While much of the soccer-loving world was fixed to ESPN+ to watch Real Madrid lose dramatically to Real Sociedad or Barcelona struggle against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Thursday, there was a bigger match going on in Spain not shown on international TV.
With top spot in Group A “up for grabs” at the 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship, it took four minutes for Christen Press to effectively take it.
Costa Rica had never beaten the USWNT, lost 6-0 in a friendly back in November and smartly decided to rest seven starters with both eyes on a crucial semifinal matchup against either Canada or Mexico, but any notion of this being an entirely worthless exercise for the viewer at home was put to bed thanks to Press’s stunning early strike.
The China women’s national football team is currently sitting in a hotel in Brisbane, Australia, under quarantine as precautions concerning the coronavirus outbreak continue. As of Monday, there are 12 confirmed cases in Australia.
The national team, consisting of 32 members, will be quarantined until Wednesday, Feb. 5. The team is scheduled to play three Olympic qualifying matches against Thailand, Chinese Taipei and Australia in Sydney this week and next week.
The Mexico women are inching closer to a trip to Tokyo. La Tri defeated Saint Kitts and Nevis 6-0 in the Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship on Saturday in Edinburg, Texas. The win all but ensures Mexico a trip to the semifinals, where one win would send La Tri to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Renae Cuellar, the hero in Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Jamaica, scored two goals to help power Mexico’s victory.
Despite having been torched for six goals on Tuesday playing a high line, Panama wanted to maintain its defensive style against the USWNT on Friday night. The Americans attacked it early and often and cruised to a dominating 8-0 win despite never really looking like they broke a sweat in Concacaf Olympic qualifying in Houston.
Jill Ellis will make an appearance at her old stomping grounds on Saturday, May 16, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Memorial Stadium as the 2020 commencement speaker.
Ellis was the USWNT head coach for five years when she won two FIFA Women’s World Cups, two FIFA World Coach of the Year honors and coached 132 USWNT games, which is the most of any coach. She also has the most wins in U.S. soccer history and is the only person to win consecutive Women’s World Cups.
The USWNT and Panama will play under Friday night lights in Houston in attempts to qualify for the Olympics. The USWNT is riding a 24-game winning streak and has scored two or more goals in 21 of those games. It will look to continue its hot streak when it faces Panama to continue Group A play on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET at BBVA Stadium in Houston. The match can be viewed on Fox Sports Plus and TUDN XTRA 4, as well as streamed on FoxSports.com with an FS1-level login.
After a disastrous loss to Panama back on Oct. 7, 2018 prematurely ended Mexico’s quest for a third straight World Cup appearance, La Tri approached Wednesday’s encounter with Jamaica knowing that a similar result would likely end their dreams of earning a berth at the Summer Olympics for the first time since 2004.
Canada’s Christine Sinclair has passed USA’s Abby Wambach as the soccer player with the most international goals in the history of the sport. Sinclair now has 185 goals in 290 appearances.
Sinclair scored twice in the first half against Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship on Wednesday in Edinburg, Texas, equaling and then passing Wambach’s record.
She's done it!
You're now looking at football's top international goalscorer of ALL TIME.
Michelle Akers began her career at Shorecrest High School outside of Seattle where she was a three-time All-American. It wasn’t until she attended the University of Central Florida when her career took off, where she became a four-time All-American and all-time leading goal scorer in UCF history. In 1988-89 Akers was named UCF’s Athlete of the Year and became the first woman to receive the Hermann Trophy.