Is the NWSL The Best Soccer League in the World?

ESPN Daily

ESPN

Sports

4.6 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 8 November 2024

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The National Women's Soccer League playoffs kick off tonight with a matchup between No. 1 Orlando Pride and No. 8 Chicago Red Stars, followed by more quarterfinal round matches on Saturday and Sunday. But both on and off the pitch, the NWSL has arrived in a new era. Jeff Kassouf, lead women’s soccer writer at ESPN, is here to discuss the league’s recent seismic shifts, including the players’ new collective bargaining agreement – both the unprecedented power it gives players and the ripple effect it’s creating for management. Plus, a preview of the game action itself, including a primer for the less-initiated into the league’s most exciting players like Temwa Chawinga and Barbra Banda, and what to watch for in the most-anticipated matchups. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Jeff Kasuf, I saw a highlight of Rachel Kondanji standing on top of a ball
0:05.8	before completely dicking a defender and crossing it into the box.
0:12.4	There's 15 minutes to go in the game.
0:14.8	You got the Houston defender there.
0:16.3	Page Nielsen 101.
0:17.5	You're in a corner.
0:18.3	You stand up on the ball.
0:19.6	You kind of, you say, hey, come and get it, and then you blow past her.
0:25.1	I don't know if you've seen, but it's gone viral.
0:27.6	That play is all over the world, thanks to the internet.
0:30.3	The vibes are off the charts for NWSO right now before we get to the serious stuff
0:33.8	in terms of the level and style of play.
0:35.7	How much are you enjoying the league right now?
0:38.2	Yeah, I love that.
0:39.4	That was an all-time kind of clip.
0:42.6	I think if she scored on that, we would be remembering that for a long time.
0:45.7	But, yeah, I mean, record signing right there.
0:48.4	Record world signing, I think, was an indication in the off season.
0:54.4	And we've seen an incredible influx of talent, including international. I mean, I think they've changed the league in many ways this season.
0:56.0	So it's been an exciting year.
0:59.6	The fun factor, I think, is up by a lot in terms of this league.
1:03.7	When you talk about just on the field, you've been covering the game for a long time.
	...

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