sport.ddtor.com: 08/20/21

⚽ BIG Things Ahead For Women’s Soccer

In today’s FOX Sports Insider with guest writer Doug McIntyre: The governing body for soccer has introduced two new women’s competitions: an expanded World Cup qualifying event and the first W Gold Cup ... we take a look at how to bet Week 2 of the NFL preseason ... and we are treated to a must-see video of Brewers second baseman Kolten Wong stealing a base ... literally.

Right now, North America is the undisputed envy of the women’s soccer world.

Canada just won their first Olympic gold medal, beating Sweden in a thrilling penalty shootout earlier this month. The United States women’s national team, despite being upset by its northern neighbor in the semis in Tokyo, remains the reigning world champion and FIFA’s top-ranked team.

But despite currently holding both major women’s tournament titles, other nations – some with storied histories in the men’s game – are quickly closing the gap. Seven out of the eight quarterfinalists at the Women’s World Cup two years ago in France hailed from Europe, with the eventual-winner U.S. the lone exception.

CONCACAF teams simply can’t afford to rest on their laurels.

That’s one reason the governing body for the sport across the sprawling continent, plus Central America and the Caribbean, on Thursday introduced two new women’s competitions: an expanded World Cup qualifying event and the first W Gold Cup, which will kick off with 12 participants in the summer of 2024.

Together, the two new tourneys will more than double the number of competitive matches teams in this region will play. The idea is to increase the stakes not just for the twin heavyweights U.S. and Canada, but also to help developing programs like Mexico, Jamaica and Costa Rica quickly upgrade their level.

"We need to get more teams to have the ability on any given day to beat each other," CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani told reporters Thursday via Zoom. "We’ve seen that on the men’s side, and we need to start seeing that on the women’s. It will help build our quality and our ability to send teams to a World Cup."

That’s important. With the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand expanding to 32 entrants from 24, CONCACAF will receive four automatic berths, up from three in 2019. Another two teams can qualify via playoffs, which could mean up to six World Cup representatives from the region.

Under the new format, World Cup qualifying will begin this fall. The U.S. and Canada received byes for the first round; they’ll enter the final round, dubbed the CONCACAF W Championship, along with six other squads, next year.

The two semifinal winners will punch their ticket to the 2023 event, but that’s when things get interesting. To prevent the finale from being anticlimactic, the champion will also automatically qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

"It makes the final a real final," said Montagliani, who pointed out that the loser will still have the opportunity to reach the Summer Games.

The new initiatives are the latest examples of CONCACAF’s growing focus on the women’s game. The organization had already launched a Women's Nations League and Women's Champions League in recent months. Montagliani, the former head of the Canadian Soccer Association, believes that adding more programming will grow the game organically by giving the smaller countries something to shoot for.

"I think by having more official competitions, it now incentivizes countries to prepare," he said. "It’s a much easier conversation for federations that maybe have not invested, historically, into the women’s side of the game. They are now, in some ways, forced to."

CONCACAF, on the other hand, wasn’t forced to do any of this. North America has been on the leading edge of the women’s game for more than three decades. The early success of the USWNT — winners of three major titles in the 1990s — sparked the launch of professional women’s leagues in the U.S.; the third-iteration NWSL, now in its ninth season, is thriving.

Still, the value of increased competition can’t be overstated. Canada’s Olympic triumph this summer might not have happened had they not had to measure themselves against the rival U.S. for so many years.

Were the rest of North America to stand still, it’s probably only a matter of time until futbol-crazy countries like France and Germany – which already have the money, soccer infrastructure and know-how in place – become the standard-bearers instead.

Perhaps it’s inevitable that Europe will eventually become the epicenter of women’s soccer, as it is on the men’s side. But CONCACAF ought to be commended for its commitment to it now, at the region’s finest hour.

"Women’s football is not about just the future," Montagliani said. "It’s not the future of football. It’s the present."

Here’s what others have said ...

Karina LeBlanc, CONCACAF Head of Women's Football: “These new competitions will be game-changing for women's football in CONCACAF. I am so excited for the draw this weekend and the first qualification matches for 30 of our women's national teams in November this year.”

Grant Wahl, Fútbol with Grant Wahl Podcast: “This is big for the growth of women's soccer in all of CONCACAF.”

Lesle Gallimore, Girls Academy League Commissioner: “This is great news for the region. CONCACAF countries will benefit from these types of competitions in the women's game.”

A dearth of scoring defined the first week of the NFL preseason. Will that trend continue into Week 2? FOX Sports Betting Analyst Sam Panayotovich dives in.
Colin Cowherd breaks down which NFL teams he sees making the postseason this year - and which ones won’t make the cut.
FOX Sports MLB Writer Pedro Moura takes a deep look at the Toronto Blue Jays and explains why they are the best fourth-place team in baseball.

Stealing a base on Yadier Molina is no easy task, so when Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Kolten Wong managed to do so in a 6-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night, he had to take a souvenir for himself. Check out this video, which shows Wong beat Molina’s throw to steal second base. Like, he actually “stole” the base. “Let’s go Yadi, this is mine,” said Wong as the cameras panned to him following the game. This is outstanding content!

WWE Friday Night SmackDown (FOX, 8 p.m. ET)
Roman Reigns and John Cena march toward SummerSlam this Friday.

Kansas City Chiefs at Arizona Cardinals (ESPN. 8 p.m. ET)
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs take on Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals in an NFL preseason matchup.

Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees (Saturday, FS1, 1 p.m. ET)
Gerrit Cole takes the mound for the New York Yankees, who host Kenta Maeda and the Minnesota Twins.

New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers (Saturday, FS1, 4 p.m. ET)
Rich Hill and the New York Mets take on Max Scherzer and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Odds provided by FOX Bet
Texas Rangers at Boston Red Sox: Red Sox -2.5

Chris Sale takes the mound for the Boston Red Sox after an impressive outing in his first start of the season last weekend. He will face the Texas Rangers, who have the worst record in the American League at 14-45. The Rangers will send Dane Dunning to the mound, who sports a 5-7 record and a 4.06 ERA this season. While the Red Sox are looking to secure a spot in the postseason, the Rangers have lost 12 of their last 15 games and sit at 42-79 heading into this matchup. Taking the Red Sox at -2.5 looks like a great bet.

“Take your victories, whatever they may be, cherish them, use them, but don’t settle for them.” — Mia Hamm

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The WNBA Playoff Race is Heating Up. This is How to Watch It.

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Kevin Sweeney

Last night was a good night for Patriots fans, as both their QB of the present (Cam Newton) and their QB of the future (Mac Jones) looked sharp. If you're an Eagles fan … well, you had better hope Jalen Hurts is ready to ball out. Early overreactions are what NFL preseason games are all about, and we'll get plenty more chances to do just that this weekend. Plus, a big game with plenty of star power in the WNBA, a crosstown showdown in MLB and the beginning of a busy soccer weekend in Europe.

Here's what I'm watching today.

MUST WATCH

Seattle Storm at New York Liberty

The Liberty knocked off the Storm Wednesday in a huge win for the team's WNBA playoff hopes. New York used a dominant fourth quarter to pull the upset, rallying from 10 down after three quarters by outscoring the Storm 21–7 in the final period. That late surge helped overcome a monster game from Jewell Loyd, who poured in a career-high 35 points in the loss.

Now, the Storm get a rematch … and some extra help. Sue Bird is likely to play in this one after sitting out for rest on Wednesday. Meanwhile, MVP candidate Breanna Stewart's status is unknown after she and her wife welcomed their first child earlier this week. If the Liberty complete the sweep, it will be because of three-point shooting: The team shot a blistering 12–-25 from deep in the win on Wednesday.

7 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video

READ MORE:

The Storm Are Primed for Another WNBA Title Run (Wilton Jackson)
The WNBA Is Finally Catching Up on Mental Health (Jackie Powell)

LINEUP

Kansas City Chiefs at Arizona Cardinals | Andy Reid indicated this week that the starters would play the first half of this one, meaning we get 30 minutes of Patrick Mahomes. It's hard not to watch when he's on the field. 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, watch on fuboTV
Western & Southern Open | It's quarterfinal Friday in the U.S. Open tuneup. On the men's side, I'm looking forward to the late-night matchup between young Norwegian Casper Ruud and German Alexander Zverev. Tennis Channel, watch on fuboTV
Paris Saint-Germain at Brest | We'll have to wait another week for Lionel Messi's debut in Paris as the superstar continues to recover from his Copa América title run. Still, there's plenty of intrigue in watching this PSG club and the enormous expectations that will follow them all season. 3 p.m. ET, beIN Sports, watch on fuboTV
Cincinnati Bengals at Washington Football Team | Joe Burrow won't play in this one, as the Bengals continue to be cautious with their franchise QB following last year's devastating knee injury. That's probably smart, given Washington's vaunted defensive front is matching up with Cincinnati's weak offensive line. 8 p.m. ET, NFL Network, watch on fuboTV

HIDDEN GEM

San Francisco Giants at Oakland Athletics

These crosstown rivals begin a three-game series with major implications for both sides of the Bay. The Giants may own baseball's best record, but the Dodgers are charging hard from behind and have won seven straight to trim SF's lead to just 2.5 games. Meanwhile, the A's are in the thick of the AL Wild Card chase, while also trying to put pressure on the Astros at the top of the AL West.

Alex Wood will take the ball for the Giants. The veteran lefty has gotten great run support all year long, helping cover for some recent struggles. Young righthander James Kaprielian, one of the top candidates for AL Rookie of the Year, is slated to start for the A's.

9:40 p.m. ET, NBC Bay Area/NBC Sports California, watch on fuboTV

Think we missed something worth watching? Reply to guide@si.com and let us know what we should be looking out for and why.

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