Temwa Chawinga's WAFCON dream, Ashley Sanchez and Pietra Tordin make their case.

When Malawi kick off against Algeria this afternoon, they’ll have already accomplished the unthinkable. Ranked 153rd ahead of the tournament, Malawi drew the WAFCON group of death with 9 time champions Nigeria, perennial high achievers Zambia, and Egypt, and somehow pulled off the unthinkable when they topped the group following the 2-1 loss to Zambia. Powered by Temwa Chawinga’s 6 goal contributions, Malawi upset Nigeria on opening day before trouncing Egypt ahead of the final group stage meeting with Barbra Banda’s Copper Queens. 

Malawi, aka the Scorchers, followed up their group stage performance to punch their ticket to the semifinal with a 2-1 victory over Ghana thanks to Temwa Chawinga’s 12th-minute equalizer and 20-year-old Montpellier attacker Rose Kadzere’s 80th-minute go-ahead goal, assisted by Temwa. 

At the whistle, joy radiated around the Malawian side of the pitch as Temwa sprinted to the traveling Malawi support, and then celebrated in the arms of her sister Tabitha as she was handed the player of the match trophy. It’s fitting that a player who took the NWSL by storm over the past 2+ seasons has done the same in her first WAFCON appearance, pulling out all of the tools in her toolbox as the less heralded Malawi supporting cast matched the occasion. Headed goals, holdup play, passes into space, vision in the attacking third, and an endless engine to attack both sides of the ball, it’s a performance that lifts an entire nation. 

“This is for my mother, for all of the support we have back home,” Temwa said after her performance vs Ghana.

There’s a full circle moment to the Chawinga sisters celebrating in each other’s arms as they secured Malawi’s first-ever World Cup birth.

“It has not been easy to get to where we are today. There were a lot of obstacles to girls playing the game in Malawi,” Tabitha said in an interview with Forbes Africa. 

As Temwa tells it, it was Tabitha – now captain of the national team – who fought to fly Temwa to Sweden for her first professional tryout, and the success of the Chawinga sisters through their early careers in Sweden and China helped forge a path for the young Malawian players who have created a formidable team behind them.

“I’m really happy for the girls.” Temwa continued, “I’m really happy because we are still young but we really know what to do on the field.”

Algeria is a tough test, but individual players show up in these moments. Can anyone truly mark Temwa Chawinga out of a match?

*I have had to be better about budgeting my time with this piece, but I’m forever tweaking this format in an effort to find something that works for my workflow and is still interesting to you, the reader. Sound off below if this format works for you.*

Alright, let’s check in on the NWSL. 

North Carolina wins three straight, including a 3-4 win over the Spirit to solidify a playoff spot.

Ashley Sanchez is making a strong case on the eve of a pivotal USWNT roster reveal. Her opener against the Spirit — soaring through the air to poke home Shinomi Koyama’s high cross to the back post — extended her 2026 career-high goal-scoring record to 11 before an assist on Evelyn Ijeh’s 15th-minute goal extended her contributions total to 14, bringing her tally level with Ashley Sanchez and 1 behind Pietra Tordin for the league lead.

The Courage’s turnaround under Mak Lind, from a staunch, no-nonsense, defensive group to a high octane, vulnerable at the back, attacking group, isn’t all about Ashley Sanchez, but her resurgence is a microcosm of how this setup has worked. Sanchez has now played more minutes than in 2025, so it’s a perfect opportunity to reflect on how her 2026 has been not just more goal scoring, but more opportunities to be a chance creator even as the primary creation duties don’t rest as much on her (and Manaka’s) shoulders. Many thought the loss of Manaka would tank an upstart Courage when, in fact, the addition of Erica Meg Parkinson has balanced Lind’s squad makeup. 

EMP doesn’t push into the attack as often, leaving Ashley Sanchez more isolated on the wing without Matsukubo looking to link up and interplay. However, with the right side also finding success, combined with Ijeh’s ability to drop into the midfield to help in buildup, a deeper sitting midfield three has potentially helped NCC’s ability to hit on the counter. 

All of that to say, Ashley Sanchez has created more chances, taken more shots, contributed more goals, and improved in just about every category over last season, all while a very young cast of supporting characters seems to improve every single month. There will be inconsistency with such a youthful squad… as proven already this season… but there’s an excitement around this club that hasn’t really been there in a while.

It’s a crowded USWNT attacking group to crack at this stage of the cycle, but Sanchez is doing everything she can to change Emma Hayes’s mind.

KC Current’s encouraging(?) 1-1 draw.

Chris Armas has been under fire since day one, and while I have launched my criticisms of the hiring process and of the lack of plan B, Armas has started to show his hand since introducing Katie Scott to the “young defensive midfielder learns how to play right back” paradox. Scott has added more solidity and ball progression out of the right side with the option to invert into the midfield when KC’s buildup pushes forward. 

Against Houston, Scott frustrated Houston’s attempts to push into the wings and created a nice foundation for Amelia White to focus on pushing high into the attack. It helps that Bailey Feist and Rocky Rodriguez have been better platooning at the 6, as much as the space in front of the CBs continues to give the Current nightmares – that and recycled free kicks. 

The run of results without Temwa Chawinga and Michelle Cooper has been tough, no question, but the results haven’t been as bad as expected with Debinha finding her form running off of Croix Bethune. Now, how does that work with the Current’s full-strength XI? 

Perhaps Temwa can play at the 9 when she returns, or maybe the depth will turn around KC’s ability to close out games. 

Unfortunately, KC will be without the defending MVP for at least the upcoming match vs Gotham, but there’s been some… let’s say good?... progress while she’s been away. The Current still need to bring in help for the rotating cast of CDMs, but with the window starting to creak closed, it’s looking unlikely that help is on the way. The Current may be against the cap after VDB’s activation, Chawinga’s extension, and if they intend to activate Alana Cook this season, but it’s tough to swallow with the talent that’s left the side over the past 8 months. 

How can Orlando commit to a rebuild?

Something that’s been on my mind since Barbra Banda left for WAFCON is how Orlando hasn’t been able to supplement their roster with depth scoring options over the past two seasons. The legwork that built a strong base ahead of Banda’s arrival has mostly left, and what’s left is a thinner squad without a tertiary scoring option, in need of at least one top-quality CB among other things. They’ve reached the end of their championship window, and with that comes sme tough conversations. 

Is it time to move on from Anna Moorhouse? Or is her sharp decline more of a commentary on the types of chances the backline is allowing in front of her? Or is it a consequence of Seb Hines failing to adapt? It’s time to have those conversations. 

Gotham’s defensive structure has allowed just five goals during seven match unbeaten streak.

Surprise! Sam Kerr is a very good NWSL player.

And that’s all Gotham have really needed. 

The Bats have continued to grind teams to dust, even with the unexpected loss of Esther, who agreed to a mutual contract termination in order to return to Spain for personal reasons. 

Gotham has only dropped five points since the break, and in that time, Kerr has been a top ten player in the league per both xG and g+ – advanced stats that describe a player’s overall impact on their club’s scoreline. 

Of course, it’s exactly what everyone expected when that move was announced, but Gotham are starting to build a cushion in the NWSL Shield race, and the addition of proven NWSL vets like Kerr and Denise O’Sullivan this window is only going to help last year’s champions in their quest to suffocate all attacking play. 

When that happens, they don’t need to create much themselves. 

I should note that there is an overperformance here; Gotham have been the best team in the league over this stretch, but they’re getting some bounces that won’t always be there… or maybe this is just the clutch player factor. 

I mean…

Yazmeen Ryan continues to be Denver’s most important player.

Denver hosted Utah fresh off the Royals’ 5-1 win over the Thorns and shocked one of the league’s upstart clubs with a 2-1 win thanks to Yazmeen Ryan’s opener and Janine Sonis’s stoppage-time goal. 

Denver has been quite the surprise this season, sitting within grasp of a playoff spot when most would have expected a closer to last placed finish at the start of the season. Unforeseen in that equation was the acquisition of Lindsey Heaps, Delanie Sheehan, and – maybe most importantly – Yazmeen Ryan. 

4 goals and 3 assists, Ryan hasn’t quite reached her 2024 high with Gotham, but she’s been Denver’s most important player, even after Heaps’s arrival. Her ability to interplay through either wing, and the quality of opportunities she's been able to help create – she may not be at Best XI level but she's been enough for a defensively solid club who is still establishing an identity. Perhaps a signal to not judge expansion clubs by its makeup on opening day, there will always be players looking for a new environment, especially if their development has stalled.

Portland Thorns: A beautiful disaster. 

The Thorns finally returned to the win column thanks to Pietra Tordin’s first-half hat trick, and while the Thorns attempted to drop points at the death, it was ultimately the former USYNT star that made the difference. While we’re on the topic of players forcing a USWNT conversation, Tordin now leads the league in goal contributions with 7 goals and 8 assists, passing both Rodman and Sanchez. 

Does Tordin’s rise make it more difficult for Ashley Sanchez to work her way back into the mix? Is Hayes more likely to give the 22 year old Tordin her first cap over recalling the 27 year old Sanchez? If we’re looking at which player would be more used to the USWNT setup, then Sanchez is a no-brainer, but Tordin wouldn’t be the first Thorns player to thrive under Hayes, and is a player Hayes would probably want to experience the setup ahead of 2-27 to better prepare her for a role in the next cycle.

Food for thought.

Anyways, the Thorns’ defensive structure has yet to fix itself outside of matches where one of Fleming, Reyes, or Nijstad plays above and beyond. Is this a roster issue? Or is this a Robert Vilahamn needs to rethink the structure and responsibilities issue?

Either way, 10 goals allowed over the last 3 matches is rough for a squad crashing back down to earth.

In other unfortunate news, the club announced that Olivia Moultrie tore her ACL and will miss the rest of the season. That’s potentially an end to her 2027 World Cup bid as well, just terrible all around.

Mia Fishel has finally arrived.

When Fishel opted to sign in Mexico following Orlando’s selection in the 2022 NWSL draft, it was a key data point in how the draft was failing the league long term. Fishel took Liga MX by storm, scoring 38 goals for Tigres before landing on Chelsea’s radar. Unfortunately, her 2024 ACL injury ruined her trajectory at the club, and her first season with Seattle seemed to echo her struggle in London. Fortunately, that appears to be changing. 

Fishel had scored a combined 1 goal in WSL/NWSL play since her injury, but roared back to life following the World Cup break, scoring 3 goals and tacking on an assist over the last month. 

Fishel has benefitted from Seattle’s attacking improvement in general, but all an attacker dreams of is finding the right spots to score goals, and Fishel has been efficient when the Reign can create for her. 

Top 10 in goal contributions since the break, that’s a positive sign. 

Does Chicago need to explore a coaching change… again?

I’ve been going back and forth on what the Chicago Stars' problem has been in attempting to improve on last year’s disastrous season where the Stars went through four managers en route to a last placed finish. Well, the Stars – with some Mal Swanson appearances – have managed to equal last year’s points per game pace, while skipping opportunities for young promising players in favor of veterans who won’t be in Chicago by the time they right the ship.

There’s no reason why Ryan Gareis should have significantly more minutes than Micayla Johnson, and there’s no world where the rotating cast of defenders is so talented that Elise Evans, last year’s ACC Defender of the Year, should have a single appearance this season. 

Even in Evans’s 7 minute outing, she showed enough to earn another shot, but the Chicago FO would rather bring in Spanish Free Agent Oihane Valdezate then give Evans the run out following the transfer of Kathrin Hendrich to FC Koln. 

It’s roster mismanagement. It’s ok to be a struggling young team, but it’s a dereliction of duty if a manager can’t find playing time for young players during a season where the Stars boast a -17 goal differential over 9 road matches. What does improvement even look like?