CBS broadcast the Challenge Cup match between expansion clubs San Diego Wave FC and Angel City FC on Saturday, putting the NWSL front and center. The fans followed, with nearly half a million viewers tuning in for the first Challenge Cup match on TV in 2022. The latest NWSL TV ratings, when the games are put on CBS and not hidden on Paramount+, are impressive, far more so than MLS TV ratings in 2022.
If you just look at the opponent, the USWNT’s April friendlies against Uzbekistan are likely to be fairly drab. Matches against the 48th-ranked team in the world in Ohio and Philadelphia, on the face of it, don’t really kindle much enthusiasm. But the April USWNT roster makes it clear: This is the final chance for some young players to earn a spot on the team at World Cup and Olympic qualifying this summer in Mexico.
Hope Solo had some choice words for Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe on Wednesday. The former U.S. goalkeeper used a Twitter thread to blast the USWNT players for Tuesday’s landmark settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation, saying it was “an easy out of a fight they were never really in.” It highlighted the divide in opinion over whether the settlement was good or bad for women’s soccer in the U.S.
For decades, U.S. women’s national team players have fought for equal pay for equal work. From trailblazers like the beloved 1999ers to the divisive 2019 World Cup winners, USWNT players have long battled to receive pay commensurate to their worth.
The U.S. women have won their fight for equal pay.
The commercials for Super Bowl 56 were the high quality, humorous advertisements everyone hoped for. Michelob’s “Superior Bowl” was a fan-favorite with its superstar cast. While some call it the Michelob commercial or the Big Lebowski commercial, we here at The18 are legally required to call it the Alex Morgan Super Bowl commercial.
The women’s soccer world anxiously awaits the outcome of a much-needed investigation into widespread abuse of players in the National Women’s Soccer League.
USWNT stars have demanded answers. On Thursday, they got some, but they probably won’t appease immediate concerns over systemic abuse in women’s soccer.
Alexia Putellas became the first woman to win the Ballon d’Or, UEFA Women’s Player of the Year and The Best FIFA Women’s Player in a single year, completing the historic treble on Monday at the FIFA Best awards. But there’s one honor she missed out on, and it’s hard for anyone to explain, though the Barcelona superstar tried her best to make sense of it all on Tuesday.
Perhaps more so than any other type of soccer, international football lends itself to the hero forward who saves the day with a miraculous goal. Whether it’s Pelé dominating the men’s World Cup, Michelle Akers scoring at will at the Women’s World Cup, Landon Donovan’s unforgettable finish against Algeria or Carli Lloyd’s midfield bomb in 2015, there’s something about the international game that loves a star goal scorer.
After a 2020 that was, in many ways, a lost year for international soccer, the U.S. women’s national team went into 2021 with high hopes. The year ended with feelings of missed opportunities and the need for a rethink moving forward less than 20 months away from the next Women’s World Cup.