In this week’s women’s soccer news, Malawi qualified for their first Women’s World Cup; the Africa Cup of Nations has been full of surprises; Kerolin has signed for FC Barcelona; and more!
High of the Week
Malawi has been making history at their first-ever WAFCON tournament, and this weekend they qualified for their first-ever Women’s World Cup. On the outside, there weren’t a lot of expectations for this team as they were ranked 153rd in the FIFA rankings, but that will change after the performance they’ve put on. This is their first time at WAFCON, and they’ve got a real chance to win it. In the group stage, they defeated reigning champions Nigeria 3-2 and a 3-1 win over Egypt to make it to the quarterfinals. Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga and her sister Tabitha have come up huge for their country throughout the whole tournament, and it’s been fun to watch. They defeated Ghana 2-1 to book their ticket to the 2027 Women’s World Cup and the WAFCON semifinals.
Malawi will now face off against Algeria on Wednesday, August 12, to see if they can book their ticket to the tournament final.
The four automatic World Cup bids to come out of WAFCON are Malawi, Cameroon, Algeria, and Morocco.
Low of the Week
The WAFCON tournament has been full of upsets since the beginning. Zambia unfortunately has been eliminated from WAFCON, which means that they won’t be at the 2027 Women’s World Cup. Zambia had a heartbreaking exit due to a tiebreaker with Malawi and Nigeria. They were actually the highest scoring team and conceded the fewest goals, but due to their head-to-head goals against Malawi and Nigeria, they were knocked out. Zambia thought they advanced but then were informed that they actually were sent home. The elimination stings as Zambia was looking to qualify for the Women’s World Cup for just the second time; the first was in 2023.
Ghana, South Africa, and Nigeria were also knocked out of the WAFCON tournament, but they’ll still have the chance to qualify for the World Cup. It will just be very difficult. Ghana will have to face off against Côte d’Ivoire in the African play-off to then get to the FIFA Women’s World Cup intercontinental play-offs. Nigeria has won the tournament 10 times, including last year, but they’ll have to face off against South Africa in the African play-off to see who can keep their World Cup hopes alive. Nigeria lost 1-0 in the quarterfinal to Cameroon while South Africa lost 2-1 to Morocco.
News of the Week
Since Kaleigh Kurtz came into the league, she’s been a special defender. She started her career on the backline for the North Carolina Courage, and she was a reliable defender and leader for the club. Now she’s helping to lead the expansion side, Denver Summit. She became the first field player this week to start all 150 regular-season appearances, which is an incredible statistic.
She joined the league in 2018 originally as a non-roster invitee during preseason, and from there she made a big impression. Her playing time really started to take off in 2021 when she took over as a starting centerback. She’s been an NWSL ironwoman four straight times, which is an insane accomplishment when you think about injuries and turnover on a team. When Denver signed Kurtz, they got a player who will give everything she can to the team, and she’s already come up huge for the club.
Kaleigh Kurtz reaches 150 career NWSL regular season appearances 🙌
She’s the first field player in NWSL history to start every single one of them! pic.twitter.com/HupH2YOqgs
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) August 9, 2026
Game of the Week
When the Washington Spirit and North Carolina Courage face off, it’s usually a great match, and that statement held true when they faced off this weekend as well. North Carolina got off to a hot start when Ashley Sanchez got the scoring started in the second minute. Sanchez has been tremendous for the Courage this season, and that goal was her 11th of the season. Then just seven minutes later, Evelyn Ijeh added a second for the Courage. It didn’t take long for them to find a third either, with Ijeh completing her brace in the 15th minute. Washington looked rattled in that first half, and it’s the most goals that the Spirit have conceded in a single match all season.
The second half, though, was a different story. Trinity Rodman got the Spirit on the board in the 47th minute and then three minutes later Sofia Cantore scored as well to get the Spirit within one. North Carolina led 3-2 up until the 90th minute when Rebeca Bernal scored the tying goal. It looked like Washington had completed the comeback and was at least on their way to salvaging a point. The Courage said not so fast, though, and captain Natalie Jacobs scored the game-winning goal in stoppage time to give the Courage a 4-3 scoreline and all three points. It was a special moment seeing Jacobs score the goal in Washington, D.C. after her and the team spent time honoring veterans, including her grandfather at Arlington National Cemetery.
North Carolina has been playing really well, and to get a win against the Spirit like this is big for them going forward, even though they gave up a big lead.
Signing of the Week
Kerolin has officially joined FC Barcelona after a short stint at Manchester City that didn’t go the way the Brazilian had hoped when she left the NWSL. Kerolin rose to stardom while with the North Carolina Courage from 2022-25, where she scored 17 goals in 37 appearances. She was also named the NWSL MVP after the 2023 season. In January of 2025, she was signed by Manchester City on what was originally a three-year deal. She played well for City in her 26 appearances; she scored 12 goals, including nine last season when they won the WSL. At some point, though, that relationship soured, and Kerolin wanted a move, so in came Barcelona, who signed the forward through 2030. After losing quite a few players this offseason, signing Kerolin could strengthen Barca’s attack and give them another goal-scoring threat. Manchester City will receive $1.3 million in exchange for the attacker, and that number could rise to $1.7 million with performance factors.
Goal of the Week
Tatumn Milazzo scored Utah’s lone goal in their loss to the Denver Summit, but it was a beauty. Utah played a long ball from the left side that was headed into the path of a running Milazzo. She was then able to bring the ball down and control and then blast it into the top of the net.
Player of the Week
Pietra Tordin had herself a day in Portland’s game against the Boston Legacy this weekend. She got the scoring started in the second minute with a beautiful free kick right outside the top corner of the box that went curling into the side of the net. She found the back of the net again in the 10th minute, and then in the 37th minute she completed the first-half hat trick with a beautiful chip over the goalkeeper. Her third goal was also assisted by goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold. Tordin has been playing really well for this Portland team this season; her goal tally is now at seven with eight assists.
Team of the Week
Gotham got a 1-0 win over the San Diego Wave this weekend thanks to a goal from Jaedyn Shaw at the end of the first half. Gotham was able to keep the San Diego attack at bay for the whole game and get another three points. At the end of the weekend, Gotham are four points ahead in first place and have won three straight and are unbeaten in their last seven games. In that stretch, they’ve won six of the seven. It’s an impressive streak that they’ve gone on, and if they keep this form up, it looks like they’ll be heading for the NWSL Shield at the end of the season.
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