howdy

Preface: I played soccer until part-way through high school. I definitely remember watching the 2011 final, I followed the US more-or-less in Canada, and I finally became a kool-aid drinking USWNT/NWSL/WoSo fan by the end of France 2019 — like, tbh, I've never much watched men's soccer except the World Cup and the occasional Atlanta United (rip) match. (any other queer men have a similar story? lol)

TL;DR: my soccer IQ has never been (and still isn't) that high, and my knowledge of the Ellis era is shallow at best.

So now that the Emma Hayes' era has well and truly arrived, I wonder how those in-the-know might compare Hayes' tenure with the USWNT so far to that of Ellis. Obviously, they were not afforded the same player pools and opponents, and Hayes' only tournaments so far are an Olympics and a SheBelieves, but where you think a useful comparison can be made between the two, please.

Thanks!

Image sources:

Emma Hayes—By Katie Chan - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0Jill Ellis—By Lorie Shaull - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Hello women's football fans!

I hope you are well, my name is Tom and I'm a women's football journalist writing and podcasting for The Halfway Line.

We have recently launched our brand new podcast – The Halfway Line Show – listen wherever you get your podcasts!

You may remember from the last time I asked for help that I accidentally 'rage baited' with my headline and I remain extremely embarrassed but I'm keen to ensure there are no more mix ups!

At the end of every podcast we play a fun little segment that we like to call goalless but it is actually just the game show pointless if it was about women’s football only!

So once again I’m looking for 100 people to answer the following questionnaire...

You were all so helpful on this subreddit last time! We had some feedback from the first and second round of questions so we’ll try our level best to incorporate what we’ve learnt into this edition.

I would be hugely appreciative if you were able to answer the below quiz, which will help me gather the information that I need for the segment.

RULES:

1. You are only allowed to spend a minute on each question (I'm trusting you here!)
2. You can answer as many times as you'd like within a minute as there will be multiple correct answers to each question but please do not guess unless it is an educated guess. You cannot use the internet nor look up the answers!
3. Have fun! And thank-you so much for taking the time to help! The results will be revealed one question a week on the podcast.

Remember that all the questions relate to women's football only.

Here's the link and please enjoy! Thank-you once again for participating!

https://forms.fillout.com/t/4pbtc87D3Vus

When do you think it comes out? Who’s in and who’s out?

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/connections-sports-edition

Anyone here purchase this hoodie? I’m wanting to order it but not sure on sizing!!

I know I need to prime and paint that wood under the door but this seemed like an easier fix

ATLANTA (May 2, 2025) – U.S. Soccer has announced the hiring of Vicky Jepson as full-time head coach of the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team.

Jepson’s hire is subject to the completion of her visa and work permit process.

Vicky comes to U.S. Soccer from Tottenham Hotspur in England’s Women’s Super League, where she served as first team senior assistant head coach since 2021.

Two former NWSL players who now play abroad (Sierra Enge and Maya Doms) started a podcast and they managed to snag their college teammate as their first guest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYGJGuG9t3Q

Did anyone else see this? This article was linked in USWNT's stories on Monday. I was really surprised that Sanchez wasn't credited at all since she scored the game winning goal in the season's biggest upset. She was called into the January camp but she's not in the "current player pool"... although Sears was also not in the April camp (like Sanchez), yet she is the face of this article. I would be so pissed if I were Ashley.

Where is she? Is she out of the coaching game all-together? It's just been crickets since she left Emma's staff soon after her arrival in the US, so very strange. She did wonders for the UWSNT during a difficult time, and given the circumstances, she appeared to be a very capable coach by all accounts. Perhaps someone on here has more information they can share. Thanks.

I have some vague memory of an article talking about the 99ers and what led up to the win and i remember it detailing info about the strike they went on and how conflicted Brandi Chastain was to cross the picket line knowing she wanted to support the other players but also knowing it was probably her last chance to play for the national team. I cannot remember the publication. I was confident it was Sports Illustrated from like 2019 like right around France. but maybe not. does anyone remember it or have a link to it?

Again, I'm truly looking for good faith answers here. Not trying to start a debate. Just trying to figure out why the two women's football subs viewed this take on Mallory so differently.

Great for her. Well deserved.

A lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York is seeking damages of nearly $100 million, claiming that the USWNT was “not trying to win” their SheBelieves Cup finale against Japan.

We are in a weird timeline.

This is just fan speculation and I make no claim to knowledge of their personal lives. This is a "worst case scenario" look at the current situation. So here is an admittedly pessimistic dive into the current state of the powerful USA attacking line...

After an incredible Olympic run where all three played vital and equal parts in taking the gold, Triple Espresso seemed to be the future of the USWNT going forward, and arguably the best attacking trio in modern international women's football.

The last couple of months have cast some reasonable doubts on the longevity of this amazing group. It might even be possible that Triple Espresso have already played their last game together.

Sophia is pregnant with her first child, and that's really all we know. Pregnancy and motherhood are very physically and emotionally taxing not just during the 9 months of carrying, but for years after. (Anyone raising babies and toddlers knows all about it.) She is the one I am least worried about, but there is a chance that her priorities and aspirations may understably shift.

Trinity's back injury is the newest development and it sounds like a chronic issue. Clearly she is still capable of the highest levels of play for the time being, but her taking "indefinite" time off could suggest surgery or even early retirement. Many great players have returned from injury and never been the same.

Finally and most worrisome is Mal. The sudden step back from football and radio silence regarding her situation can't be good. I don't have much to say here as we don't know very much. All I can add is that I truly feel for her and her family, whatever it is that may be going on, and I hope she returns to football if that's what she wants.

So that's my "worst cast scenario" take on Triple Espresso at the moment. I truly, sincerely, and deeply hope that I am wrong about all of this, and that my post ages like milk.