News & Media II: Articles, photos, videos, etc.

Naomi Girma shares behind-the-scenes photos from training camps (I believe they're all within maybe the past year, but not of WWC training camp): https://www.goal-click.com/football-photography-stories/naomi-girma-uswnt

 

The OG USWNT moms (stories from Fawcett and Overbeck, a bit of which I hadn't heard before like the team pooling together stipends to help Fawcett pay for her own room, instead of bunking with a teammate): https://www.foxsports.com/stories/soccer/meet-the-badass-og-soccer-moms-who-blazed-a-trail-for-uswnt

 

Using only my fancy phone and some aluminum foil, I will be attempting to intercept (and alter when I see fit) the VAR communications throughout the Tournament.

 

Admittedly, I’ve only been “in Country” for 24 hours, and I hope this isn’t racist but the random, average New Zealand citizen could attend an A/O Prematch event and not only hold their own - - - but thrive and prosper.

I think I’m going to like it here.

 

Press and Heath are doing a WWC recap show, and the first episode has some interesting discussion, such as when the 2 of them are debating whether it's harder to start or come in as a sub in a big game. Ellis also comes in as a guest.

 

Sophia Smith scores a brace in the just-concluded 3-0 win over Vietnam.

A few prescient articles .....

from Forbes: Why Sophia Smith Will Be The Most Formidable Forward At The Women’s World Cup

and from the WSJ: Sophia Smith Is the U.S. Women’s Fiercest New Weapon

Excerpt ...

One of the best/worst forms of entertainment in the Journal is the comments section. For the benefit of non-subscribers, an excerpt ...

Warning: as one subscriber put it: "The comment section gets a weird wife beater vibe when women sports topics are written about ... "

 

On the lighter side of coverage ... what they eat:

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/page/uswntreport0723/how-food-uswnt-secret-sauce-world-cup

 

Heath and Press' WWC podcast Episode 2:



Press talks a bit about her ongoing injury. Laura Harvey comes on as a guest and comments on coaching Smith (calls her a "cheat code"), Girma (who was like a coach on the field), and Rodman with the U20s. She also comments on what she saw in the Vietnam match.

 

Another article on how USSF customized the USWNT's base camp with different details (such as arranging for personal touches in players' hotel rooms): https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_...de-uswnt-new-zealand-base-camp-world-cup-2023

 

Sam Mewis is back with an essay for the Athletic (she previously wrote a column on climate change during the Men's World Cup). This one is on supporting other teams' fight for fair treatment, now that the US has equal pay: https://theathletic.com/4712425/2023/07/23/sam-mewis-equal-pay-world-cup/

 

Another human interest article, this time in the Washington Post on how reading helps many of the USWNT players relax and some of their favorite authors, including a "summer reading list" based on the players' reading habits.

 

Naomi Girma becomes first player of Ethiopian descent to play for the US women’s national team
[6 min. audio]

 

Starting to wonder what this is going to look like...

 

Like the Sunderland till I die series or Tottenham all or nothing...

 

Really enjoyed this one! Was great to hear coach ellis talk about how she builds a team. The story about how they break down plays was really insightful. Tobin has a tendency of getting too preachy but it was fun to watch nonetheless

 

For the October FIFA window, USWNT will face Colombia twice:

1694504983847145666 is not a valid tweet id

 

Last 2 friendlies of the year will be against China:

🥁 𝙈𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝘼𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩...

We're finishing the year in Fort Lauderdale and Frisco!!!!

🇺🇸 USA vs China PR 🇨🇳
📆 December 2
📍 Fort Lauderdale, FL

🇺🇸 USA vs China PR 🇨🇳
📆 December 5
📍Frisco, TX

Full Details » https://t.co/oTKvZ2pdLs pic.twitter.com/JlAyk78byK

— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) October 10, 2023

 

The Netflix docuseries on the USWNT at the 2023 WWC will be released on Dec. 12:

Under Pressure: The U.S. Women's World Cup Team is coming to Netflix December 12.

From enduring injury to upholding legacy, the series follows the athletes behind the most decorated team in international soccer history on the road to the 2023 FIFA World Cup. pic.twitter.com/0rb7LL46ro

— Netflix (@netflix) November 8, 2023

 

The Netflix trailer:

 

I'm not sure where to put this, so I'll drop it in this general thread. Midge Purce on CBS Kickin' It:



She talks about the NWSL Championship a bit, but also about the national team at the WWC and her disappointment with not making the roster. She also responds a bit to Lloyd's comments on the USWNT. Purce's dad also makes a cameo.

 

Venturini-Hoch is part of the 2024 class to be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame (elected from the Veteran Ballot): https://www.nationalsoccerhof.com/news/2023/12/hall-of-fame-announces-2024-class.html

 

The nominees for US Soccer Female Player of the Year have been announced, and you can vote on the US Soccer website.

Female Player of the Year nominees: Horan, Dunn, Fox, Girma, and Smith

Young Female Player of the Year nominees: Gamero, King, Moultrie, Sentnor, and Thompson

https://www.ussoccer.com/history/awards/player-of-the-year/us-soccer-player-of-the-year-nominee-bios

 

Contrary to rumors, the SheBelieves Cup will continue, but because of the Gold Cup, it will move to April. The opponents have not been announced yet, but USSF did say that all 3 are teams that competed at the 2023 WWC.

𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝘂𝗽, 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 @Visa

We're kicking off the 2024 edition in ATL! 🍑

🇺🇸 USA vs TBD ⬜️

📆 April 6
📍 Atlanta

More Info » https://t.co/rnDIY69BR9 pic.twitter.com/Z506xUvT3z

— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) December 14, 2023

Additionally, with only 2 available match dates instead of 3, the format will change to semifinals and a final/3rd place game instead of a round robin tournament. It will return to the normal format in 2025.

 

Girma named US Soccer Female Player of the Year, and Moultrie named Young Female Player of the Year: https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/20...trie-chipotle-young-female-player-of-the-year