The NWSL Playoffs Are Here!

Today's Newsletter

• NWSL playoffs

• International Break

• Water Cooler Talk

• FIFA Rankings/ World Cup Pots

NWSL Playoffs

The NWSL playoffs are finally here! OL Reign and the Portland Thorns will both have bye weeks as they finished in the top two during the regular season.

Houston is hosting Kansas City. Houston has currently sold over 14,000 tickets which will set a new club attendance record. They are trying to get to 20,000 which would be a sellout.

San Diego will be hosting Chicago. Considering this is San Diego's first year in the league it is pretty impressive that they are hosting a home playoff game. Alex Morgan, Taylor Kornieck, and Emily Van Egmond all missed international duty due to injuries. San Diego will be hoping to have all three of them back for this weekend.

The winner of the Houston/Kansas City game will go to Seattle to face OL Reign in the semifinals.

The winner of San Diego/Chicago game will travel to Portland to take on the Thorns in the semifinals.

International Break

It was a rough international break for the USWNT. They lost back to back games for the first time since 2017. It's not time to panic yet but a lot of work has to be done before the World Cup in nine months.

Ireland are headed to the World Cup for the first time ever! They beat Scotland 1-0 to claim their spot in the World Cup.

Switzerland are also headed to the World Cup after beating Wales 2-1. Switzerland won the game in the 120+1 minute.

There are three spots left for the 2023 World Cup and ten teams still have a chance to qualify. The ten teams will compete in a playoff format to see who qualifies. Here is the schedule for the playoffs:

• Cameroon v Thailand (Winner Plays Portugal) The winner of the Portugal game will go to the World Cup.

• Senegal v Haiti (Winner Plays Chile) The winner of the Chile game will go to the World Cup

• Chinese Taipei v Paraguay

• Papua New Guinea v Panama

• The winner of Chinese Taipei/Paraguay game will play the winner of the Papua New Guinea/Panama Game. Whoever wins the second game will go to the World Cup.

Water Cooler Talk

• Gotham FC announced that Nicole Baxter, Domi Richardson, Jennifer Cudjoe, and Kumi Yokoyama will not return in 2023.

• Emma Hayes is temporarily stepping away from Chelsea while she recovers from an emergency Hysterectomy.

• Rachel Daly was named player of The Month in the FAWSL.

• Carla Ward was named Manager of The Month in the FAWSL.

• Lucy Bronze hit 100 caps for England.

• Delphine Cascarino hit 50 caps for France.

FIFA Rankings/World Cup Pots

The new FIFA Rankings are out and the USWNT are still number 1 in the world but the points gap is quickly closing. Here are the top 10 teams:

1. USA

2. Sweden

3. Germany

4. England

5. France

6. Spain

7. Canada

8. Netherlands

9. Brazil

10. Korea DPR

The pots for the World Cup draw will be:

• Pot 1: New Zealand (A1), Australia (B1), USA, Sweden, Germany, England, France, Spain

• Pot 2: Canada, Netherlands, Brazil, Japan, Norway, Italy, China, Korea Republic

• Pot 3: Denmark, Switzerland, Ireland, Colombia, Argentina, Vietnam, Costa Rica, Jamaica

• Pot 4: Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, Morocco, Zambia, Playoff Winner, Playoff Winner, Playoff Winner

Bangers Only

Katrina Gorry from downtown!

Esther Gonzalez with the perfect finish.

Upcoming Games:

• Aston Villa v West Ham @ 7:30 AM ET (October 15)

• Cruz Azul v Pachuca @ 1 PM ET (October 15)

• Atlas v Mazatlán @ 1 PM ET (October 15)

• Manchester United v Brighton @ 7 AM ET (October 16)

• Everton v Chelsea @ 8 AM ET (October 16)

• Man City v Leicester City @ 9 AM ET (October 16)

• Tottenham v Liverpool @ 9 AM ET (October 16)

• Reading v Arsenal @ 1:45 PM ET (October 16)

• Houston Dash v Kansas City @ 5 PM ET (October 16)

• San Diego v Chicago @ 10 PM ET (October 16)