there. Wouldn't you just stay? I would, except

you kind of almost hope to have less of a layoff then. Yeah, that's true. And not have Sunday to Sunday. They do, but I think you're right. And we'll see no matter what. They've got a new name in the conversation. Sofia Cantore has joined the team. 25 year old Italian international from Juventus. 40 goals, 20 assists in league play in Italy, mainly with Juve a few years on loan. 40 caps, five goals for the Italian national team. I sat off the top, the first full Italian international to come and play in NWSL.

The belief is it's about a $350,000 fee to bring her in, which was more than Bayern Munich put up. So that was the competition for this player. It's a player who probably when healthy isn't a starter right now, even with all that money spent. And I think it's a sign of what happened last year, which was Washington came into the summer break as one of the best teams and they added Esme Morgan and they added Rose Kowasi and you kind of wondered like where's the minutes and

Unfortunately for them the minutes always come but also I think they're trying to build something special and that special thing is like Having multiple players who are constantly challenging to be starters across the field I'm just curious when this because usually we we get word of it, but it's already been a done deal for a while. I just wonder, you know, how you tell a player, well, you wanted to come here and play for Jonah Heraldes. And actually, he's not going to be here anymore, which just throws a funny wrench in it. You know, I think we've talked a lot about Adrian Gonzalez and how great he's going to be. But this Washington team, I don't know how they do it.

I don't know how they keep adding pieces that seem to be not just quality players, but national team players. Players with great backgrounds who can come in, especially if you look, I mean it's really all levels of the field, but that front, that attacking group is filled with internationals who, they've got to be, however they're doing their books, it must be some really good bookkeeping because they have figured out a way to get some excellent players in who can be difference makers. We've already seen it. Even bringing in a player like GIF Monday this year who maybe doesn't have that reputation

but is still an international and has proven to translate really well to NWSL. So I'm excited to have an Italian in the league and to learn how Washington does this. Are you gonna fix my pronunciation or you still feel okay about it? I do not know how to say her last name so I'm not going to change it. Good. I'm gonna call her Sophia

until I know how to say her last name. So I think on the international thing, it's fascinating. To add Bernal, I mean, Gabby Carl, right? You're talking about a full international who is in rotation at the fullback position. Obviously the ads they've made in central midfield. I do think a large part of this, probably if we were to see it is that whole middle is draft picks on their rookie deals. So that gives a little bit of flexibility for them to open some stuff up and being able to bring a player in on loan from Leoness probably doesn't hurt as well, right?

But like yeah, it's really really fascinating to see how they've done this Also, we did see you lay SAR in the building not playing two weeks ago, which would be a huge deal for them now On the flip side. I don't know how much you're gonna trust it So adding another center forward option or an attacking option because of the flexibility they have is really big. I'll just say Ashley Hatch is out with a back injury. What is going on there? I don't know.

It is wild and it's a little bit scary and the rest of the group is finally getting healthy. Croy is back. Hal Hirschfeldt is back. Kruger has been back. The whole back line is pretty healthy but they can't do it top to bottom as a team which I think is really, really unfortunate. Last year when they made the Rose Quasi move, we talked about it, it was a future move, it was for Debs.

She ends up starting and being a huge factor in the postseason. So I think you trust this Washington team to understand where they can get some more support and where they can build This roster out so a big move for them We've got some big games coming up this weekend the weekend closes with San Diego hosting Washington as I said So that's Sunday at 10 p.m. I want to talk about Ken DaDolly for a moment Okay, she's been maybe the best midfielder in the league this year from a deep position This weekend Yona side of all said there's going to be more space. I want to play you higher. So she decided she'd be the best 10 in the league this weekend. And like the first 45

minutes were electric. And there was a moment, because I watched the game back later, where I was like, I guess I hit highlights. Because it just kept being Ken Zadali in the half space creating, creating. And I was like, nah, I hit highlights because it just kept being Ken Zadali in the half space creating, creating. And I was like, nah, I've been watching for 25 minutes and it's 25 minutes in. It was an absurd performance. Well, when she came into Lee, I remember talking about her specifically in our previews and I was like, she's a 10. She's going to help get more goals because they were struggling on goals.

And to see her play in that. This is why I thought she was 10. This is why she is a 10. She is so good in tight spaces, connecting the lines, finding that final pass, scoring goals, all of the things. I love Kenza Dali. She is such a smart footballer and to get to watch that in our league with a team that is really reinventing themselves.

It's been really fun to see her kind of shape and mold who they're going to be no matter where she's playing. Her fingerprints are all over the game and yeah, it was a pretty good one for her this past weekend. It should be fun against Washington too because that is such such a good strong midfield to see how she operates. Craig Bethune looking fully healthy, which I think you assume she gets dropped a little deeper once again and has defensive responsibility to try and contain Bethune. But this is not a San Diego team that's built that way. So they will try and control possession Which I think it sits sets up really well for a good back-and-forth game Maria Sanchez came off the bench in this one scored a goal around the rumors that she is headed to Tigress to join Diana or Donia's came off the bench at halftime, which is like it's not like a late-game sub and they were up to zero at

The time I thought it was a very interesting move and I wonder if there's more going on behind the scenes Conversations about no, we actually want you to be a part of this project or not And so San Diego I think for them the big fear would be a lack of depth Like they've rebuilt so much of the roster that just it hasn't been built that deep yet Yeah, and so maybe you a normal world, you say, okay, if we get a good offer, like we understand you wanna move on, but now you look at how well you're doing and you say, well, we'd actually

really love to keep you to the end of the year to see if we can push for a home playoff game or a top two spot. It's also Maria Sanchez has the biggest contract. Like that. Which was why last week I thought, if you can get someone to take it, the performances you're getting from Coralie and Barcenas and I'm missing a name right now. You are missing Ascanio of course.

Then that covers that. But if you also want to be competitive, you're competitive. Do you really want to step away from that? Yeah. Not just competitive. It feels to me like they want to win. They want to find success now. If you do trade Sanchez or sell her, it would be a sale.

You'd have to have purpose with that money and you'd have to purposely go get players who would add what she adds, which I think has had wild variations over the years of her time in NWSL. But when she is clicking, it's hard to find a better left-footed player in this league that can serve a ball on a dime to good players in attacking positions and Great she can be great in in and around the box too that adds the number of goals this year so it is really interesting and We'll see I don't know we'll see what Kimmy Ashton does with that

We'll see. I don't know. We'll see what Kimmy Ashton does with that. Reminder that Ken Zadali was not called up to the France team for the Euros. Cascorino is. So no Perot? What? No Perot-Maroni either? I don't believe so.

She's good. I would love to see who. I would just love to see her get a shot to see like Comparatively what she now she's like she's the only NWSL player on the roster. Okay So either it's a really good midfield or someone's getting left out that's a serious there was like some I don't know like Not drama, but something around there has been? There has been some with Renard as well. Kenza Dali kind of was part of this veteran group that got left out for the last window to see new things and then also got left off this European roster. Friday night we mentioned it. Louisville hosting Orlando, which starts as a part of this crazy streak.

At the same time, Kansas City hosts Angel City. So both 8 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, you're going to have to get your dual screens out. Those are both kind of must watch. I think Louisville or Orlando won. We're trying to see more from, but Angel City can open up and play. I think they'll give up chances, but I think they'll feel comfortable in the game states that Kansas City creates more so than most of the opponents do in NWSL. Yeah, I do think they will. And it's an Angel City team that they, when they're at their

best, they're actually building through the channels, right? They're not going through the center, the center portion of the field, which if you try to build like that against Kansas City, they're just like, whoop, got the ball and now we're going. So it'll be interesting to see how Angel City manages if, because if they want to build down their right with Giselle Thompson and there's a little pressure pocket, like how do they get in beyond the back line then? So their movement in those areas is going to be really key. But when you said all those games, Goss, all I thought of was like, you better have some water and some oxygen because those are going to be really quick games. Yeah. They are both going to be really, really fun to watch. For Angel City, trying to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss at home to North Carolina, Brianna Pinto's 95th minute

winner for North Carolina. They have only played dramatic games this year. So North Carolina also won where you're like, probably must tune in, especially for the last 15, 20 minutes of their games. Let's dig into the national team here, which ends up being pretty much an NWSL conversation as well. Naomi Germa, the lone player coming from Europe

for this one. June 26th and 29th, the national team will play against Ireland. The first game of that is against is in Denver soccer wise is for Denver so shout out to the big Denver I don't know the name for it the Mile High City the Mile High shout out to the Mile High City and then on July 2nd the final game of the camp is as I mentioned in Washington DC that one's against Canada so a fun rivalry

game going into a vacation weekend that should feel really, really big. And I think for a U.S. team that's like looking for ways to test themselves, this is a really good scheduling move by them. And Emma is going to get to see a lot of new faces in this group. There's some returning pieces because there has been

such a wide sort of net cast over the last year of players getting opportunities. There are even more in this side. The goalkeepers that you'd expect, but Angelina Anderson gets called to this one with Claudia Dickey and Mandy McGlynn. A number of the defenders who were newer to the team like Patterson and Abello recalled, but I mentioned Izzy Rodriguez. One of the new names, Lily Real gets called in Jordan Bug as well to be a part of this

group. It's awesome to see Cory Bethune back into the national team fully healthy. One of the names that I was most excited to see on this entire list was Sam Meza. I think she's been phenomenal this season. It's not exactly in the same style that the U.S. plays, but also is eligible, I believe, for Mexico. And so I wouldn't be surprised if this is sort of like a little overture to say you are definitely part of our plans. And then in the front line, all players who have been around, the MSC errors, the Michelle Coopers, Ali Centinors, they've been getting call ups because there's been no triple espresso.

Now they get all an opportunity once again. I would say of all the players that got their first call, were you going to ask for something? Oh, I was going to say there's five players I believe that have had their first call. Anderson. Yeah, Anderson, Bug, Real, Rodriguez and Meza. Yeah. Okay. So tell me your one. Jordan Bug. You know, I love Jordan Bug's game. Oh, I think you're saying Jordans. Yeah, yeah. No, all Jordans. Just a huge fan, whether they're calling South Korean soccer or playing for the US national team. I am there in my Jordans, wearing a Jordan,

just to celebrate them. I think she's special. I think she has a huge ceiling. I don't know that she's ready today, but like this is the type of camp you give a player like that an opportunity. I would be fascinated to see her paired with Naomi Germa and to see how their games sort of can complement each other and maybe dominate

in a lot of ways as a pairing. And I think a lot of people compare Bug to Germa, which is an unfair comparison for anyone. But you see it coming out of college being so ready to play at the pro level. I think a decent chunk of passing falls on Bug's shoulders because of the three center backs set up and the way Seattle plays, but they don't dominate possession as much as this US women's national team does. So she's going to be pushed a little bit more when she gets opportunities. But this is one of those players where every time one of these rosters come out of like, new players are getting chances, I've been looking for her name and so to finally see it, I think is really exciting. Yeah, I'm very excited about that too. I think,

and we've talked about this a lot. The thing is she's a right center back though and I wouldn't be surprised with this this isn't my favorite player to get called up, but Um, I I do like Lily real but she's been playing outside back. She's a center back and a left center back I think we will see her in the left side playing with either it's Germa or one of the other right-sided center backs in this camp at some point, just because you have to see who you can have. And this is where I'm really bummed that Jayden Perry

is injured because it feels like that would have been the choice, the left-footed center back to have in that spot. So I am very excited for Jordan Bug and she is a very calm demeanor and very introverted. And I am interested to see how this goes where it is a lot, you know, when you're at Kayamp, it is a lot of information. You're meeting all these new people and you that's part of it is how do you interact and how do you become a part of the group?

So hopefully this will be a little bit easier because there's a lot of players that she's played with and have known very well. But I, so this is hard. I like a lot of these players. I would say- You don't have to have one by the way. This is not like a hard and set rule. I love Sam Mazza's getting in there, but Izzy Rodriguez has been really good for the last

few years in Kansas City. And as an outside back, you should feel in this league right now as an American that if I perform well, I'm going to get an opportunity and I'm excited. Unless you're Casey Krueger, then don't even think about it. It sucks. I know, it really sucks. I love that Izzy Rodriguez gets a call and it'll be interesting to see how she fits in because it is a very different, there's demands that are different from what she has in the

club level so it'll stretch her a little bit and that's good. It's always good to be asked different things and see if you can execute. And we better see some goalkeepers. Claudia Dickey came in the last camp. Angelina Anderson comes in this one. I hope we see all of them at some point. There's a few names that I think are interesting that aren't here and you could probably go pretty long with this list. I said literally last week, I was like, I think Taylor Flynn's like going down the Vanessa DiBernardo road of like, we just don't know, but it keeps happening.

What's odd is a window like this, where other like Izzy Rodriguez is kind of in the same boat of like, it felt like it went, she's entering her prime, still has plenty of time, but like didn't get called in young, Cariobello as well. And now those players are getting called in and they're not getting the opportunities. And I don't know like what that's tied to. I've said the same with Casey Murphy. I think Casey Murphy has been one of the three best goalkeepers in NWSL for the last 18 months. And I understand some of these other goalies, the Claudia Dickies, Angelina Anderson's of the world, Silkowitz have popped this year. Yeah. But I don't know how that gets rewarded over

consistent performance. Consistency. Yeah, this has been the most difficult, I would say most talked about conversation actually when we're at Vista calling games is the goalkeeper conversation and How difficult this open number one spot has been on the mentality of a lot of these goalkeepers? Because of what we're seeing when they're playing games Uncharacteristic mistakes. I think any of the all of those goalkeepers that we just named have made mistakes this year that are not like themselves and If you're playing the goalkeeping position, you have to be willing to face the highest of stakes, because there's sometimes where it comes down

between you and an attacker. And if you don't make that save, your team loses. And so you have to be okay with carrying that weight, but the weight feels like it's dampening, it's dimming some of their light. And so it's hard with a Kasey Murphy because she hasn't been playing that well. She really hasn't. She's making mistakes and decisions that she wouldn't typically make. So is that because she's not getting called in? And then do you call her in even though she's not playing well right now Because you know what she has over the long run

Talk about a mind game, but it's hard to watch Mandy McGlynn season and Say what Casey Murphy's doing is not good enough to and we're not even bringing up our Kingsbury Yeah in this conversation, right maybe has a bigger point than both of them. It's really fascinating and obviously I think Emma Hayes has earned a lot of leeway to function in all of this. Some of the other players to mention, by the way we went through, but Claire Hutton, I think exciting to see her involved once again. Awesome to see Cory Bethune.

This will really be the first time of like playing at the height of her powers and probably because of the absences can be central to this team. And I think if you look at like what Jade and Shaw brought against Japan, I think it was playing as that 10 or maybe Brazil, that's sort of how Cory Bethune can play but covering even more space.

And I think affecting the game even more with her ability to run at defenders and change team shape. And then Olivia Moultrie, it's been phenomenal for Portland and helped set up another goal this weekend. One of the best attackers in the league across every facet. So dribbling and passing and therefore it's really hard to decide as a defense what you wanna do with her.

Can play out wide wide can play central I think a player similar to what we've seen from Ali sent nor the last few Camps that can like play a good central role for this team whether it's with all the stars Complimentary to them or in times when they're not there being the center of things and those are two like Quote-unquote tens who can still be good even if they don't touch the ball Every possession and they don't dominate the game and every single facet We've got more time to talk about these teams this team because we've got three games coming up Which is really really fun. And that's a nice long window for Emma Hayes to sort of put things in place

And we're gonna get to watch one of them in Denver, which is the future of the NWSL as well. We will have your weekend recap coming once again next week, then the international break. So we'll cover some of this. We'll come, you know, we'll put our heads together and come up with a couple of cool ideas of what we want to talk about as well in this break. And then we're into the second half of this season. Feels even crazier than last year. So something to look forward to. And don't forget to tune into all of Jordan's games at the Club World Cup. And we'll talk to you all again very, very soon. you