Three dark-horse USWNT roster contenders. Plus: Chelsea’s troubles

Share article Full Time Newsletter ⚽| This is The Athletic’s weekly women’s soccer newsletter. Sign up here to receive Full Time directly in your inbox. Think big. Be bold. Do a front-flip throw-in when your team is down 3-1 in the 85th minute like Orlando Pride’s Kerry Abello. Talk about confidence. Let’s start with a quick recap of the Americans’ weekend. We are only a few weeks away from the U.S. women’s national team’s trip to Brazil, where it will play the 2027 Women’s World Cup host in a pair of friendlies. Though Emma Hayes has not invited uncapped players to national team camp this year, the route to a roster spot for 2027 is still wide open. Even more so with a recent string of injuries to key U.S. starters: Olivia Moultrie (calf), Naomi Girma (calf), Rose Lavelle (hamstring) and now Sam Coffey (knee) are all doubtful for the trip. With about one-third of the NWSL season in the books, Hayes has had plenty of time to assess players who’ve missed out on recent camps (some even longer than that) but whose club performances are making strong cases for reconsideration. Of note, Catarina Macario has yet to make her debut for San Diego while the 26-year-old continues to rehab from the same leg injury that kept her out of Chelsea’s squad before her move to the Wave. We’ll likely see next week who’s getting roster spots. While recovery is important, it would be a bummer not to see Macario return to her U.S. scoring ways in her other home country of Brazil. Chicago Stars forward Mallory Swanson made her long-awaited NWSL return Saturday night after more than a year away due to maternity leave. She played the final 20 minutes of the loss to North Carolina. Her return comes amid a growing baby boom across the league (Swanson is one of 28 mothers on active NWSL rosters) and at a crucial moment for a Stars team desperate for the return of its most dangerous goal scorer. Chicago has a long way back from the bottom of the table. It currently sit in last place, with just six points from 10 games. Collectively, the team has only scored four goals and conceded 22. Welcome back, indeed! After claiming the WSL title for the last six seasons, Chelsea’s domestic reign officially ended this weekend. They finished third in the league behind Arsenal and new WSL winners Manchester City, which means Chelsea are not guaranteed a spot in the Champions League next season. And yet those facts fail to capture the magnitude of the uncomfortable transition the storied club faces. The first wake-up call to Chelsea’s new era was its 5-1 defeat to City in February, which directly followed a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal and preceded the firing of longtime respected sporting director Paul Green. Several player departures followed, including that of Macario, whom Chelsea sold to the Wave, and club veteran Norwegian international Guro Reiten, who signed with Gotham FC. Two other major Chelsea figures bid farewell to the club this weekend: their all-time leading goal scorer Kerr and captain Millie Bright, who retired on April 29. Despite the optimism provided by key and rising star players like Lauren James, Alyssa Thompson and Veerle Buurman, Chelsea must use this summer to sort themselves out internally and make significant signings to revive their winning ways and monster mentality. The final day of the 2025-26 WSL season felt like more of a formality, as Manchester City had already claimed their crown, and last-place Leicester City have long been focused on next weekend’s playoff against WSL 2 team Charlton Athletic to try to maintain their grip on a WSL spot next year. If you want a quick rewind, former Chelsea and England winger Karen Carney reviewed the season for us. With the final whistle gone, the focus turns swiftly to this summer’s transfer window. Where will Khadija “Bunny” Shaw end up? How will Georgia Stanway fit into Arsenal’s plan? Now that Kerr, Beth Mead and Katie McCabe have said goodbye to Chelsea and Arsenal, will an NWSL team swoop in? Stay tuned. Before we go, three words to describe this season from women’s soccer writers Cerys Jones and Charlotte Harpur: 📺 UWCL final: Barcelona vs. OL Lyonnes Saturday at noon ET on Paramount+ Player talent plays a large role in Barcelona and OL Lyonnes’ UEFA Women’s Champions League dominance, but so does investment. It’s the eight-time champions OL Lyonnes against the three-time champions Barcelona. The last time these teams met was the 2023-24 final. Coach Jonatan Giráldez led Barcelona to victory that day, but this weekend, he will be on the opposite sideline, backed by Michele Kang’s investment in Lyon. From the sideline to the pitch, where Lindsey Heaps and (possibly) Alexia Putellas take the field one last time for their respective clubs, this final is bound to produce some fireworks. Cinematic. From the player: Rachel Daly, 34, has scored in four separate team debuts and is more than capable of incredible goal scoring, yet has constantly had to re-establish herself as a proven winner. The Aston Villa player sat down with Megan Feringa to analyze some of her career highlights and explain how she handled every football position thrown at her. Will she stay or go? At Manchester City’s trophy celebration, fans very loudly chanted, “We want Bunny to stay,” referring to the uncertain future of striker and three-years-running WSL Golden Boot winner Shaw. Megan writes how keeping her is not that simple. Disconnect: Ever wish you could totally disconnect from the time-wasting, brainmelting chaos that is the internet, but don’t want to miss the must-read stories in women’s soccer? We have actual physical media you need to read: Snatch, a new women’s sports magazine that wants you to step away from the algorithm. Read more. Popping bottles: Former German international Alexandra Popp ended her 14-year run with Wolfsburg in style, with an ice-cold German beer on the sideline moments after subbing off (see below). The 34-year-old won the Champions League three times and the Frauen-Bundesliga seven times with the club. She now joins third-tier side Borussia Dortmund on a three-year contract. Prost to you, Popp! 📫 Love Full Time? These stories can also be found on Yahoo’s women’s sports hub, in partnership with The Athletic. Also, check out our other newsletters. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms