Keeper Notes

FIFA World Cup 26 - Media - Match Schedule

World Cup sked now available:
fwc26.assets.fifa.com/en/match_sch...

IN HOUSTON
Jun 14: Germany v Curaçao
Jun 17: Portugal v FIFA 1 winner
Jun 20: Netherlands v UEFA B winner
Jun 23: Portugal v Uzbekistan
Jun 26: Cape Verde v Saudi Arabia
Jun 29: Rd 32 C winner v F runner-up
July 4: Rd of 16

Fort Lauderdale, FL - World Sevens Football Fort Lauderdale, FL is live now. Follow the action as elite clubs compete in 7v7 format for a $5M prize pool. View live standings, fixtures, and match results.

Stanford & Florida State return to the College Cup final — it's a rematch of the 2023 final, when Seminoles beat the Cardinal 5-1.

The final will be Monday 6 pm CT in KC. Watch on ESPNU!

Meanwhile, World 7s continues tomorrow w/all teams playing 2 games:
www.worldsevensfootball.com/tournament/f...

I present to you the @sandiegowavefc.com team that got their first World Sevens win 🌊

The World Cup groups are set!

But keep in mind the schedule won’t be confirmed til tomorrow:

www.fifa.com/en/tournamen...

World Cup 2026 draw: updates as the teams await fate in Washington DC – live ⚽ Washington DC draw due at 5.55pm GMT / 12.55pm local ⚽ Draw explainer | Qualifiers | Follow on Bluesky | Mail John Benjamin gets in touch: “I am webmaster of www.national-football-teams.com ! “As you can imagine, draw day is quite something when international football is one of your things. I want to chip in on possible groups of death. These are the two of the hardest groups I could come up with: Argentina Morocco Norway Italy (If they qualify) Spain Colombia Ivory Coast Denmark (If they qualify) Canada Austria Qatar Cape Verde Belgium Iran South Africa Curacao Continue reading...

World Cup 2026 draw: updates as the teams await fate in Washington DC – live

Alan Rothenberg on the World Cup’s most iconic draw: How Las Vegas set a ‘big event’ tone for 1994 - Soccer America That a nation without a soccer pro league would pull off such a successful World Cup was far from certain when Rothenberg was put in charge in 1990.

In his upcoming memoir, World Cup 1994 CEO and U.S. Soccer president at the time, Alan Rothenberg, recounts the star-studded Las Vegas spectacle that set the standard for World Cup Draws ever since.

@mikewoitalla.bsky.social
www.socceramerica.com/alan-rothenb...

Catch the draw for next summer’s BroSo World Cup at the Phoenix on Westheimer in Houston — Friday 11 am CT.

Draw airs live on Fox, FIFA.com, Telemundo.

$10 fish & chips lunch special!

Handy World Cup draw worksheet:

bsky.app/profile/gold...

Woso fans need to take FRIDAY off:
(all times CT)

Worlds 7s on DAZN/HBOMax
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
4p KC vs Flamengo
5p Cali vs San Diego
6p Tigres vs Toronto
7p America vs Nacional

College Cup semis on ESPNU
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
5p FSU vs TCU
7:45p Duke vs Stanford

image showing the celebrities doing the FIFA World Cup draw including Eli Manning, Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Aaron Judge, and Shaquille O'Neal.

This is going to be so god damned funny

The best stay in Boston. Welcome to the Legacy, Sophia Lowenberg 🦢

A minor BroSo intermission —

This Friday is the draw for the 2026 World Cup, live on FOX, FIFA+ app, FIFA.com.

If you're in Houston, watch on the BIG SCREEN at @PhoenixBrewpub 11 am CT. Friday specials — $10 fish & chips, $6 Guiness pints.

Downloadable World Cup draw worksheet:
bit.ly/3KbDG6V

Denver Summit FC Signs Two-Time NWSL Champion Abby Smith Denver Summit FC announced today the signing of goalkeeper Abby Smith, a two-time NWSL Champion and U.S. international, ahead of the club’s inaugural season in 2026. Smith joins Summit FC after a dist...

SMITH TO THE SUMMIT ⛰️

We’ve signed goalkeeper Abby Smith through the 2027 season with a 2028 option. www.denversummitfc.com/blogs/news/d...

⏪ to 2018 when Haley Carter won a Kan Jam tournament as a member of the Spirit Squadron! 🤩🤗

Now she’s our President of Soccer Operations!

Germany host nation

Germany will host the UEFA Women's EURO 2029

Thrilled to announce the addition of Haley Carter as our new President of Soccer Operations! 🤗

Welcome to D.C., Haley! 💪 #RiseUp

And your nominees for 2025 @ussoccer.com Female Player of the Year are....

Vote Here: ussoc.cr/2025voting

Wiesner gets her first USWNT start, Dickey stays in goal, Heaps with the armband.

Head on over to the Phoenix on Westheimer in Houston to watch the last USA game of 2025!

The USWNT take on Italy. Match airs live at 6 pm CT on HBOMax/TBS (English) and Universo/Peacock (Spanish).

And again, unclear how involved Markgraf was.

We’ll probably always go back to “what ifs”
for 2023!

USWNT allowed 1 goal in 4 games. Defense not main issue, though I would’ve used Ertz as def mid.

Kinda reminds me of 2019 NWSL final when injuries forced Dames to choose between CB backups or moving Ertz out of mid to backline.

He moved her back, Chicago lost — because Ertz was crucial to attack.

I’m thinking maybe **lack** of change played a part.

Also, after today’s game, imagine a 2023 WWC with a healthy Swanson AND Macario!?!

I know he had a little more freedom than Ellis, based on the timing of first big changes to CBA.

It’s unclear how much say GM had over the roster + Vlatko inherited squad of 2x WWC winners who didn’t want to retire.

Maybe if Olympics weren’t delayed, we’d have seen a very different 2023 team.

that sentiment limited options for sure, esp. when USWNT lost nearly a year of development due to Covid.

Imagine if we got to see the 2020 u-20 WWC get played … Rodman, Smith, Fishel, Girma, Nighswonger coached by Laura Harvey!

It’s also notable that Vlatko reported to a USWNT general manager (Kate Markgraf) while Emma Hayes does not. The GM role was eliminated after 2023 WWC.

Years ago when I had the good fortune to be seated next to Julie Foudy at a dinner, I asked about the original CBA — because at the time, “contract” vs “more opportunities for all players” was becoming an issue.

She said re first CBA “we were just trying to get paid!”

nah, USWNTPA … NWSLPA has no say in it.

good guess! She was capped in 1993.

It was Jill Rutten who was capped in 1998.

Don’t forget “CBA that eliminated contracts which limited callups & no longer required USWNT players to stay in NWSL”

Hayes has more freedom than any USWNT coach since April Heinrichs more than 20 years ago, when USWNT CBA was in its infancy.

And thank god for u23 camps, etc.

And Kate Wiesner is player #285 to earn a s USWNT cap!

Hayes' first-cap total is 27 players in 29 games (since June 2024). This would not be possible without growth of the NWSL.

1st caps by coach (most recent):

Kilgore 6 (2023-24)
Andonovski 18 (2019-23)
Ellis 30 (2014-19)
Sermanni 12 (2013-14)

Jameese Joseph subs on and becomes the 284th player to earn a senior USWNT cap.

The Chicago Stars forward is the 32nd player to earn her first cap since the 2023 WWC, and the 26th to do so under Emma Hayes.

She's the first NC State player capped by the USWNT since 1998!