In this week’s women’s soccer news, the USWNT won the SheBelieves Cup; Racing Louisville unveiled a new mascot; Sophia Wilson is back; and more! We’ve also made it to the start of the 2026 NWSL regular season, which is so exciting!
High of the Week
The USWNT won the 2026 SheBelieves Cup with three straight wins in the tournament. It’s the eighth time that the United States has won the tournament since it started in 2016. The USWNT walked away with three straight wins. They first took down Argentina 2-0, then they got 1-0 wins over rivals Canada and then Colombia to seal the trophy. They didn’t play perfectly in any of the games, but they had a lot of bright spots, and defensively, they finished the tournament without conceding a single goal, which is a great sign. We’re starting to see this new wave of USWNT stars really take over, and we’re getting to see how head coach Emma Hayes wants her team to play. With the 2027 Women’s World Cup fast approaching, we’re going to start to see Hayes get her core group together but they’re looking very promising.
Alyssa Thompson was named the tournament MVP after her stellar game winning goal against Colombia.
Canada finished the tournament in second place while Colombia was third. Canada’s only loss was against the USWNT.
The USWNT will be back together for the April international window with three matches against Japan, which will be a great test to see where this team is at. The first of the three matches will be on April 11.
Low of the Week
In the USWNT’s 1-0 win over Colombia, Naomi Girma started the match but was then subbed out at halftime due to injury. Luckily, it seems like it was a precautionary substitute, but USWNT and Chelsea fans definitely didn’t want to see their star defender go down. It’s unlikely that Girma will actually miss any time for Chelsea with what was being described as calf tightness. All signs are pointing to her being alright, but it was definitely one of those moments where you get concerned, especially with Girma’s history of calf injuries.
A halftime sub:
IN: Rudd
OUT: Girma— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) March 7, 2026
News of the Week
Racing Louisville unveiled its new mascot ahead of the 2026 NWSL regular season. Their mascot is a pink and purple butterfly named Float. It’s an ode to Muhammad Ali, who was from the city. Louisville’s men’s club also got a new mascot that’s called Sting and is a bee. They used Ali’s famous saying, “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” as their inspiration to create the mascots. It’s a creative way to use their city as inspiration and tie both of the clubs together.
Return of the Week
Sophia Wilson made her return to the soccer field in the Portland Thorns’ preseason match against CF Monterrey Femenil. It’s the first time she’s played since giving birth to her daughter, Gigi, in September of 2025. Getting Wilson back is huge for the Thorns as she’s been their star player since joining the club in 2020. She’s scored 44 goals in 75 games.
Sophia Wilson is back in her first game since giving birth to her daughter just 26 weeks ago.
A legend. An icon. Incredible. Welcome back, Soph 👑 pic.twitter.com/mOEG1dnmyG
— Portland Thorns FC (@ThornsFC) March 7, 2026
Win of the Week
Netflix announced the main cast for their movie based on the 1999 Women’s World Cup-winning USWNT team. We now know who will star as Mia Hamm, Marla Messing, Julie Foudy, Tony DiCicco, Brandi Chastain, Briana Scurry, Michele Akers, Carla Overbeck, Kristine Lily, and Joy Fawcett. The movie will retell the journey of this amazing team and what they had to go through to win the tournament and make history. There isn’t a set date yet for the film to be released, but the cast was in attendance at the USWNT SheBelieves Cup game in New Jersey and got to meet the real athletes.
Meet the cast playing the real-life stars of The 99’ers including Zoey Deutch, Emily Bader, Emilia Jones, Alessandro Nivola, and more…
The new Netflix film follows the US Women’s National Soccer Team as they defy the odds to emerge victorious in the 1999 World Cup final,… pic.twitter.com/fbNy0YN89M
— Netflix (@netflix) March 4, 2026
Game of the Week
Australia and South Korea battled in their AFC Women’s Asian Cup group stage match. It was a fun game to watch that went back and forth from the very beginning. South Korea scored the first goal in just the 13th minute. Then Alanna Kennedy found the equalizer for the Matildas. Right before halftime, Sam Kerr scored to give Australia the lead. South Korea, though, wasn’t backing down, and they came out firing at halftime. South Korea scored two goals within three minutes of each other. The first goal came from a penalty kick by Kim-Shin Ji. Then their second goal after halftime was for Kang Chae-Rim to tie it at two apiece. It would stay tied at 2-2 until the very last seconds, with Kennedy scoring in stoppage time to give the Matildas the win.
Goal of the Week
Alyssa Thompson scored an absolute beauty of a goal for the USWNT in their win over Colombia. It also happened to be the game winner and helped secure the SheBelieves Cup. Thompson got the ball at the top of the box, and she took a powerful right-footed shot that hit the crossbar and bounced into the back of the net.
What’s To Look Forward To
We’ve finally made it to the end of the NWSL offseason, and we’ll be able to watch our favorite teams take the field again this weekend. Opening weekend starts on Friday with the Washington Spirit hosting the Portland Thorns at 8 p.m. ET. Then we’ll see the two expansion teams for the first time ever on Saturday when the Boston Legacy hosts Gotham FC at Gillette Stadium. Denver is on the road for their first match, going up against Bay FC. Opening weekend is capped off with Angel City hosting the Chicago Stars on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.