With only nine matches remaining in the 2017-18 Primera Division Femenina, Sunday’s meeting between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona will likely decide the title. The two sides have rarely been troubled by the rest of the division, and they’ve distanced themselves at the top of the table, where Atletico hold a one-point advantage over Barca.
England channeled the spirit of Robert Green against the USWNT Wednesday, conceding a very silly own goal on the way to a 1-0 USA victory that gave the Americans the SheBelieves Cup.
Megan Rapinoe's cross/shot was eventually knocked into the England netby goalkeeper Karen Bardsley for the only goal of the night in the 58th minute.
France entered the SheBelieves Cup as the lowest-ranked team of the four involved, ranked sixth while the others were all in the top three. But thanks to a blistering goal from Amandine Henry for France vs. Germany, Les Bleues ensured they didn’t finish last in the tournament, beating Die Nationalelf 3-0.
Adding to the list of shit that would never happen in men’s football, the Algarve Cup decided to not play its final on Wednesday, instead awarding both the Netherlands and Sweden first place in the tournament. About two hours after announcing starting lineups for the final, the Algarve Cup announced the match was canceled due to poor weather conditions.
Russia concluded group play in the 2018 Algarve Cup without a point, losing all three matches while being outscored 7-1. A 3-0 loss to Sweden on Monday ensured the Russians finished among the bottom two of 12 national teams. But there was one positive: an exquisite rainbow by forward Marina Fedorova.
The USWNT, the world's top-ranked side, defeated Germany, second-ranked, 1-0 to begin SheBelieves Cup play Thursday night, Megan Rapinoe scoring the game's lone goal off an assist from Alex Morgan.
The weather outside was weather — cold, wet (a nice wintery mix of rain/snow) and windy. Why the SheBelieves Cup decided to stage two matches in the midwest during the winter is an awfully good question, but the USWNT and Germany played out a high-energy, although somewhat limited, match — the opener for both nations at this round-robin tournament.
The Algarve Cup began Wednesday with six matches. The highlight was supposed to be Japan, a finalist in the last two World Cups, against the Netherlands, the reigning European champion. However, the match was hardly competitive, with the Leeuwinnen thoroughly dominating the match. The only notable aspect of the 6-2 rout was four miserable seconds from Japan goalkeeper Sakiko Ikeda.
USWNT coach Jill Ellis revealed the final 23-player squad for the 2018 SheBelieves Cup on Friday. The tournament will see the world’s No. 1-ranked side (the U.S.) host Germany (No. 2), England (No. 3) and France (No. 6) in a round-robin tournament across three cities — Columbus, Ohio, Harrison, New Jersey, and Orlando, Florida.
The 2018 NWSL season will kick off on March 24 with a 2017 NWSL Championship rematch between the Portland Thorns and the North Carolina Courage.
The league released its full 2018 schedule Tuesday, including the games of the week, to be shown on the Lifetime network. Matches that aren't on Lifetime will be streamed via the go90 app and website.