World Cup

By the time the USWNT and Ireland wrap-up their two-match friendly series next Tuesday at CityPark, there'll be less than 100 days before the start of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. 

So although the U.S. holds a 13-0-0 advantage all-time against the Girls in Green (outscoring them 48 to one in the process), there'll be plenty of internal battles to focus on at Q2 Stadium in Austin on Saturday before the second game in St. Louis three days later. 

After Nike set the bar about as low as it gets for the USMNT in Qatar, we're happy to report that the USWNT jersey options for the 2023 World Cup are much more desirable.

The sales people said we'd learn to love the USMNT kits eventually, but it's been five months and I still don't like them. As for the latest USWNT efforts, I do believe these will look better and better as the team moves toward the World Cup final in Sydney.

NEW KIT DROP pic.twitter.com/gNlxB7BF1e

PARIS - Hervé Renard has been named France women's coach until 2024 and will lead the team at this year's World Cup, the French federation (FFF) said on Thursday.

The 54-year-old Frenchman resigned as coach of the Saudi Arabia men's team this week after leading them to last year's World Cup in Qatar where they pulled off a shock group-stage win over eventual champions Argentina.

NEW YORK - With a blockbuster 2023 that shows no sign of slowing down, United States forward Mallory Swanson has shed her early "wunderkind" image and unveiled what she calls a "Mal 3.0" version of herself ahead of this year's Women's World Cup.

The 24-year-old flicked her seventh goal of the year into the net at the SheBelieves Cup last month in an astonishing run that underlined her claim to a spot in the squad when the U.S. seek an unprecedented third straight World Cup title.

Indonesia has been stripped of the right to host this year's Under-20 soccer World Cup, FIFA said on Wednesday.

The decision to stop Indonesia staging the May 20-June 11 tournament was taken after the country's football federation (PSSI) said it had canceled the draw because the governor of the largely Hindu island of Bali refused to host Israel's team.

"FIFA has decided, due to the current circumstances, to remove Indonesia as the host of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023," a FIFA statement said.

Former France national team star Thierry Henry, who has ties to MLS as a coach and player, has expressed interest in the United States men's national team coaching vacancy, ESPN reported Thursday.

Henry, 45, scored 51 goals in 123 games for France from 1997-2010 and played in the World Cup four times. A star for clubs like Monaco, Juventus, Arsenal and Barcelona in Europe, Henry played 122 games for the New York Red Bulls from 2010-14.

KIGALI - Prize money for the 2023 Women's World Cup will be $150 million, 10 times what it was in 2015 and three times the amount of 2019, FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced in his closing remarks to the 73rd FIFA Congress on Thursday.

The figure, however, is still considerably lower than the $440 million total prize money awarded at the men's World Cup in Qatar last year.

In what would be a first for women, Infantino wants some of the prize money to go to the players.

Speaking with ESPN's Graham Hunter in an interview at his home in London, Christian Pulisic gave voice to what many are presumably thinking ahead of a pivotal 2023 calendar year (at least I know I am).