USWNT Stars Chasing Glory in the WSL

Emily Fox is not interested in modest targets.

On the eve of the new WSL season, the USWNT defender laid out Arsenal’s plan with no room for misinterpretation. Every competition. Every trophy. All of it.

“I think you have to go for all of them,” Fox told ESPN, framing Arsenal’s season in the simplest possible terms. “If you want to be the best, you have to go for it and be all in.”

Arsenal know how thin the margins are. They lost just once in the league last season, yet six draws dragged them out of the title race and left Manchester City celebrating instead. With that kind of gap, every dropped point this year will feel like a small crisis.

The final preseason tune-up suggested they are ready for the strain. Arsenal cut through Charlton Athletic in a 5-1 win on Wednesday, moving the ball with a sharpness that looked midseason rather than early September.

Fox started on the bench but wasted no time once she came on at right back in the second half. She pushed high, drove at defenders and quickly forced Charlton goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse into a save, a reminder of how dangerous she can be when she steps into the attack.

At 28, Fox is already one of the league’s standout one-on-one defenders, the type who can shut down a winger on an island and then immediately surge down the touchline. That dual threat earned her a place in the PFA WSL Team of the Year, and it is exactly why Arsenal see her as a pillar of this title push.

She is not talking about one trophy. Neither is the club. The Gunners want to sweep the board — and Fox intends to be at the heart of it.

Coffey’s comeback and City’s title defence

When Sam Coffey went down late in Manchester City’s season, the impact was felt most acutely thousands of miles away. The injury ruled the midfielder out of the USWNT’s June camp and two friendlies against Brazil on Brazilian soil, an absence that underlined how quickly she has become part of the national-team core.

The recovery has been steady, and the signs are now promising. Coffey played 45 minutes in a preseason meeting with Barcelona, a significant step that points toward her being available when the WSL kicks off.

Last season was her first in England. It did not take long for her to adapt. After a brief settling-in period following her January arrival, she forced her way into the XI and finished with 10 league appearances, becoming a key cog as City claimed their first WSL crown in a decade.

Now she returns with that experience and a medal, but also with clear priorities. With World Cup qualifying looming for the USWNT this fall, Coffey’s checklist is simple: regain rhythm, stack consistent minutes, stay healthy. If she does that, she strengthens both City’s title defence and the United States’ midfield options in one sweep.

Thompson, the new Chelsea focal point

Chelsea have lived through an offseason of upheaval. One constant they can lean on is a winger who arrived last season and immediately looked built for the stage.

Alyssa Thompson wasted no time announcing herself in blue. She played without fear, attacked defenders relentlessly and showed a ruthless edge in front of goal that Chelsea desperately needed.

By the end of her debut campaign, Thompson had scored nine times in 32 appearances across all competitions, finishing as Chelsea’s second-highest scorer. Seven of those goals came in the WSL, where she also laid on three assists. The league took notice: she earned a nomination for WSL Player of the Season and a place in the Team of the Season.

Her rise has run parallel with her ascent on the international scene. While Mallory Swanson and Sophia Wilson were away on maternity leave, Thompson stepped into the void for the USWNT and did not blink. She climbed the depth chart, grabbed a starting role on the wing and has already produced four goals and four assists for the United States.

Chelsea now need that version of Thompson more than ever. With change swirling around the club, her directness, movement around the box and cutting edge give the Blues a clear attacking reference point as they chase back the title.

Girma’s moment to finally own Chelsea’s back line

Naomi Girma has a rare gift: she makes defending look easy.

She reads danger early, drifts into the right spaces before an attack fully forms and steps into passing lanes with the timing of a seasoned playmaker. On the ball, she is just as polished, breaking lines with passes that find teammates’ feet rather than simply clearing pressure.

This season, Chelsea need all of that on a consistent loop.

So far, Girma’s time at the club has never quite caught fire. Injuries and stop-start minutes have blocked her from building any real continuity with the rest of the back line. No one doubts the talent; the question has always been availability. Every time she seemed close to a sustained run, something interrupted the rhythm.

Even last season, Chelsea had to carefully manage the workloads of both Girma and Millie Bright, leaning on Veerle Buurman to shoulder more responsibility than expected. It kept the defence afloat, but it also delayed the moment when Girma could truly take command.

If she finally strings together a full, healthy campaign, the ceiling for both player and club spikes dramatically. Chelsea’s bid to reclaim the WSL title would rest on a back line anchored by one of the most intelligent defenders in the game.

The stakes are just as high with the USWNT. Stay fit, stay sharp, and Girma should be a first-choice centre back for the October fixtures against Spain and the looming World Cup qualifiers. The opportunity is there — at club and country — for this to become her defining season.

Tullis-Joyce, United’s rock still chasing the USWNT No. 1 shirt

Phallon Tullis-Joyce enters the new WSL season with a reputation already secured: one of the most dependable goalkeepers in the league.

Last year she started 21 WSL matches for Manchester United and kept seven clean sheets. Across all competitions, she racked up 17 shutouts, a number that underlines just how central she has become to United’s defensive structure.

Yet the USWNT picture remains unresolved. Despite those numbers, Tullis-Joyce has not nailed down the No. 1 role for her country.

The biggest hurdle is clear. Her distribution still needs to climb another level if she is to fully match what Emma Hayes wants from a national-team goalkeeper — someone who can play out from the back, act as an extra defender and help the team control the ball under pressure. Tullis-Joyce has made strides there, but United’s relatively direct approach does not always give her the platform to show it.

Now comes another layer of pressure at club level. United have signed Janina Leitzig from Leicester City, a move that instantly raises the competition for the starting spot and deepens the goalkeeping pool as United try to close the gap to the league’s elite.

Hold her place under that pressure and sharpen her distribution, and Tullis-Joyce will strengthen her claim not just as United’s anchor, but as the USWNT’s future in goal.

Yohannes steps into the Lyon midfield spotlight

OL Lyonnes have lost a calming heartbeat. With Lindsey Heaps leaving for Denver Summit, one of the side’s most experienced midfielders is gone — the player who slowed games down, stitched phases together and offered a steady presence between defence and attack.

Into that space steps Olivia Moultrie Yohannes, a teenager with the technical quality to reshape the role in her own image.

At 19, Yohannes already looks like a midfielder built for the modern game. She sees pictures early, keeps the ball moving and protects possession even when opponents swarm her. Last season, her first in Lyon, she turned that talent into end product: six goals in all competitions, including two in the Champions League.

The recognition followed. She was named UEFA Women’s Champions League Revelation of the Season and often shone brightest when playing alongside Heaps, learning the rhythms of elite European midfield play in real time.

Now, without the USWNT captain next to her, Yohannes may need to assert herself more, both on and off the ball. She has the passing range to dictate tempo, but she will not have to shoulder everything alone. A midfield group featuring Melchie Dumornay, Korbin Albert, Damaris Egurrola and Ingrid Syrstad Engen gives Lyon depth and variety, freeing Yohannes to pick her moments rather than transform into a traditional all-action No. 8.

Her trajectory points well beyond club football. She is already firmly in the conversation for the USWNT’s 2027 Women’s World Cup squad. The profile is clear: a midfielder who can raise the team’s level while preserving its rhythm and style when she steps onto the pitch.

The question now is not whether she belongs at this level. It is how quickly she can turn promise into dominance — and how far that might carry both Lyon and the United States in the years ahead.