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Coming up today:
📊 NWSL postseason race
🐦🔥 Atlanta gets a team name
🇺🇸 Big USWNT roster question
Playoff Picture: NWSL table wide open in the homestretch
Four clubs have been eliminated from the NWSL postseason (Chicago, Louisville, Boston, Bay FC) as the playoff picture takes shape. With four match days left in the regular season, only Gotham have clinched their place past Decision Day on Nov. 1, as they widen their lead to secure their first Shield.
With eight points separating the No. 2 Wave and No. 8 Reign, the next month is bound to be filled with plenty of chaos and potential upsets. The current standings (top eight make the playoffs):
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As the table stands, the Courage and Golden Boot leader Ashley Sanchez, who over the weekend matched Temwa Chawinga’s 2024 record for goals scored in a single season (20), are one slot below the playoff line, with 39 points in ninth place. North Carolina now heads to Seattle to face the Reign in one of the biggest matches of the upcoming NWSL weekend (Friday at 10 p.m. ET).
Teams are also beginning to slide down the table, most surprisingly the Spirit, who have not won at Audi Field since Aug. 30. The Spirit suffered a shock 3-0 loss to the Legacy two weeks ago, and over the weekend kept their at-home losing streak going with a 1-0 loss to Angel City. Rowdy Audi has historically been the team’s fortress, not its kryptonite, so this is a concerning sign for a franchise that will host this year’s NWSL Championship at the Washington, D.C., venue.
Angel City, meanwhile, are on a six-game unbeaten streak, with Gotham up next in New Jersey. Should ACFC maintain their momentum, the team will be well on their way to clinching a playoff berth for the first time since 2023.
As Courage coach Mak Lind said after his team’s disappointing 2-1 loss to Utah last night, “There’s four finals left for us in the regular season.” And it sure feels that way for every NWSL team still standing.
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Meg’s Corner: Atlanta could have gone bolder
Atlanta has finally unveiled their branding for next year’s expansion team. The crest: pretty good! A phoenix with an A for its body, with a dogwood shape within the badge. The colors: red and peach. Fine! The name: Atlanta City FC and … well. It’s a no from me.
We must address the constant proliferation of “City” and “United” and the simple “FC” as club names across America. Yes, this has primarily been the domain of MLS, from the early days with DC United to Atlanta City’s sibling team, Atlanta United FC, then St. Louis City, to the even more boring San Diego FC and Austin FC and FC Cincinnati. (I will give points to Nashville and St. Louis for at least embracing “SC” instead. I need more of that energy, please.) To see it arrive in the NWSL is troubling.
We all know it’s very, very hard to name a NWSL club. We’ve seen mistakes twice before, in the Louisville Proof and BOS Nation. Both teams were forced to course-correct, but I fear BOS Nation now has every incoming NWSL team operating out of a place of creative fear.
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Atlanta City FC is not exactly at “mistake” level, but more a deeply boring non-attempt. I can understand how it must feel at the club side: damned if you do take a swing, damned if you don’t and play it safe. Atlanta went safe, and, in the long run, should be fine. This is a city (lowercase!) ready to support women’s soccer, and the supporters and players will ultimately define the culture of this team. But I can’t help but be frustrated that a city as diverse and important to the landscape of U.S. soccer will settle for something so ubiquitous and anodyne.
You’re up, Columbus. No pressure.
Roster Drop: One big question for USWNT
We are on the eve of a U.S. women’s national team roster drop that feels more highly anticipated than usual.
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Perhaps it’s because of the long stretch of time between the upcoming national team camp and the last one: 123 days will have passed between their June fixtures against Brazil and their blockbuster friendlies against reigning World Cup champions Spain on Oct. 10 and 13.
A lot has transpired in the interim, raising questions about USWNT coach Emma Hayes’ depth chart, key players’ health and whether a certain Courage player on a nasty scoring streak has done enough to earn her first invitation back to camp in nearly two years.
For now, let’s consider an urgent point about the U.S. backline: What’s going on with Naomi Girma? And with Emily Sonnett‘s season-ending injury, what will the new center back pairing be?
Chelsea‘s Girma, whom Hayes once declared was the best defender she’d ever seen, has not played since a Sept. 2 Champions League match against Real Sociedad. The San Jose, Calif., native has been dealing with “a small injury,” according to Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor. At this point, even if Girma plays against Lyon on Wednesday in the Champions League, it seems unlikely she would be match-fit for a full 90 against Spain.
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Gotham’s Sonnett, meanwhile, is out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury. Sonnett, Girma and Tierna Davidson are widely considered among Hayes’ top picks for starting center backs, which means this window could be an opportunity for her to experiment with a new pairing. This could be a huge opportunity for a player such as Kennedy Wesley of the NWSL’s Wave, Tara Rudd of the Spirit or — and this is a huge wild card as she’s yet to earn a cap — Kate Del Fava of the Royals to make a statement.
We’ll get more insight into Hayes’ thinking when the roster comes out tomorrow.
News to Know
Spain’s global dominance continues
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After Spain won their first women’s World Cup trophy in 2023, the men’s side followed up with a title of their own this summer, and yesterday, the U-20 women’s national team joined the party by outlasting a seemingly infallible North Korea side. Spain unseated the reigning champions on penalties, beating them 4-3 in a contest that even in regulation was clearly going to come down to which clinical side would falter first.
Spain and North Korea share a well-oiled, disciplined approach to youth development, but unlike the 2026 U-20 World Cup runners-up, Spain’s has extended to the senior level. Emma Hayes constantly cites Spain as a model for development, and this current generational run proves why.
More news
For all the questions surfacing around the USWNT backline, Emily Fox is not among them. The Arsenal fullback recently signed a new contract that will keep her in North London for three more years.
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Fox’s commitment to Arsenal comes as a silver lining to the team’s struggles of late: With just one win in their first four WSL matches, the 2025 European champions are currently seventh in the table on five points. Their 1-0 loss to Chelsea over the weekend salted the wound.
Coaching turnover in professional sports is part of the business, but there’s something particularly grim about the only female manager in any of Germany’s top-flight men’s pro leagues getting fired after two seasons.
First Looks
History: Pride interim coach Yolanda Thomas, the NWSL’s first Black female head coach, discussed how she’s navigated a tough season in Orlando — and what she hopes comes next.
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From Arsenal to San Diego: Charlotte Harpur got an inside look at Wave coach Jonas Eidevall’s mentality as he tries to make it in NWSL.
On the latest “Ted Lasso”: For a series that has spent much of its fourth season exploring the realities of women’s soccer, last week’s episode showcased another unfortunate truth. (Spoilers inside.)
Listen: On the latest “Full Time” podcast episode, the crew sat down with Royals forward Cloé Lacasse amid of one of the best seasons of her career, and also picked the most underrated players of the 2026 NWSL season. Find it wherever you get your shows.
📫 Love Full Time? These stories can also be found on Yahoo’s women’s sports hub, in partnership with The Athletic. Also, check out our other newsletters.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
US Women’s national team, NWSL, Full Time Newsletter
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