USWNT Stars Eye Silverware in the WSL
Emily Fox is not in England to ease her way into the season. She’s here to collect silverware.
“I think you have to go for all of them,” the USWNT defender told ESPN ahead of the new WSL campaign. Domestic trophies, European nights, everything on the table. “If you want to be the best, you have to go for it and be all in.”
Arsenal know how thin the margins are. One league defeat last season. Six draws. That was enough to hand the title to Manchester City and leave the Gunners staring at a table that said “nearly” instead of “champions.” This year, every point feels loaded.
The final preseason hit-out offered a glimpse of their intent. Arsenal tore through Charlton Athletic 5-1 on Wednesday, sharp, ruthless, and already humming. Fox started on the bench, but once she came on at right back in the second half, she wasted no time. Driving forward, she forced Charlton goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse into a save and immediately tilted the pitch in Arsenal’s favor down that flank.
This is what Arsenal bought: a 28-year-old elite one-v-one defender who can also run all day, overlap relentlessly and turn defense into attack in a few strides. That dual threat earned her a place in the PFA WSL Team of the Year, and it’s exactly the profile a title-chasing side needs when every mistake, every duel, every sprint can decide a season.
Fox isn’t talking about “targets” or “steps.” She’s talking about trophies. Plural. Arsenal want the lot, and she intends to be right in the middle of that fight.
Coffey’s comeback and City’s title defense
For Sam Coffey, the story of last season ended with a twist that hurt more on the international stage than it did domestically.
An injury late in Manchester City’s campaign ruled her out of the USWNT’s June camp and two friendlies against Brazil in Brazil, a missed opportunity in a crucial stretch for players trying to lock down roles ahead of World Cup qualifying.
The recovery has gathered pace. Coffey logged 45 minutes in a preseason match against Barcelona, a significant step that points toward her being ready when the WSL kicks off. City will welcome that sight.
Her first season in England started quietly. A brief adjustment period, a new league, new rhythm. Then the switch flipped. From January on, Coffey became a consistent starter, making 10 league appearances and helping drive City to their first WSL crown in a decade. She didn’t just fill a gap; she became part of the spine.
Now she enters Year 2 with the benefit of experience and the memory of a title run still fresh. The objectives are blunt and simple: get her rhythm back, rack up minutes, stay fit. With USWNT World Cup qualifying looming this fall, every performance carries double weight — for City’s title defense and for her place in the U.S. midfield picture.
Thompson, the winger Chelsea can’t do without
Chelsea have changed. The squad has shifted, roles have shuffled, and the club is trying to knit together a new version of itself. Amid all that, one thing is clear: Alyssa Thompson is central to their plans.
The winger didn’t need a settling-in period last season. She arrived and went straight at defenders, fearless on the dribble, clever in her movement around the box and ruthless when chances appeared. She scored nine goals in 32 appearances across all competitions in her debut campaign, finishing as Chelsea’s second-highest scorer. Seven of those goals came in the WSL, where she also laid on three assists.
That output earned her a WSL Player of the Season nomination and a spot in the league’s Team of the Season. Numbers, recognition, impact — all in year one.
Her rise has mirrored her trajectory with the USWNT. When wide options such as Mallory Swanson and Sophia Wilson were away on maternity leave, Thompson stepped through the open door and stayed there. She climbed the depth chart and grabbed a starting role out wide, producing four goals and four assists for the U.S. so far.
Now Chelsea lean on her even more. With the club recalibrating, Thompson’s directness, end product and willingness to take responsibility in the final third become non-negotiable. She’s no longer just the exciting new arrival. She’s a pillar.
Girma’s make-or-break stretch at Chelsea
Naomi Girma has a gift: she makes defending look easy. She reads danger before others even sense it, slides into passing lanes, positions herself so that chaos never quite materializes. On the ball, she is just as calm, picking out teammates with crisp, accurate passes that turn defense into the first phase of attack.
Chelsea need that version of Girma to finally take center stage.
So far, her time at the club has stuttered. Injuries, limited minutes, constant stop-start stretches have blocked her from building the chemistry and continuity every back line needs. No one questions her talent. The question has always been whether she can stay on the pitch long enough to show it week after week.
Even last season, Chelsea had to manage her and Millie Bright carefully, with Veerle Buurman shouldering more responsibility than expected as the club navigated through fitness concerns. It was a juggling act, not a settled partnership.
If Girma can string together a sustained run of matches, the ceiling for both player and club jumps significantly. Chelsea are chasing the WSL title they let slip, and a stable, high-level center-back pairing is non-negotiable in that pursuit.
The stakes are just as high with the USWNT. Stay healthy, stay sharp, and Girma should be a first-choice center back for the October fixtures against Spain and into World Cup qualifying. Another disrupted season, and the conversation changes. This stretch feels decisive.
Tullis-Joyce and the fight for the No. 1 shirt
Phallon Tullis-Joyce has already proved one thing: she is one of the safest pairs of hands in the WSL.
Last season, the American goalkeeper made 21 league appearances for Manchester United and kept seven clean sheets. Across all competitions, she recorded 17 shutouts, a number that underlines just how central she was to United’s defensive platform. When United needed stability, she provided it.
Yet the USWNT’s No. 1 jersey is still up for grabs, and Tullis-Joyce hasn’t claimed it outright.
The biggest question mark sits with her distribution. Emma Hayes wants a goalkeeper who can act as an extra defender, comfortable playing out from the back and helping the U.S. control possession instead of simply surviving pressure. Tullis-Joyce has taken steps forward in that area, but United’s more direct style often limits how much she can showcase that side of her game.
This season, the challenge sharpens. Janina Leitzig has arrived from Leicester City, giving United real competition and depth in goal. Every training session, every appearance, every decision with the ball at her feet now feeds into two battles at once: keeping her place at United and convincing Hayes she can be the long-term answer for the national team.
The shot-stopping is proven. The next leap comes with the ball at her boots.
Yohannes steps into the Lyon spotlight
OL Lyonnes have lost a steady heartbeat. With Heaps moving to Denver Summit, one of the club’s most experienced midfielders — the player who could slow a game down, connect phases and sit calmly between defense and attack — is gone.
Into that gap steps a 19-year-old with a rare blend of poise and imagination.
Yohannes already looks like the kind of midfielder teams are built around. Technically polished, she sees passes early, keeps the ball moving and rarely panics under pressure. Last season, her first in Lyon, she scored six goals in all competitions, two of them in the Champions League. UEFA named her Women’s Champions League Revelation of the Season, a title that matched what anyone watching her closely already knew.
She was especially effective alongside Heaps, the veteran presence giving her a platform to roam, create and dictate in bursts. Now, without the USWNT captain, Yohannes may need to assert herself more consistently in the middle of the park.
The tools are there. Her passing range and vision allow her to control tempo, even if Lyon’s midfield depth — Melchie Dumornay, Korbin Albert, Damaris Egurrola, Ingrid Syrstad Engen — means she won’t be asked to become a traditional do-everything No. 8.
Her trajectory points beyond club football. Yohannes is firmly in the mix for the USWNT’s 2027 Women’s World Cup squad, the sort of midfielder who can raise the team’s ceiling while preserving its rhythm when she comes on.
Across England and France, from Fox’s ambition at Arsenal to Yohannes’ rise in Lyon, a core of USWNT talent is stepping into seasons loaded with expectation. The trophies they lift — or miss — over the next months will shape not only club campaigns, but the spine of the United States for years to come.
