Jess Park on Fire, Poor Refereeing, the Olympic Group Draw, and Pregnancy in Football
This week's round-up of the best stuff in women's football includes:
• Goals of the week
• How to watch the NWSL from the UK
• Olympic football groups drawn
• Football and pregnancy
• What we're watching this week
ROUND-UP
Watch our favourite goals from the WSL this weekend:
It was a weekend of derbies in the WSL. Jess Park stood out for us in the Man City v Man Utd derby (3-1), scoring two goals and grabbing an assist while she was at it. This was our fave.
Erin Cuthbert was our pick from Chelsea’s 2-0 win over West Ham in the London derby with this screamer.
The second half of the Leicester City v Brighton (2-3) match was an absolute goal fest after a goalless first half. We have to highlight this run and assist from Yuka Momiki leading to a lush finish from Jutta Rantala.
And Ebony Salmon was at it again with this opener for Aston Villa against Arsenal. Arsenal won 3-1, but the ref had a lot of questions to answer after Blacksteinus's goal, Arsenal's third, was allowed to stand despite her being A. offside and B. handling the ball before scoring.
The 70 Club: Beth England became the second-ever player to reach 70 goals in the WSL (Vivianne Miedema was first) after scoring in the second minute against Bristol. It ended with a 1-0 win for Tottenham.
KNOWLEDGE
How to watch the NWSL
Ok folks, if you're wondering how to access this season’s NWSL action, look no further. We listed all the ways to watch and stream the National Women’s Soccer League so you won’t miss a minute.
Olympic groups drawn ahead of Paris 2024
The groups for the women’s Olympic football tournament were drawn last week. Reigning champions Canada were drawn in Group A with France, Colombia and New Zealand. Group B will be the USA, Zambia or Morocco, Germany and Australia. World Cup winners Spain (who are taking part in the Olympics for the first time!) face Japan, Nigeria or South Africa, and Brazil in Group C.
Group C caught our eye. The Spain vs. Japan fixture will be an interesting rematch of the World Cup group stages, in which Japan smashed Spain 4-0 last summer.
The women’s tournament kicks off on Thursday, 25 July, with the gold medal match on Saturday, 10 August. Tickets for the tournament are still available to buy here.
FAVE FINDS
Mothers in football: Ómarsson, a West Ham original documentary, follows Dagný Brynjarsdóttir's journey through her second pregnancy and raises some of the challenges and assumptions footballer mothers face on and off the pitch. It’s the first documentary we’ve seen tackling pregnancy in football, and it’s definitely worth a watch. It focuses squarely on Brynjarsdóttir's story and is a testament to how West Ham supports their players rather than a crunchy critique of the broader experience of pregnant players. Watch the documentary here.
Record attendances: Last week, the WSL season attendance record was broken, reaching 717,721 fans with 36 games still to go. The 22/23 season recorded 689,297 fans.
Football Shirts done properly: If you’ve ever struggled to get your shirt customised with women's player names, numbers, and league patches, then you need to check out Foudys. Their up-cycling service lets you send them your shirt for retrospective customisation. They also sell exclusively women’s football shirts, including WSL, NWSL, and National teams.
KIT DROP
Nike Air Max Plus x Tiempo
This year is the 30th anniversary of the Tiempo football boot, and to mark the occasion, Nike has announced the Air Max Plus 'Tiempo'. The football-inspired mashup features a chunky fold-over tongue referencing the original Tiempo of 1994, leather uppers and a classic black and white colour-way. It's expected to be on the shelves this summer.
NEWS | HOME & AWAY
New summer tournament: The 'NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup' is a new tournament that brings together the best women's football teams in North America. The competition features all 14 NWSL clubs alongside six top-ranked Liga MX Femenil teams. With a 33-match format including a group stage, semi-finals, and championship, the tournament kicks off on July 19th during the window left in the domestic leagues by the Olympics.
Celebrating the ‘99ers: The USWNT will play Mexico in New York on 13 July in their penultimate warm-up game to the 2024 Paris Olympics. The match will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the US becoming 1999 World Cup champions, recognising their significant impact on women’s football globally.
Check out our throw-back to the iconic moment when Brandi Chastain scored the final penalty of the 1999 World Cup final to secure the USA's 5-4 win over China.
WEEK AHEAD - WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
Weds 27 March | Champions League QF 2nd leg17:45 - Lyon v Benfica (Agg. 2-1)20:00 - Chelsea v Ajax (Agg. 3-0)
Thurs 28 March | Champions League QF 2nd leg17:45 - FC Barcelona v Brann (Agg. 2-1)20:00 - PSD v BK Hacken (Agg. 2-1)
Sat 30 March | WSL12:30 - Aston Villa v Leicester12:30 - Liverpool v Man City
Sun 31 March | WSL12:00 - Man United v Everton15:00 - West Ham v Brighton
We’re a small start-up team that wants to grow women’s football. So please spread the word, forward this to someone who’d like it, and drop us an email. Tell us what you like, what sucks, or what we’re missing.
Jo
P.S. Thanks to everyone who completed our short survey - it’s not too late; the link is in the email above.
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