U.S. women’s national team forward Midge Purce has expressed her disbelief at the expanding spying scandal involving Canadian soccer.
On Thursday, Canada women’s national team head coach Bev Priestman was sent home from the Olympics after two of her staffers were caught using drones to spy on New Zealand’s training.
But the issue is far more widespread than just the 2024 Olympics. On a call with media on Friday, Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue said that using drones to illegally spy on opponents has been “systemic” within the federation’s teams.
“The more I learn about this specific matter, the more concerned I get about a potential long-term, deeply embedded systemic culture of this type of thing occurring, which is obviously completely unacceptable,” Blue said.
On The Women’s Game podcast, Purce appeared as a guest alongside Sam Mewis, her former USWNT teammate. For Purce, the hardest part of the scandal to understand is how Canada could have allegedly cheated in a way that was so simple to catch.
“Let’s say it was in fact, intentionally cheating,” Purce posited. “Did you think they weren’t gonna see the drone? Like I’m just confused. Drones are loud. Like, cheat better! Call the Patriots — call Bill Belichick!”
Purce’s last comment — a reference to the notorious Spygate scandal in the NFL — obviously struck a nerve with Mewis, a diehard New England Patriots fan.
“Enough, this is going off the rails now. You’ve gone too far Midge!” Mewis retorted with a laugh.
The forward limped off just before the break against the Copper Queens
The U.S. women’s national team suffered an injury blow in its Olympics opener, as star forward Sophia Smith was taken off in the first half against Zambia.
With the USWNT up 3-0 near the end of the first half, Smith went down near the bench and needed to receive treatment on the field.
The Portland Thorns star was unable to continue and had to be replaced by Lynn Williams in the 43rd minute.
The extent of Smith’s injury was not immediately clear, but U.S. fans will hope that head coach Emma Hayes removed the forward as a precaution due to the game essentially being settled.
The U.S. scored three first-half goals, and also went up a player after Zambia’s Pauline Zulu was shown a 34th-minute red card for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
The USWNT would go on to win the match 3-0 on the strength of a goal from Trinity Rodman and a brace from Mallory Swanson.
Smith’s injury was extra painful for the USWNT, who also lost Jaedyn Shaw to an injury before the game even started.
After the game, Hayes did not have any real updates to share on either Smith or Shaw.
Emma Hayes said no one updated her yet re: Sophia Smith, and that both she and Jaedyn Shaw will be assessed once they’re back in camp in Marseille. #USWNT
Should either injury prove serious, it would leave the U.S. looking very thin in attack after Catarina Macario also had to withdraw from the Olympic roster due to a knee injury.
The 19-year-old has been replaced on the gameday roster by Croix Bethune
U.S. women’s national team forward Jaedyn Shaw will miss the team’s Olympic opener against Zambia with a leg injury, U.S. Soccer announced just 90 minutes before Thursday’s match.
Shaw was replaced in the matchday squad by roster alternate Croix Bethune, who earned her first two USWNT caps in this month’s friendlies against Mexico and Costa Rica.
No USWNT official had indicated prior to Thursday that Shaw was suffering from any injury. The San Diego Wave star played against Mexico and Costa Rica, coming off the bench in the second half in both matches.
Shaw did suffer a leg injury with the Wave back in May, but only missed one NWSL game before she was able to return later in the month.
According to ESPN, Shaw was injured in training the day before the match against Zambia, and U.S. officials don’t believe the problem is serious.
Forward Jaedyn Shaw (leg injury) is unavailable for the match against Zambia and will be replaced on today’s 18-player roster by alternate Croix Bethune.
— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) July 25, 2024
If Shaw isn’t seriously hurt, head coach Emma Hayes could take advantage of a new roster rule to bring the forward back at some point during the tournament.
This Olympics, roster alternates are able to replace injured players on a game-by-game basis. That means Hayes could bring Shaw back whenever she is fit, moving Bethune back to her alternate role.
Shaw made her USWNT debut in October and quickly established herself as one of the team’s top attacking players. This spring, Shaw became the first player to ever score a goal in each of her first five USWNT starts.
Overall, Shaw has seven goals in 16 caps for the U.S. so far.
The NWSL’s iron woman is set for a long spell on the sidelines
The NWSL’s iron woman is set for a long spell on the sidelines.
Chicago Red Stars defender Sam Staab suffered a torn Achilles in last weekend’s Summer Cup match against NJ/NY Gotham FC, the NWSL club has announced.
“We are disheartened to learn the extent of Sam’s injury,” said Red Stars general manager Richard Feuz.
“Over her short time with the club, Sam has fully committed herself to her teammates and been a wonderful leader on and off the pitch. As Sam begins the recovery process, we will ensure that we provide the support she needs so she can rest and focus on her health.”
The club did not provide a timetable for Staab’s return, but a torn Achilles typically sidelines a player for around 9-12 months.
Staab joined the Red Stars in an offseason trade with the Washington Spirit, where she played every minute of a NWSL season on three separate occasions.
Last season, Staab set a new NWSL record for most consecutive regular-season starts at 84.
After years spent just outside the U.S. women’s national team picture, Staab finally earned her first national team caps in a pair of June friendlies against South Korea.
The U.S. kicks off its quest for a first gold medal since 2012
The U.S. women’s national team kicks off its quest for Olympic gold against Zambia on Thursday.
Just two months after taking over as USWNT head coach, Emma Hayes will make her major tournament debut as her side opens Group B play with its first-ever meeting against the Copper Queens.
Zambia is led by superstar forward Barbra Banda, a player Hayes recently called the “best striker in the world right now.” Banda has 12 goals in 12 NWSL games for the Orlando Pride this season.
Banda scored two hat tricks at the Olympics in 2021, also scoring at the 2023 World Cup as Zambia failed to advance out of the group stage on both occasions.
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The USWNT will be aiming for its first gold medal since 2012, having lost to Sweden in the quarterfinal in 2016 before falling against Canada in the semifinal in 2021.
Hayes will be sweating on the fitness of midfielder Rose Lavelle, who was a late scratch for the team’s send-off game against Costa Rica last week due to tightness in her groin.
After this match, the USWNT will face Germany and Australia in Group B.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.
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Press and Tobin Heath agreed that there is currently a vacancy
The 2024 Olympics will provide the U.S. women’s national team with a chance for redemption after a disastrous World Cup last summer, but it will also give individual players an opportunity to become the face of the team.
That is according to Christen Press and Tobin Heath, who both agreed that the current iteration of the USWNT — unlike most moments in program history — is missing a true superstar.
The USWNT will kick off the 2024 Olympics on Thursday with a match against Zambia, with further group-stage games to come against Germany and Australia.
Emma Hayes’ side will be looking for its first major tournament win since the 2019 World Cup — a competition in which Press and Heath starred — after falling short at the Olympics in 2021 and the 2023 World Cup.
Speaking on The Re-CAP show, Press said that Hayes’ exclusion of Alex Morgan from the Olympic roster will provide a chance for a new face of the team to emerge.
“You’re talking about the face of the team, and that’s a role and that’s a responsibility,” the Angel City FC forward said. “So you’re talking about a player that not only has to perform and be outstanding and generally score goals, but also has to really represent the team off the field.
“It’s the person who gets all the sponsorships, it’s the person that does all the press conferences. There’s kind of a plight to that and then there’s obviously a lot of economic upside and stardom and fame, so there’s good and bad and ugly.
“Alex not being on the roster is a very interesting place for the team because if you think of the U.S. women’s national team history, you’ve got Mia [Hamm], Abby [Wambach], Alex and all of these players really bled into each other and before the player rolled off, the next one had already emerged.
Jul 24, 2021; Saitama, Japan; United States forward Christen Press (11) celebrates her goal against New Zealand with forward Alex Morgan (13) during the second half in group G play during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Saitama Stadium. Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Network
“But with the last World Cup performance being so poor, and without any of the players really having that big moment, there’s kind of this vacancy and it’s a huge opportunity looking into this tournament. Who’s going to rise to the occasion?”
Heath echoed the sentiments of Press, saying that the Olympics will be a chance for the USWNT to provide the country with a player it can truly embrace.
“I think our country craves having a superstar,” Heath said. “We don’t have teams where like, everybody’s just kind of good and some players will kind of be better at some point than others. No, our country is born on sports superstars. And right now, that’s up for the taking in my opinion. Our superstar could be made.”
The defender backed her teammate, but admitted the situation has been hard for her as a gay player
U.S. women’s national team defender Tierna Davidson admitted that the controversy surrounding Korbin Albert has been difficult for her and the team, but backed her teammate to learn and grow from the experience.
Albert was forced to apologize in March after fans discovered she had shared anti-LGBTQ+ content on her TikTok account.
Though Albert has been called out by USWNT players past and present, she has continued to play a major role on the team and has been named to the 18-player roster for the Olympics.
Also on that roster is Davidson, who is expected to start at center back when the USWNT kicks off the tournament on Thursday against Zambia.
Davidson, who is gay, spoke out on how she has been affected by the controversy surrounding Albert.
“It’s a difficult situation that has obviously affected me personally, given what she was speaking on,” the NJ/NY Gotham FC defender said in an appearance on “Good Game with Sarah Spain” from iHeartPodcast on the company’s Women’s Sports Audio Network.
“I think that it is something that you have to learn as a young player, especially with the platform that you’re given, is your beliefs or how you choose to express certain things is very public. And people do look and listen.”
Echoing USWNT head coach Emma Hayes, Davidson said that Albert is doing work behind the scenes to learn about the affect of her actions. Though Davidson admitted the situation has impacted the USWNT negatively, she insisted that Albert can “change and evolve” through the process of learning.
“I think that she has gone through a lot of learning since then,” Davidson said. “And she has to continue to do that, as we all do. As humans, we have to learn from what we do in our lives, and how people react to it and understand the hurt that we can cause.
“I think that it’s difficult because as a team, we have always wanted to be very welcoming to all of our fans, to all players that walk through the locker room. And so, to have that in our space is very difficult. But I have always believed in the ability for people to learn, and for people to change and to evolve. And that sometimes requires a very difficult experience, which I think this is that moment for her.”
Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Albert has continued to be the subject of boos at home matches, and Davidson has expressed her hope that fans always feel welcome when supporting the USWNT.
“It’s been hard to hear how fans have been taking it because I feel like I want to be able to represent the queer community really well on this team,” she said. “And so I want to have fans feel really welcome and feel like they can see themselves on this field, in this team. And so I don’t want there to be any sort of feeling that they are not welcome here.”
Davidson admitted it hasn’t been easy to share a locker room with Albert, but expressed her willingness to help the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder through the situation.
“She’s one of my teammates, and I respect that and I respect her as a player,” Davidson said. “But it is something that you have to go through [in] life. You encounter and work with people that you don’t always agree with, but you want to try and help people to change, you want to try and help them love and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
The playmaker’s status for the USWNT’s Olympics opener appears to be in the air
U.S. women’s national team head coach Emma Hayes has said her “sole focus” is on ensuring Rose Lavelle is fit to face Zambia in Thursday’s Olympic opener.
Lavelle was named in the starting lineup for last week’s Olympic send-off friendly against Costa Rica, but was a late scratch after dealing with tightness in her groin.
The NJ/NY Gotham FC star has been in excellent form and her ability as an attacking midfielder is crucial for the USWNT — especially after Catarina Macario was forced out of the Olympics with a knee injury.
On Tuesday, two days ahead of the team’s Olympic opener, Hayes told the media that “everybody’s available for selection as of today” for the match against Zambia.
But the coach also indicated that the fitness of Lavelle isn’t a sure thing.
“My only focus is on winning the first game,” Hayes said. “It’s always a mistake when you think or talk in any other way. You have to win the first game. You then have to compete to win the second, you then have to win the group and only then can you be in a position to discuss anything else. For me, our sole focus is on getting Rose right for the Zambia game.”
Should Lavelle be unable to face Zambia, Hayes could take advantage of a new roster rule to replace the 29-year-old.
This Olympics, roster alternates are able to replace injured players on a game-by-game basis. That means Hayes could replace Lavelle on the roster for Zambia, and then bring Lavelle back for the team’s second game if she’s fit.
If Hayes opts to replace Lavelle with one of her four alternates, Washington Spirit rookie star Croix Bethune appears to be the most likely option as a like-for-like change. The other two non-goalkeeper alternates are defender Emily Sams and midfielder Hal Hershfelt.
The USWNT legend is still hoping to see more from Emma Hayes’ side
Ali Krieger is optimistic that the U.S. women’s national team can bring home an Olympic gold medal, but admitted she still feels “there’s something missing” ahead of the tournament in France.
In its first games under new coach Emma Hayes, the USWNT easily beat South Korea 3-0 and 4-0 last month. But the team’s final pre-Olympics friendlies weren’t quite as simple.
The USWNT narrowly beat an ever-improving Mexico side before only managing a scoreless draw against Costa Rica — the first time in 18 all-time meetings that the USWNT didn’t beat Las Ticas.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the launch of “Futbol W” on ESPN, former USWNT star Krieger spoke about the difference she’s seen from the team since Hayes took over.
“I think there’s more of an attacking-minded mentality, a more attacking identity in our team,” Krieger said. “I still believe when I watch the games there’s something missing, I can’t pinpoint it. I think we do have the ability to continue to score more goals. I think people are just kind of getting comfortable and building those relationships on the field, which takes time.”
While the USWNT back line has appeared settled for some time, further up the field there are more concerns about a lack of familiarity. Hayes’ preferred attacking trio of Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson only started once together before the two friendlies this month.
Hayes has now settled on a preferred lineup, with one or two potential modifications. For Krieger, that will be a major benefit for the USWNT ahead of its first Olympics match against Zambia on Thursday.
“[Hayes has] now had a consistent lineup the past two or three games, which is good to see because that’s what I’m talking about with those relationships next to you, behind you, in front of you,” Krieger said. “You have to really build that in order to have that communication and that confidence within each other.”
Following the game against Zambia, the U.S. will also face Germany and Australia in group play before it hopes to move on to the quarterfinal. As the team seeks its first gold medal since 2012, Krieger is hoping to see performances that grow as the tournament goes forward.
“I still think there’s a little bit more that hopefully we will see throughout the tournament, so don’t expect the team to play great from the very beginning,” she said. “Yes, you don’t want to lose the first game. You want to set yourself up for success for the rest of the tournament, but hopefully the style of play and the identity will continue to grow throughout the tournament.
“I have faith that the U.S. can can get out of the group and and hopefully be successful the rest of the way, but we will see in this group-stage play what they can bring individually, and then as as a group.”
The team’s first two games after the Olympics have been announced
The U.S. women’s national team has announced a pair of October friendlies against Iceland, with a third match to be announced at a later date.
The three games will be the team’s first after the Olympics, which kick off on Thursday with a match against Zambia.
The USWNT will take on Iceland on October 24 at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, before facing the same opponent on October 27 at Geodis Park in Nashville, Tennessee.
The third match will take place on October 30, with the opponent and venue to be announced soon.
Iceland, which per the FIFA rankings is 14th in the world and eighth in Europe, will be available for the October FIFA window after qualifying for Euro 2025 and avoiding UEFA’s playoffs.
Þorsteinn Halldórsson’s side beat Germany 3-0 earlier this month, making a major statement ahead of next year’s European Championship.
It will be the fifth consecutive Euros for Iceland, which is still awaiting its first appearance at a World Cup.
The USWNT and Iceland most recently met in February 2022, with the U.S. securing a 5-0 win in the SheBelieves Cup.
