๐ง๐ฉ0-5๐ฐ๐ต
a lot more launch & squish this time around from DPRK, but effective nonetheless. Kim Kyong-yong has escalated to being THE standout player both technically & mentally (finding space) of the strike pairing, while Yu-jong is in a solid lead for my player of the tournament
๐ฎ๐ท0-4๐ฆ๐บ
a more comfortable result on the scoreline for australia that saw their attacking chemistry grow a lot - great team move on goal 2 & sequence from ellie carpenter to set up goal 1. everybody on this team continues to look strong as expected the first pair of games
uhh yeah awards
coach of the year: straus
gkoty: akb
doty: gisele, with a lot of discourse of what doty should or shouldn't be
golden boot: banda
mvp: this will probably go banda too but shouts to kundananji & tiernan
1: Gotham
Probably stupid of me to bet on the bats having Shield consistency, but the talent of this squad mixed in with manager longer tenured than a lot of other teams I have near the top lands them here. Just so damn great in every single position on the pitch.
2: Angel City
I'm buying a ton into what Straus is trying to do with a full offseason. I adore the additions: Sams, Sugita, Borges. I have Tiernan getting into a real elite tier in 2026.
This team deserves to make their stadium a fortress & i think they finally might this year
I am very excited for Adrian to finally get a full season & i think it will result in either the NWSL Championship or even better for my money, the Continental Cup down in Mexico. I'm not actually low on this team, only slightly lower in the table than most others
3: Spirit
They've got the best centerbacks & holding midfielders in the league. Probably the best depth in attack, but for some reason I'm feeling hesitant on the top end talent there (trinity's back scares in November & last week are a huge part of this in my head).
I am a little scared of the Sams departure but generally i think the great defense is more system than one standout centerback. Also, just get ready for another season of me shouting about how Angelina is one of the best holding midfielders in this whole damn league
4: Pride
Bunker-counter teams all eventually have to evolve to more possession to sustain success, i think Pride planted seeds so well for that last year in Ovalle & a lot more attacking fullbacks giving more horizontal service to Banda rather than being so vertical.
5: Current
i think this'll be a valley for KC (as in, back to Top 4 in 2027). a lot of questions leave me with reservations right now, though. When is Temwa back? How is Sentnor going to adjust to being a real 9 if that is the plan? Is Armas good?
note: i hope Croix is a lot more 8-y than 10-y
6: Bay
Big questions about the defense, but i love the pieces further up the field & a team that's finally montoyaless. Girelli is one of my favorites from europe & what more can i say about Hutton that others haven't.
Also, give me Racheal Kundananji as an MVP finalist this year
i have this weird & somewhat unfounded hope that we immediately become a tactical extreme in the league particularly in dogmatic possession. I'm so excited to finally have a team & you can't shake me out of parlaying that into an unreasonably high prediction
7: Legacy
my first chance to be a Homer in a prediction, of course I'm taking it! I'm excited about our coach, the bold possession i hope to be playing, & the marquee signing being my favorite player from Copa America.
I'm all in on coaching & a system making up for a lack of league experience
8: Dash
my Trust The Process team, i was on the money predicting an improved 2025 without the playoffs so I'll bet on some more linear-ish progression from the group.
i am a huge Lisa Boattin fan - the move has me dreaming of a team with fullbacks bombing forward & focally creating
9: Courage
Planting my flag down on a big Ashley Sanchez season, hopefully given the keys to the 10 without the awkward fit with Jaedyn last year. It sounds like the incoming coach wants to keep things end to end & direct, suiting their best players in her & Manaka
10: Royals
solid gap from 11th, i think Royals finish here but enter Decision Day mathematically alive. I'm buying into the Fall improvement we saw from a team who simply looked more cohesive without their best player ripping it from 30' all the time
11: Reign
i don't always buy into signs of regression but definitely am here as they're another team to get Found Out more. i do think the attack makes looks better for this team without Huitema as an awkward fit, but yeah that defensive wall is not holding up the same if you ask me
12: Racing Louisville
i think they needed to level up more this offseason, i predict they get Found Out a lot more. the against-the-ball structure is still the right path for a club that spends so little & keeps their floor above the ground.
Sears also on my list of hunches to move midseason
13: Summit
A safe spot for the biggest "who knows?" i have. i think they are a bottom 2 roster pre-Heaps but a strong home atmosphere carries them a lot imo.
they're putting down really good roots with the youth investment, though. if the plan is to peak when for the new stadium, i like the start
14: Thorns
I'm excited for Wilson & Weaver but I am also extremely wary of returns after long absences. Their captain & heart of midfield is gone & I have this unshakable hunch that Moultrie could depart midseason. The comically late coaching hire? Be fucking for real, come on
15: Wave
Armstrong starting on SEI has me pretty spooked; Ludmila was one of my favorite players in 2025, but i have doubts about how she fits going from the Starts to a team that led the league in possession last year.
Also, it's just really fun to root against eidevall
16: Stars
Sjogren sounds like he wants to get Chicago a lot more of the ball than they've used in recent history. If so, great news for Staab enjoyers but i worry about the rest of the squad's ability to flip that switch, particularly in midfield. If not, they aren't too different from last year
My 2026 NWSL Prediction Thread, ascending order of my standings:
Japan's breakthrough goal actually came from a rare instance where the ball into the box was more vertical than horizontal.
I would be really excited to see this Japan team in the knockout rounds given more space in behind for their players to make use of
๐ฏ๐ต2-0๐น๐ผ Japan brought a suffocating 4-2-4 but Chinese Taipei defended very well in the box given the amount of service they had to deal with. The best chances came from getting the ball at the feet of the outside mids, Aoba Fujino & Maika Hamano, to run at players out wide
i do want to give a shoutout to manisha kalyan who was quite exciting as a one-woman show heading the other direction. India aren't out of this, particularly if they can beat Chinese Taipei, & should keep trying to feed her
๐ป๐ณ2-1๐ฎ๐ณ the more dangerous team won but shots on goal were hard to come by for both teams. Vietnam's most consistent threat was actually from Cรน Thแป Huแปณnh Nhฦฐ who unleashed some fantastic hoofs over the top from RCB for teammates, including on the last minute goal that will be PIVOTAL in this group
wow lol i only now realized the playback is not working on non-youtube sites. whoops! open the link in a new tab to see the streams, sometimes i have them at least start on a goal or something
shoutout to Asian Cup for streaming these on youtube in the US. i have yet to catch a live game but the VODs really allow me to engage with these teams in full
overall Group B was a lot more fun than Group A in my opinion - one of the losers was still exciting & the two winners were tactically much more interesting than Australia or Korea Republic thus far
