As we get ready for Thanksgiving weekend in the United States, here are XI things to be thankful for around women’s soccer.
I. The World Cup
The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup may not have been kind to the United States team, and the hours were not ideal for those of us back home, but it was a rollicking good month of soccer that highlighted the incredible progress the game has made on the field. With 32 teams now competing (an evolution I still don’t care for) there was some doubt about whether the top teams would be challenged until the late stages. As it turned out, Germany and Brazil crashed out in group play and the U.S. women’s national team were oh so close to the same fate before going out in the Round of 16. Meanwhile, was there a better site in the sport all year than Sam Kerr celebrating her dramatic equalizer against England in the semifinals?
II. The NWSL Championship
No, it’s not quite the World Cup, but the last three years the National Women’s Soccer League’s ultimate match has turned into a suitable event. Things have changed a lot since the pandemic, but the NWSL Championship is now a time when I can count on seeing so many of the people I have come to know over the years covering women’s soccer. Let’s hope it keeps getting bigger.
