USWNT welcomes back Triple Espresso plus; Club America's Concacaf win | Full Time Podcast
On this episode of Full Time, host Jillian Sakovits is joined The Athletics Tamerra Griffin to break down the latest U.S women's national team roster headlined by the return of Triple Espresso: Mallory Swanson, Sophia Wilson and Trinity Rodman. The duo discusses notable omissions from the roster, including North Carolina's Ashley Sanchez, and looks forward to the teams doubleheader against Brazil in June. Tamerra also gives her wild card pick to be selected for the 2027 World Cup roster. They also recap Club Americas win over the Washington Spirit in the Concacaf W Champions Cup. ------------ #clubamerica #concacaf #uswnt ------------ Subscribe to the Full Time newsletter to get all the latest women's soccer news straight to your inbox every Tuesday: Get in touch: fulltime@theathletic.com Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime Catch the full episodes of Full Time right here
Video Transcript
Hello, everybody.
A very warm welcome to Full Time.
It is presented by Amazon Prime.
Jillian Sakovitz with you today alongside Tamara Griffin because it is a very special day.
Tamara, there is another US Women's National Team roster for us to look at, enjoy, and more importantly today, talk all things about.
We're gonna break down everything you need to know about the squad that will be traveling to the site of the 2027 World Cup, that is Brazil, for two matches on June 6th and 9th to take on the host nation.
We are also gonna be giving our flowers and our respect to the CONCACAF W Champions Cup, and to be talking a little Club Amrica, which Tamara, I know you've been deep diving, deep diving lately on Club Amrica.
Truly, and honestly the first, like, dip of a toe started last- December when I covered Club Amrica at the second edition of World Sevens in Fort Lauderdale.
I had so much fun.
I think there's something really beautiful about watching people show up for their club, coming in from all over the world, wearing their colors, beating their drums, chanting their songs.
Amrica fans are really special in that way, and so it's hard to not kind of, like, feel endeared to a team after that, but- the week that they have had recently- Oh and the run, which I know we'll get to- Yeah like, we have no choice but to talk about it even though, of course, today is mostly about the US Women's National Team roster.
I- it is.
It is a- and not a lot of changes, but the ones that we're gonna talk about feel important a- and notable.
100%.
I mean, the fact that they are playing two games against Brazil in Brazil, the second time in as many years, a year out now from the World Cup, makes it kind of hard to imagine this roster as anything other than, you know, barring injuries of course, which is part of the conversation, this is, like, the group more or less.
So definitely lots to unpack there.
Yeah.
It's, and this is a little nod to the men's World Cup squad that, was released yesterday.
It's the group chat, shall we call it.
Yeah.
Hopefully Emma Hayes doesn't, emulate anything along those lines when she- She doesn't strike me as an email girly.
No, not for things like this.
But before we get any deeper into today's show, as always, we have to make sure that you're following us on all of our socials because we're posting not only our stories that we write at The Athletic, but other interesting content that isn't always directly related to the show.
So @tafulltime on Instagram and TikTok.
We post episodes of this podcast on YouTube if you prefer to take in your podcast that way, and if you want to write us an email, not the Pochettino kind, you can reach out to us at fulltime@theathletic.com with your thoughts about this US Women's National Team roster.
I mean, you can tell us your thoughts about the men too, but we're probably not gonna be citing that on our show or anything like that, but all feelings are welcome.
and if you- That's true.
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All right.
Shall we get into the, the big topic of the day?
Yes.
All right.
It's time.
As I mentioned, one day after Mauricio Pochettino officially names his 2026 US Men's National Team squad that will represent the US at the World Cup, we have yet another US Women's National Team squad.
What a week, man, for US soccer.
Head coach Emma Hayes, naming that 26-player training camp roster for the two matches in Brazil against the nine-time South American champions, Brazil.
Those matches will be on June 6th and June 9th, exactly one year from when the nation will host the Women's World Cup.
And let's, let's go through, let's go through this roster.
Goalkeepers, we've got Claudia Dickie and Fallon Telus Joyce.
Mandy McGlynn, back in the group of three.
Then for the defenders- Mm-hmm we've got Tierna Davidson, Emily Fox, Avery Patterson, Lily Reel, Emily Sonnett, Giselle Thompson, Kennedy Wesley, Tara Rudd coming back into the mix.
Also two people coming back into the mix in the midfield is Riley Jackson and Cora Bethune.
We've got Lindsey Heaps, 'cause she will officially be now state- stateside for a long time.
Right.
Yes, very exciting.
Claire Hutton, Rose Lavelle, Olivia Moultrie, Jaedyn Shaw, and Lily Johannes.
And then as for the forwards, Michelle Cooper, Trinity Rodman, Emma Sears, Ali Setnor, Mal Swanson, Alyssa Thompson, and Sophia Wilson.
Starting to feel a little familiar, isn't it?
Isn't it, Tamara?
Now- It's starting to feel a little caffeinated, Jill.
Oh my gosh.
Like caffeinated, caffeinated, caffeinated- Yes if you know what I mean.
I mean- Triple espresso is back when was the last time?
They're back.
October of 2024 the last time the three, these three players were together, which feels like eons ago.
This US Women's National Team has gone through several lives since then.
Like, several kind of caterpillar, cocoon, butterfly, back to cocoon, caterpi- you know?
It is the story.
It's the story.
Triple espresso is back.
So should Swanson play in that June 6th game, let's say, it will be 604 days between US Women's National Team appearances, for her.
So yeah, that would at minimum be the last time that there was triple espressoing in, the Stars and Stripes jerseys.
103 caps for her, Tamara.
38 goals, which puts her 17th already all time- Wow on the USA's goal scoring list, at the age of 28Should she play in So Paulo, it would mark 665 days since the two- 2024 Olympic gold medal game.
so let's talk about Swanson in particular.
She's kind of the last piece of this.
What do you think Emma Hayes is gonna be looking for from her?
Using Sophia Wilson's return as not necessarily a blueprint like for like sort of transition back to play, but as- Yes a broad framework of returning to the US Women's National Team after having a baby, because I do think that Mal and Sophia are part of the same generation of players who are also moms, let's say.
I think having watched Mal play a few games now in the NWSL, and notably the go-ahead goal that she scored just this past weekend against Bay FC, with Chicago Stars, I am holding the importance of And you know Emma Hayes is all about c- sort of controlling the timeline of her return.
I can see something in the realm of a 60-minute sub in the first or the second game.
I think 30 minutes, when I think about the intensity of Brazil as an opponent, for the fact that she has not even been in a national team camp in a very long time.
those things obviously need to be taken into consideration.
Um- Yeah, this is gonna be her longest trip in a very, very, very- Right long time.
True.
You know, a 11, 12-hour flight- The US is usually- away from home plays at home.
Yeah.
Yeah.
she's It's gonna be out of body for her.
Yeah.
It's gonna Yeah.
But I think the sooner the better in terms of getting her reintegrated with the squad.
She's gonna be meeting so many new faces in terms of the players- that she's gonna be with.
Nothing bonds you, though, like a good team travel trip, which I think is also a purpose of the US traveling to Brazil, which rarely happens.
They've only played Brazil in Brazil six times before this window.
And interestingly enough, even though when the US plays Brazil in the US, they have won by far the lion's share of those matches, but when the US plays Brazil in Brazil, Jill, they are only two, two, and two, which really redistributes the competition there.
And I think that just underscores the importance of the US traveling to Brazil a year out from the World Cup.
So I think all of these things are part of the reasons why even if Mal only plays a total of 45, maybe 60 minutes across these two legs, the sooner that she can get reintegrated in this team, then- Yeah, that's what this is about 100%.
A few names I, I didn't mention, and three specifically not selected due to injury in, Sam Coffey, which makes sense, just coming off of minor knee surgery- Mm-hmm Cat Macario, and then three, though, Naomi Girma, perhaps the biggest eyebrow lift of the, quote, "injured players."
How worried are we about her, her fitness overall?
It's starting to feel y- like yellow, getting close to I don't know if you remember the Crayola, like, crayon box, the 64 box, Jill- The Yeah but there was a yellow orange.
It's like the coolest thing to go buy in August- Truly before you went back to school.
With the little sharpener in the back.
but in that 64 box of crayons, there was both a yellow orange and an orange yellow.
The orange yellow was a little bit more orangey.
And in terms of the sort of worry scale that I, that I personally am at when it comes to Naomi Girma's health, I'm like a yellow orange, so less orange than yellow, but definitely a little bit warmer than just pure yellow.
And I only say that because when she's on the pitch, you feel safe, as we say about defensive players.
My concern is that we are yet to really experience a long stretch of time where Naomi is healthy and is playing, you know, game in, game out 90 minutes.
Of course, there's a lot of rotation happening, with the US, but even with Chelsea, she's not played since early April, which if she had made this roster and played against Brazil, she would have not That would be her first time playing, you know, potentially a full 90 or even a half in almost two months.
And it's been a, a nagging calf injury that I think when we all heard that, we didn't expect it to be going into now what is June.
Right.
And so that's sort of what the concern is for me.
Chelsea and the WSL, of course, have ended their season, so all of the Europe-based players, for the most part, France still has their sort of like final games, in the French league.
But they're wrapping up their season, transitioning into an off-season.
all of the other Europe-based players on the Suis- on Women's National Team will be doing the same, after this international window.
And so I'm at a point where I'm just hoping that wherever Naomi is doing her rehab, wherever she's resting, that it's pretty intensive because as we've said, there's we're only a year out from the World Cup.
Just looking at this roster, it's clear that this core group is really beginning to coalesce, and you gotta get those reps in.
This is such an important set of games for the US because let us not forget, the last time these two teams played, they went one and one.
US won the first one.
Brazil took the second one.
So sort of similar to Japan, these are not by any means gonna be easy games.
the US also needs Naomi.
It's not just about team chemistry here.
It's about winning these games and competing.
So I think the next window after this is gonna really give us a sense of where she's at, especially because she will have been on break, from Chelsea for a while, and hopefully had some time to rehab properly.
Okay, so we mentioned, Sam Coffey, being out, but, but we know why.
That is, that is planned.
I, I wanna talk about another midfielder, thoughIn North Carolina's Ashley Sanchez or how surprised were you to see her not on the roster?
Seven goals and, and one assist.
Ashley Sanchez was definitely the biggest snub for me on this roster, if I'm being frank.
I think that she, in ways that I admittedly did not see coming at all when the NWSL season started this year, she came out the gates swinging, on fire, ready to put the team on her back in North Carolina, and scores goals when needed, contribute an assist when needed.
she has really been helping control the tempo, I think, of North Carolina's midfield, which by the way, also includes Manaka Matsubara who was an MVP finalist last year, and interestingly enough, 20-year-old Riley Jackson who did make the senior roster- From the North Carolina Courage, yes also with the North Carolina Courage.
So f- from the emotional standpoint of Sanchez is 27, clearly has been trying to get back onto this roster after a pretty prolonged absence.
essentially getting passed over by a player who is not only younger, but could also have technically made the U23 US roster because that team is also traveling to Brazil with the senior team.
So- You have to think that that's the spot it came down to, that it was between those two players 'cause otherwise you look at this midfield and it's Bethune, Heaps, Ha- and Lavelle, Moultrie, Shaw, and Johannes.
Yeah.
So it's- And Sanchez- That's a tough one and Jackson are not the same position, so it wasn't necessarily a like for like.
I do think that Jackson's more defensive qualities are probably being brought in in the absence of Sam Coffey.
but I just know that it stings.
It stings me because I think that she is extremely deserving of a roster spot.
I would have just from a pure entertainment factor loved to see Ashley Sanchez against a Brazilian midfield, like creativity sharpening creativity, you know.
but I'm not counting her out.
there's still- It is- clearly some- It is- some spots open.
And it's interesting you say that too because if Let's be honest, Sam Coffey is, is a lock on the World Cup roster.
Yeah.
So do you have to, quote, like, go out and replace her for a pair of friendlies?
she obviously, you know, wants to see Riley Jackson return to this, this squad and, and see what she can do if, yeah, you know.
It doesn't discriminate with, with, with the youth.
But yeah, you feel a little bit here for Ashley Sanchez.
Let's move on to the players that are back, shall we?
in the goalkeeping position, Mandy McGlynn getting her name back out there.
Mm-hmm.
When we had our US Women's National Team 3.0 conversation, the discourse around the goalkeepers was very much that we were a little surprised I think to see Claudia Dickie seemingly take over that number one spot that we thought, and I use the word we loosely, us athletic people- Mm-hmm us full-time people, us thought was that a Fallon Telus choice.
Is Claudia Dickie still the number one for Hayes?
I think in a sort of like picking up from where we left off in the last camp sort of way, I would say yes.
across those three games against Japan, Claudia Dickie played two of those games.
Fallon Telus played one.
there are only two games now against Brazil in this upcoming window, and now there's a Mandy McGlynn who I have to say, ever since coming back from injury, has been absolutely stellar with the Utah Royals who have been absolutely stellar as a team.
Currently- So many clean sheets top of the table.
So many clean sheets.
Shout out by the way to Kate Del Favo who I was low-key, not in the same way that I was sort of expecting or willing Ashley Sanchez to be on the roster, but I think Kate Del Favo des- deserves a shout as well.
I know I'm not the only one who feels that way.
Also of the Utah Royals center back.
but back to Mandy McGlynn.
She's been fantastic, and I actually asked her about this in what was I think her second or third game back when Utah came to play BFC not too long ago, and she All respect to Mandy.
Sure.
I'm not saying I don't believe her, but it's kinda hard to believe a player when you ask them if they are looking forward to getting back on a national team roster and they tell you that they're not thinking about it at all.
It's a lie.
It is a bold face lie.
I get that, you know, the one game at a time thing, one day at a time, don't wanna get too far ahead of yourself, but it's not like the girl wasn't making the rosters before.
She came back from injury even in better form I would argue than before.
So how can you not be thinking about it?
But- Oh, you're thinking- Utah's on a mission about it every day.
I respect the mission.
I res- respect the focus.
and I also think that now of all times is a great time to be thinking about this because that number one keeper spot, to me, is still pretty open.
I mean, Claudia Dickie only recently you could argue sort of overtook Fallon Telus as the number one keeper, and I do think that the factor that sort of determined that overtaking is technical skill with the ball at your feet.
Yes.
And Mandy McGlynn has that.
So- She does I'm hoping that she gets her minutes.
So is Fallon Telus the one goalie that doesn't play on this trip?
Potentially.
If I'm looking at it, I'm thinking I wanna see one game from Claudia Dickie and one game from Mandy McGlynn.
It would be fair.
It would be fair.
Which bums me out because- Yeah PTJ is a, one of my favorite p- personalities on the team, and one of my favorite friends of the show.
So.
Yeah.
And it's a question of how much does Hayes' optimism in Telus maybe improving on the things that she's improved upon, how much does that weigh against how much she wants to see Mandy McGlynn basically is sort of the question I'm, I'm thinking about.
When we think about this, this pair of friendlies, how do you see this squad fairing against Brazil?
Because we also have, have their 26 player squad.Yeah.
Headlined by Marta, return of the Marta.
If you think about that in the tune of Return of the Mack, it makes a lot more sense.
It's perfect.
I think that these games honestly are gonna be just as fun and just as entertaining as they were last April when they played at SoFi Stadium and then PayPal Park in San Jose, except turned up probably, like, seven notches, which maybe makes them totally different because, one, they're gonna be in Brazil.
I told you the US historically has struggled way more against Brazil in Brazil than they do when they play Brazil in the US, and the fact that we are now within, like, sniffing distance of the World Cup.
That's gonna do things to Brazil that are gonna bolster them.
I'm expecting, especially for the game in So Paulo, a full stadium.
This is where Corinthians play.
Like- Yeah the energy is gonna be unreal, and I think a really great sort of appetizer for what we can expect at the World Cup.
But I'm looking at this roster, I mean, Lorena of Kansas City Current.
It's so much NWSL, which w- we know- So much NWSL but seeing it on paper is, is so, like Or between the Orlando Pride and San Diego Wave, it's, like, half the squad, which I'm just so here for it.
Truly.
Ari Borges, has been having a great- Also, yes start to the season with Angel City.
Bia Zaneratto, former NWSL player.
Gabie Portillo, Ludmila, like Amanda Gutierrez now with Boston.
so I think there's also gonna be a lot of fun- Shout out Boston like familiarity like I say.
Shout out.
Who skirted our- If you don't know Brazil, now you know.
Who skirted our timeout episode from last week.
these are gonna be really, really fun games, super important.
I can't wait personally, and I wish I could've been there honestly.
I wanna go to these games, darn it.
All right.
final thoughts will be we mentioned the players who are out known due to injury, which are known commodities.
how close, Tamara, in your mind is this the roster that will also go back to Brazil a year from now?
I'm thinking we're pretty close.
I'm thinking we're pretty close.
It's hard to imagine You already mentioned Sam Coffey.
It's hard to imagine Naomi Girma not having a spot, Cat Macario.
As long as they're healthy, I think those are two players on top of Sam Coffey who are absolute locks.
Now, what that means about who they might be replacing that we're seeing on this roster, my stress levels are not at the place to be going down that road just yet, though I know we will have to.
but when you think, as I mentioned, about the importance of playing against Brazil in Brazil, something that they could very potentially be doing about a year from now, maybe in a knockout stage game, getting a feel for that experience is so crucial.
It's rare that the US travels outside the country for any games.
and so this is very much like dress rehearsal FC happening.
we're seeing a lot of familiar faces from the last two international windows against Japan and the SheBelieves Cup.
So the core is definitely coming together and, and becoming articulated, and when we see the re-inclusions of players like Croy Bethune, Riley Jackson, Tara Rudd, it also gives a sense of who is sort of waiting in the wings on that bubble should an injury or dip in form, sort of edge out a player that was once maybe considered part of that inner core of the team.
So I think we're kinda looking at essentially, a well-defined World Cup core team.
Core, yes, but there's always, there's always- Core, yes a few, a f- a few wild cards, few little surprises, a snub- Yes but more so an exciting addition.
I know you said your stress levels are high, so- we'll just kick it up one notch before we say goodbye.
Sounds great.
If you, if you could give one name to a wild card, I don't know, an Andy Sullivan- An Hal Hershfelt.
Ooh.
Who, who's your, who's your Tamara Griffin wild card that we could just see maybe squeak right in there?
Ooh, that's a really good one.
You know the first name that came to mind is Ayo Oke from the Denver Summit.
Also a friend of the show.
Also a friend of the show.
I think that she offers an intensity as a fullback that is both, like, very much in line with the, the profile of fullback that Emma Hayes clearly wants for this team.
but it's still something a little bit different.
I think she's really skilled at getting forward, and just based on what we've already seen in terms of the partnerships that she's building with players like Janine Sonness, at Denver, a Canadian international, I think that there is still a lot of potential.
And if Denver continues their form, if she continues her form, in my world I can see her squeaking in.
That's the first name that came to mind.
I could probably think of 17 more, but- I know I'll call this for, for our US soccer in general fans- Yeah who are a- just k- also, like, stressing and reeling over this, men's official announcement.
We'll call this the Alejandro Zedanjas of- of the, of the adds of the wild cards.
All right.
We are getting a little bit off track here thanks to me.
So Jill will reel it back in, and we're gonna take a very short break, Tamara, and as promised, we're gonna talk Club America and w- maybe what's up with the Washington Spirit, I don't know if that's the right way to word it, after a very quick break.
Welcome back.
Time now to dig into this CONCACAF W Champions Cup final we had over the weekend.
And on last week's show, Tamara, I think we both nodded our heads emphatically likeIt's gonna be Gotham.
No, it wasn't We were it was in fact Club Amrica, who had a perfect week, winning the Clausura on Sunday, knocking out the reigning champions, Gotham, on a Wednesday, and then taking home the grand prize.
And they do it all, Tamara, in front of a record-breaking crowd of 26,000 plus.
Take us through that week.
You've been writing all about this.
Yeah.
I mean, I mentioned, my Club Amrica, like, not awakening, 'cause I've known about the club for a long time, but there's something about seeing a club live, which I don't always get to do when it comes to Liga MX teams.
ever since World Sevens, I have just been endeared to all of those teams, so I can only imagine.
Not only did Club Amrica win the Clausura, but they did it with a second-leg comeback against Monterrey.
That was the game with the 26,670 in attendance, which broke a record.
The fact that they came back, yes, it was only down one goal on aggregate, but they came back and scored three in that second leg game.
It took me a while to even find the exact number of this record attendance on the team's Instagram, because the posts of the content, the photos, the videos of them celebrating this Clausura was, one, amazing, keep it up, but two, I think really speaks to the sense of jubilation, from the team.
And that was just one of their three accomplishments that week.
And I think there's also something where when you know that you have, like, a string of games coming, it almost holds you that much more accountable to celebrating each one individually, because who knows what the next game is gonna bring?
You know, they were facing Gotham midweek.
not a lot of rest time.
They didn't have to travel as much as Gotham did, but- Mm-hmm like we said, these are the reigning CONCACAF W Champions Cup champions.
Ooh, mouthful.
They might need to shorten- Now the- that title.
but watching that game, and I wrote about both the semifinal and the finals, which I encourage everyone to read at The Athletic, Club Amrica were just so dominant, and it almost felt like each game that they won just fueled them and built their confidence even more.
Now, I do think it's really interesting and a little bit ironic that two of the star players for Club Amrica, and certainly two who stood out sort of by far in terms of their performances and contributions to both the semifinal and championship win for CONCACAF are former NWSL players themselves in Scarlett Camberos and Jace.
Scarlett Camberos most recently was at Bay FC before returning to Club Amrica, where she s- started her career, and then Jace coming from Gotham to Club Amrica.
They both combined for multiple goals across the semifinal and final, and really just looked so at home and so happy with this Mexican team, which, you know, when you've not spent a lot of time with an NWSL club before moving to another one, as Scarlett did She started with Angel City, then went to Bay.
Jace was on loan from Manchester United at Gotham.
yes, won a championship with them, but wasn't getting a lot of minutes.
to see two players that I always have been huge fans of their game, and I said this in a Slack channel when I was watching the semifinal.
They're a similar breed of dawg, D-A-W-G, I think Scarlett and Jace, and that was on the best possible display possible.
I mean, they completely overwhelmed Gotham's defense in the semifinal, and then they did it to the Washington Spirit too in the final.
So props to both of them.
Poetic justice as, as they call it.
Mm-hmm.
And hey, you wanna go win a CONCACAF W Champions Cup?
Just go get yourself Jace, apparently.
That's- That's, that's all you really need.
She's the common denominator.
You're right.
The final score in that final, Tamara, Club Amrica five, Washington Spirit three, and this is a Spirit side that had won five in a row, five of their last six, until they had a 2-1 loss to San Diego the game prior to traveling, to Mexico.
We had Adrin Gonzlez, the head coach, on the show.
The team had been, you know, living in San Diego, between games when, when they had to, come down here, because I just wanna look at their schedule real quick.
That San Diego match was the previous weekend, and prior to that, they were in Seattle.
So with all that being said, how surprised are you, that the Spirit p- not only lost in this one, but perhaps the way that they did?
Yeah.
I mean, I gotta give them some grace.
That is a tough road stand that they underwent.
Going from coast to coast, from DC all the way to the West Coast, then making their way down, then spending a ample time in San Diego, which, you know, sounds horrible- and then going to Mexico, which sounds horrible too.
champagne problems- Yeah to an extent, but let's not forget- To Pachuca.
Mm-hmm, Pachuca and its high, high, high altitude that has, you know, threatened all kinds of teams who come and visit, this stadium.
At the end of the day, they still made it to a CONCACAF final, you know?
They just That is an accomplishment in itself.
They, they beat Pachuca to get there.
Pachuca, who kinda spanked Gotham, if we're being honest.
So no small feat.
Mm-hmm.
but heavy legs are heavy legs, and honestly, had it not been for Rosengart Quaye, I think that score line probably would've been a lot more, offensive, I mean, from a Spirit perspective.
So shout out to Rosengart Quaye, who had a brace in that game.
definitely kept the Spirit in it.
I thought Hal Hershfelt had a really good performance as well.
Claudia Martinez scored in the semifinal against Pachuca to send the Spirit to the final.
There were some strong individual performances, but like I said earlier, that Jace and Scarlett Camberos combination really overwhelmed the Spirit, and specifically the high press, because one of those goals came from Jace literally just sprinting at Spirit goalkeeper Sandy MacIver and blocking- they're her attempt to play out of the back.
so I think that Club Amrica just had way more energy than the Spirit at the end of the day, but I don't think that Spirit fans should be necessarily- No clutching their pearls about this performance or anything like that.
That was just a lot of travel, playing at altitude, three games, or, well yeah, three games in a week basically if we start with that San Diego game.
Like, that's not easy.
Club Amrica did it as well, but they didn't travel as far.
That's fair.
A- and, and they, they put, they put on a show.
The Spirit put on a show.
Somebody though who didn't is Trinity Rodman.
Two quiet performances from her?
Yeah.
I also think that that's sort of okay.
I hope I know that she kind of took- We're giving so much grace.
I love this we are.
Just giving grace I don't know, something's in the air.
Maybe it's because of the episode we did last week where we're like, "You in the corner.
You in the corner.
You-" " you know, you're getting a D and F." this is on the other n- end of the spectrum maybe.
But, these CONCACAF, I think because this is only the second edition of this tournament, I do think that from a logistical standpoint, CONCACAF is still probably working out some of the kinks, in terms of travel, in terms of location.
I think that it's important that NWSL teams, of course, continue competing in them, and Liga MX as well, forcing each other to rise to the occasion.
personally, I was just really happy that a Liga MX team was in the final and, and won it.
So to have Pachuca and Club Amrica both on the podium in s- third and first place respectively I think is huge for the Mexican women's league.
Spirit did their thing.
I mean, it was a super entertaining game.
Two different lead changes, like I mentioned a brace from Rose Lavelle.
It was still really, really fun, but it was also very clear that some of those players were just gassed, and I think that's the sort of tax that you pay when you wanna involve yourself in these international tournaments.
Honestly, I think this speaks to the importance of increasing roster sizes for NWSL clubs if they want to keep competing in these, in these international competitions.
Whether it's CONCACAF, a FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA Champions Cup as we saw earlier this year with Gotham, you gotta be able to bring more players into, into the fold if you're gonna be playing three games in a calendar week.
This was the second year of the, Champions Cup.
First year going to Gotham, so the NWSL, second year Club Amrica, so going to Liga MX- Yeah Femenil.
Fun fact, Liga MX Femenil has become the world's most watched women's- Wow football league, with 22 million TV viewers, surpassing the US, Germany, and English, top flight leagues in global research.
That coming directly- Wow from Liga MX themselves, that, that research.
So to put a, a bow on this episode, what can we say right now about Liga MX Femenil?
'Cause our discussion is always NWSL, NWSL.
What, what flowers can we get them?
so many flowers.
Maybe some like beautiful hibiscus, something rich, something that you can like use in multiple ways, something that's enjoyed by so many people all over the world.
now I want a hibiscus tea personally, me talking about this, but I just remember, Jill, years ago when I first decided to start freelancing in women's soccer, it was Liga MX Femi- Femenil that I sort of returned to in terms of my viewership of women's soccer as they were We were all kind of trying to figure out what life was like, after getting hit with COVID.
and it's just such a fun league.
Such a fun league.
So many talented players.
I think it's really interesting, I mean, going back to this Brazil roster, there are a few players on this roster who play in Liga MX Femenil, including an Amrica player, Isa Haas, defender who kind of played on her head during CONCACAF, so shout out to Isa Haas.
it's becoming Aline Gomes from Pachuca, who scored against Gotham, in that third place game, like they It's always been an international league, but it's really cool to see it grow across the sort of international representation, and then to see players who are playing in Liga MX Femenil who are now representing their countries, especially among top 10 in the world teams like Brazil.
So I think it's definitely continuing to rise.
Like I mentioned, the fact that not only Club Amrica, but Tigres as well were competing in World Sevens last year.
I hope things like that continue, because the representation is so important.
As you mentioned, and I think as is reflected in th- those viewership numbers that you cited, people are tuning in and showing up for their clubs, across Mexico in ways that we're not really seeing done in the same way in the US with the NWSL.
So if you're not involved, now's the time, because it feels like this league could pop off into another stratosphere at any given moment, which is really exciting.
Okay, so you know what would really, really pop it off?
I bet you didn't see me turning the car in this direction, but, um- Buckle up Barcelona- Barcelona's two-time Ballon d'Or winner, Alexia Putellas announcing her departure on Tuesday from Barcelona.
So it begs the question, Tamara, there will be a Putellas-less Barcelona at the FIFA Champions Cup come January.
Can Club Amrica win it all?
Are you that much- I wouldn't rule 'em out on the Club Amrica train?
I wouldn't rule 'em out.
Yeah.
I definitely would not rule 'em out.
you have goalkeeper Sandra Paos, also a former Barcelona, played for Spain, who's now with Club Amrica.
So you have to imagine that she and Alexia have at least had a couple of FaceTime calls where she's asking her what it's like in that league, what it's like for this team.
I would love to see it.
I think that would beA mega transformative moment, and what a statement, way more convincing than, than anything I could say about the direction that Liga MX is headed if a global superstar like Alexia Putellas joined that league and joined Club Amrica specifically.
this is gonna be the question- Oh, that's where you're going this sum- That Putellas joins Club Amrica.
Oh, wait.
I just- I just- meant that Barcelona doesn't, wouldn't have her anymore, because- Oh we haven't known- Oh we haven't known until today's episode that she was departing for sure.
Oh my, I thought you meant do I think she's gonna go play for Club Amrica this whole time.
I was, like, even a step ahead- I, hey of where you were trying to drive this car.
Hey, you heard it You, you heard it here first on Full Time.
My bad.
Alexia Putellas to Club Amrica.
All right.
You know what?
But either way, I would love to see Club Amrica and Barcelona, Alexia or not, in a global club competition.
I think that game would be so fun, and I know Barcelona has made trips to Mexico before, so.
I love I, I love the conversation starter that we started by accident.
So yeah.
All right.
Sounds like an episode for another day.
Yeah.
We're gonna leave that right here.
As always, thank you so very much for hanging out with us here on Full Time.
Like Tamara mentioned at the top of the show, we always love to hear from you, so shoot us an email at fulltime@theathletic.com or a DM @TAFullTime.
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That's right.
Go check out the women's sports hub at sports.yahoo.com/women-sports.
For myself, Jillian Sackvitz, and my friend and partner, Tamara Griffin, thank you again for listening.
Full Time was produced by The Athletic.
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