A WAFCON stunner, and what’s next. Plus: NWSL Golden Boot race picks up
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Dog days of summer? More like dawg days, the way players are showing out for club and country lately. Before we get started, get reacquainted with former NWSL Rookie of the Year Jenna Nighswonger, who joined Bay FC today from Arsenal.
Coming up in Full Time:
😮💨 WAFCON surprises
👟 NWSL’s Golden Boot race heats up
📺 “Ted Lasso” returns
Up first, the weekend report …
Wild WoSo Weekend: Ten-time WAFCON champions stunned
Early August can be a drag. It’s hot. The end of summer is in sight, and the idea of going back to focusing fully on work or school is just close enough to give every day a Sunday scaries feel. The end of the men’s World Cup and subsequent drama at FIFA (that keeps getting messier) have only intensified that feeling this year.
But luckily, the rest of women’s soccer didn’t get the memo, because the last few weekends of domestic and international games have been nothing short of exhilarating.
Before we get into the NWSL standings and a Golden Boot race that’s turned into a sprint, we need to discuss the centerpiece of the weekend: WAFCON. Algeria, Morocco, Cameroon and Malawi booked their spots at the 2027 Women’s World Cup by advancing to the semifinals of the continental tournament.
Malawi and Algeria earned their first World Cup berths with quarterfinal wins. Malawi, whose attack is led by sisters Temwa and Tabitha Chawinga, was ranked 153rd in the world when they entered their first WAFCON this year. It was Rose Kadzere, 20, who scored the historic game-winning goal against Ghana in the 79th minute.
Hosts Morocco continued their dominance with a 2-1 win over South Africa to keep a home title alive. They went unbeaten, didn’t concede any goals in their group-stage matches and will face Cameroon on Wednesday.
There will also be a new WAFCON champion this year after Cameroon knocked out 10-time champions Nigeria with a first-half free-kick goal from 19-year-old defender Maeva Nyadjou. Nigeria have dominated the continental competition since its inception and had never missed a semifinal in the tournament’s 35-year history. The Super Falcons were playing with house money after their opening loss to Malawi.
Cameroon originally failed to qualify for the tournament but earned a spot when the Confederation of African Football decided to expand the tournament to 16 teams in November.
There is still a chance for Nigeria, as well as Ghana, Ivory Coast and South Africa, to clinch a World Cup spot. The four teams will face off in a pair of games Thursday to determine which two teams will represent CAF at FIFA’s inter-confederation playoff in February.
This tournament is available to watch for free on beIN Sports Xtra, a Qatari state-owned sports network, on platforms such as Fubo, Sling, Roku TV and Tubi in the United States.
🎧 Get more: “Full Time” podcast hosts Jillian Sakovits and Tamerra Griffin get into everything WAFCON on today’s episode.
Golden Boot race heads to a sprint
In the NWSL, six points separate No. 2 through No. 7 in the table.
The Golden Boot race is in peak form with players including Ashley Sanchez, Evelyn Ijeh and Trinity Rodman picking up speed and taking advantage of a few weeks without Barbra Banda and Temwa Chawinga. Banda could be back with the Pride as soon as this weekend; Chawinga’s responsibilities with Malawi will keep her away from the Current for at least another week. Theo Lloyd-Hughes broke down the list of competitors.
⭐ The leaders
Banda and Chawinga are perennial front-runners in the race, with the latter winning the honor the previous two seasons and setting the high bar of 20 goals in a season. Banda, 26, is currently leading the pack (12 goals). Though Chawinga is tied for fourth in the standings (nine goals), she is by far the most productive goal scorer on the list. Due to injury and WAFCON, the 27-year-old has had to make the most of her 11 appearances (765 minutes) in 2026, averaging more than a goal every 90 minutes.
Wedging herself between them, in second place, is North Carolina’s Sanchez, whose 11th goal came against her former club, Washington. She has already doubled her previous best tally in a single NWSL season (five in both 2023 and 2024). Theo calls it a “Sanchessance” for the 27-year-old.
👀 The contenders
Just below the Golden Boot front-runners, tied with nine goals each, are two U.S. women’s national team megastars: Rodman (Spirit) and Sophia Wilson (Thorns). It’s a comeback season for both players, and though their teams developed during their time away in 2025, both have made their importance clear.
Theo wrote the first version of this list Friday before the Spirit played the Courage and North Carolina’s Ijeh pulled herself level on goals with Rodman, Wilson and Chawinga. The 24-year-old is quickly moving out of the contender group and into serious contention. She scored a hat trick two weeks ago in a 5-0 win over the Pride and followed it up with a brace against the Spirit.
Theo’s full watchlist is a must-read for anyone wondering where things stand with the league’s top goal scorers.
Meg’s Corner: Shipping up to Boston Pawtucket
I picked a heck of a game for my first in-person NWSL match of the season. After living through the wild Spirit-Courage game via my TV, I took a little road trip from Vermont to Rhode Island to watch the Legacy host the Thorns yesterday. Soccer in the real world just hits differently, especially when it ends up being a 4-3 game, complete with a hat trick.
For starters, the Legacy playing at Centreville Bank Stadium while they await the completion of their future home stadium is a smart play. It’s a 10,500-seater on the Seekonk River that feels like it doesn’t have a bad view. The line for Del’s frozen lemonade (a Rhode Island summer staple) abated enough in the second half for me to finally nab a cold drink and catch some of the game from right behind the Boston supporters section. The swan honk chants are even better live.
But yesterday, it was the Pietra Tordin show. The 22-year-old Thorns forward scored a class free kick to start things off, later closing out a hat trick in 37 minutes with an absurd goal: a single touch to chip Legacy goalkeeper Casey Murphy, off an assist from her own goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold. Tordin now leads the NWSL in goal contributions (seven goals, eight assists), just ahead of Rodman and Sanchez.
The Legacy never quit on the game, though, keeping it within two at the half, then putting a ton of pressure on late to make it a one-goal game. Despite plenty of late attempts, the equalizer never came.
It was a classic NWSL thriller, even despite the August heat — high on vibes, questionable at times on defense, a breakthrough performance from a young gun. It’s so good to be back.
Now Playing: Welcome back, ‘Ted Lasso’
America’s preeminent coaching export, Ted Lasso, is back for a new season of the eponymous hit Apple TV show. And this time, he’s coaching Richmond’s new women’s soccer team.
For those who have not watched the first episode of Season 4, I am about to share a small (inconsequential to the plot) spoiler. Scroll fast if you must, but I don’t think it’s necessary. NWSL fans will recognize one of the backdrops in the opening episode, which includes a game at CPKC Stadium, home of the Current, and the league’s first stadium built specifically for a professional women’s soccer club.
The choice, as Asli Pelit writes, reflects not only the show’s new storyline but also the sport’s changing reality. She spoke to Current owners Angie and Chris Long about sharing their facilities and love of Kansas City with the cast. They even had a small cameo.
“It makes us really proud to have created something that can evoke so much joy,” Chris Long said of his stadium, which will now be seen in millions of additional homes.
Women’s soccer doesn’t need the series, per se, but “Ted Lasso” can show the rest of the world what it has become.
Be sure to follow along here because, over the next 10 weeks, Asli will watch closely to see whether Hollywood gets it right.
Before we get to some news, a quick poll: Are you excited about the new season of “Ted Lasso”? Let us know in the comments.
First Looks
Fresh start: A month before the WSL season starts, Manchester United parted ways with head coach Marc Skinner after five years. But the move was not solely because of results. The split comes amid frustrations over a lack of spending on player signings. Now, the team has welcomed former Scottish Women’s Premier League coach Eva Olid, 40, to lead the youth movement. Interestingly enough, she has spent some time in Houston, too. Get to know the new WSL coach.
Long journey: During the Asian Cup earlier this year in Australia, many Iranian women’s players were faced with the tough choice to either defect or return to a warzone. Five months later, two members of that team, labeled “wartime traitors” back home, have become Australian citizens.
Keep watching: We’ve mentioned it before, but Fox’s World Cup reign is over. The departure symbolizes opportunity, even more so now that the women’s and men’s tournaments are sold separately. With the responsibility to usher in a new era with the 2027 Women’s World Cup, is Netflix up for the challenge?
Introducing Lucia Kendall: The 22-year-old went from playing in the fourth tier of English football to getting an unexpected call from national team head coach Sarina Wiegman. Get to know England’s rising goal scorer and a key part of Aston Villa’s plans next season.
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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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