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Welcome back to Full Time, where we’re recapping the U.S. women’s national team’s 0-0 draw with England over the weekend and looking ahead to what’s next.
Emily Olsen here with Meg Linehan, Steph Yang and Melanie Anzidei. You can probably guess who was voted the most-coveted holiday dinner guest from the women’s soccer world, but be sure to check the answer at the end!
Live From Wembley
What we learned
Out of the 90 minutes of soccer played in front of 78,346 fans at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, it was hard to read much into it for the USWNT beyond what is already established about the team through its 2024 record:
- They have regained their footing on the international stage.
- Naomi Girma is still a generational player, and …
- The Triple Espresso forward line is the best option for scoring goals (it’s even more glaring when they’re not present).
That’s not to say the match was a waste of time, because it wasn’t, but it also felt like the end of a very long year for a lot of folks (and was played on a holiday weekend in the States to boot). Yazmeen Ryan is going to get a ton of shine out of her second-half performance (deserved!), and Ally Sentnor finally got her first cap for the senior team. But there’s a reason why head coach Emma Hayes fixated on that late move from outside back Emily Fox getting endline then trying to cut the ball back in across the face of goal … and finding nothing but the white shirts of England players.
The details weren’t there, but not in a panic-inducing way. The younger players who need big-game experiences on the road got that, but after this year, a little grace feels right. Now, everything is building toward 2027, and even before that, World Cup qualifiers in 2026. The fine-tuning will come. The pressure’s never off for the USWNT, but they should enjoy the dip now while they can.
A special place for Thompson, Sentnor
Alyssa Thompson and Sentnor, both 20, feel like they’re part of a new generation of NWSL players who are able to really leverage their club play into national team appearances. Maybe that’s just confirmation bias, seeing as they’re already capped, but it’s really nice to see rookies (or relative rookies) able to make a case for themselves week in and week out. Emily Sams is another part of this cohort, and but for her injury, Croix Bethune would also be in this group.
Thompson and Sentnor in particular got their respective moments to shine at Wembley over the weekend. For Sentnor, congratulations are due for her first international cap after a standout season with the Utah Royals — all the more compelling for just how bad the Royals were overall. For Thompson, she started against England in the very stadium where she debuted two years ago. And just as she did in 2022, Thompson looked ready to take on a lot of responsibility on the wings.
- This time, Thompson willingly pitted herself against as experienced and wily of a fullback there is in Lucy Bronze, and frequently came out on top.
- With more reps and more time to develop a relationship with whomever Hayes decides is the future of the USWNT centrally, Thompson could really force a dilemma with Mal Swanson still very much in the picture and still very much at her peak.
Much will depend on the next two years, both for country and for club. Honestly, Sentnor may end up hunting for a different club environment to help with her development. With that said, if she feels both challenged and taken care of, that can be more important than her club’s overall place in the standings. It’s just so abominably competitive in the USWNT attack right now that it makes sense to seek out every possible advantage.
Matt Krohn / USA Today Sports via Imagn Images
Keep an eye on Yohannes tomorrow
If there was one comment multiple USWNT players had to say about Lily Yohannes the first time she was called into camp, way back in March, it was that the then-16-year-old was mature beyond her years. Mature in her play, mature in her habits as a professional, mature as a team member in camp with plenty of veteran players — some of whom have been professionals since Yohannes was in grade school.
We’ll see if Hayes judges that maturity to be ready to play serious minutes against the Netherlands in the Netherlands tomorrow (2:45 p.m. ET, TNT, truTV and Universo), knowing full well that this is a team for which Yohannes considered declaring her allegiance. What a vote of confidence that would be from the gaffer, whether Yohannes handles it well or not.
It would also be a real declaration of intent from Hayes. It’s already obvious that, at this point, she’s willing to take some risks with her player pool and look outside of the typical channels. Hayes had to play everything so tightly for the Olympics, which we saw in her unwillingness to tinker at all with her lineup. So now, in this freer period, tossing Yohannes into as high-pressure a situation as you can find in a friendly would help define the actual boundaries around Hayes’ listen-and-learn tour.
Meg’s Corner
Banda rises above the noise
I’ve been lucky enough to see Barbra Banda play live a couple of times this year, at the Olympics and at the NWSL championship. As talented as she looks on television, in person, she feels transcendent — shaping a game to her will, dragging defenders, reading the game at a ridiculous speed.
There were a few deserving candidates for the MVP of the NWSL championship, but in the end, my vote went to Banda. Big players step up in big moments, and she did. The game itself was underwhelming, but the memory I will treasure came from the postgame news conference with Banda and Marta, still riding the high of the win. Banda’s smile was contagious; Marta’s emotions were everything. It was a special night.
As Banda, 24, hoisted two trophies into the air at CPKC Stadium, there was only celebration and recognition for her first season in the NWSL. Only days later, though, she became the target of a bad-faith attack over her medical eligibility to play following yet another trophy (this one from the BBC, with the final award selection done via public vote).
With these attacks swirling across women’s football, USWNT head coach Emma Hayes met the moment ahead of the Wembley match. “Barbra Banda is an amazing football player. I think it’s ridiculous that she has to endure questions like this, to be quite honest with you,” she said during a news conference. “She has our support.”
To detail those transphobic and racist attacks here is to give them oxygen, especially when they are so easily refuted by objective fact. To their credit, the Orlando Pride stepped up for their player, as did NWSL players association president Meghann Burke. The league itself and its commissioner, on the other hand, were MIA in a moment where its “organizational values” were needed.
🎧 The latest from the “Full Time” podcast: Reacting to Alyssa Naeher’s retirement and analyzing the final USWNT roster of 2024.
Previews
Women’s College Cup semis are here
The stage is set for this year’s College Cup, which will showcase the best of women’s collegiate soccer this weekend in Cary, N.C., after a thrilling quarterfinal round.
Wake Forest will face Stanford in the first semifinal match at WakeMed Soccer Park on Friday, followed immediately by Duke and North Carolina. The winners will compete for the national championship next Monday night.
Duke was the final team to punch its ticket to the Cup after topping Virginia Tech 1-0 on Saturday, keeping its dream season alive for another week.
- The Tar Heels will feature in the College Cup for a historic 32nd appearance — and their fifth in seven years. The program boasts an impressive 21 national NCAA titles, plus a 1981 AIAW title.
Wake Forest and Stanford last met in September, when the Deacs won 1-0, earning their first-ever win over a No. 1-ranked opponent.
- Wake Forest will feature in the College Cup for only the second time since 2011, after winning in PKs against top-seeded Southern Cal.
The games will air on ESPNU, kicking off at 5 p.m. ET.
Feedback Loop
Of course it’s Pinoe
Last week, we asked who you’d invite to your holiday dinner. While the question was open-ended this time, there seemed to be a general consensus on the No. 1 guest. Here were the top five answers:
Tobin Heath (and one Heath + Christen Press), earned three votes, while Naomi Girma, Midge Purce, Kelley O’Hara, Emily Sonnett and NWSL goalkeeper of the year Ann-Katrin Berger all earned two votes each.
We had several other one-off suggestions, but my favorite was the person who said England and Bayern Munich midfielder Georgia Stanway so that they “can get a tattoo while chowing down on some turkey!” Despite what my family might think, that suggestion did not come from me.
I say we invite everyone to one big end-of-year soccer party (with or without tattoos).
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(Top photo: Peter van den Berg / Imagn Images)
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