This week, TribalFootball.com talks exclusively with the sole American still playing in the Russian Women's Championship league, who discusses the positives of playing in the country and how she talks about her decision to stay in Russia with her family and friends.

We also discuss the Russian league season thus far and look at the leading scorers—with Kaylan Williams currently among the top six in the league—as well as the top of the table race for the title.

A lone American Women's Footballer in Russia—TribalFootball.com's exclusive interview with Kaylan Williams of Dinamo Moscow

TribalFootball.com talked exclusively with American forward Kaylan Williams, who is the sole American currently playing in the top tier Russian Women's League—the Super League—in mid-June. She talked about her move to Dinamo [Dynamo] Moscow, the club made famous by the men's side in European competition and a friendly tour to England in 1945, where she leads the team is scoring with 6 goals after 12 games, and is among the top six scorers in the league, after two years at Lokomotiv Moscow (where she scored only twice in 29 games).

Among other topics, she addressed how she handles concerns from family and friends in the U.S. that she should leave the country for safety reasons. Kaylan Williams grew up in Marion, Indiana (south of Ft. Wayne) and played collegiately at the University of New Hampshire. She then played in Israel with WFC Ramat Hasharon for less than six months during COVID in 2020 and then moved to Lokomotiv Moscow.

Dinamo Moscow's Kaylan Williams, the only American in Russia's Women's Super League this season, with her former club Lokomotiv Moscow. She is now in her third season in the Russian league. (Photo courtesy Kaylan Williams).

Kaylan Williams explained her move to Dinamo after her two years with Lokomotiv: "I didn't feel that I was done with Russia yet because I wasn't able to show myself [fully]. I had played against the club I'm with now and I had only heard amazing things about the coach, which is really important for me to have a coach who is a really good person and a really good coach."

[Dinamo Coach Sergey Lavrentjev (51), who has also coached the Russian national team (2012-2015), is in his second season with Dinamo and spent a few months the previous year at CSKA Moscow; he was also a former player at home and who had a very short stint in Germany]. Williams signed a two-year contract with Dinamo at the beginning of 2023.

Her game time had been limited at Lokomotiv, particularly during the second year: "With Loko, I was behind a national team attacker [Russian international forward Nelli Korovkina (33), who had 17 goals in 20 games last season], so I didn't play much the first year and got moved to left center back for six to seven months; one day she [head coach Elena Fomin (44)—who played for five clubs in Russia as well as over 50 times for the national side] didn't start me and I didn't play for the next three months. I don't care where I play, I just want to play."

At Dinamo, she has been playing primarily as a number nine in attack, after playing as a right-sided center back in pre-season.

Dinamo Moscow's leading scorer Kaylan Williams, in action for her former club and derby rival Lokomotiv Moscow.

(Photo courtesy Kaylan Williams).

Williams contrasted the of play between the U.S., Israel and Russia: "In the U.S., it was competitive [in college] but here is a whole new life—[there] you are maintaining school work with soccer. I am now playing football every day. In Israel it was in COVID and sometimes you couldn't have training as one girl has COVID and everybody has to get tested. It was a completely different system because of COVID; I didn't think it was very professional. In Russia, it is very strict and very professional; every single club plays differently. Loko [Lokomotiv] played long-ball quick attacks, [looking for] who can score a goal the fastest. At Dinamo, we want to control the ball, keep moving the ball, possess the ball; we are trying to build as a team and I like that… Our training staff makes sure that we know, going into every single game, exactly how are meant to play and tactically play out the game. It is so much more helpful to know exactly what I should be doing on the field. You are tactically and physically ready. It is amazing."

Russia's women's league has always been known to be very professional as teams devote huge resources into their sides; they pay their players competitively with many clubs throughout Europe. It is a long season, beginning in March and ending in November. Williams explained that she has December off and pre-season training starts in January. This year with Dinamo, the club trained in Moscow for two weeks, went to Turkey for two weeks, then went back to Moscow again for two weeks and finished their pre-season preparation in Turkey after another two weeks.

The Russian Women's Championship (Superliga) is growing in size in recent years as the top tier had eight teams as recently as the 2020 season (after expanding by two clubs for 2017 from six sides in 2016 and before), 10 teams in 2021 and 2022 and 12 this year with the addition of Williams' Dinamo Moscow and Krylya Sovetov of Samara. [Dinamo began with a women's team in the youth league last year and then moved up to the Super League for 2023.] Williams said that for 2024, two more clubs will join—men's powerhouse Spartak Moscow and possibly a club in former 2014 Olympic Winter Games host Sochi—explaining that: "It's exciting. Seeing it grow."

During William's second season in Russia with Lokomotiv, in February of 2022, the Russian military invaded Ukraine, and soon Russia was suspended by FIFA, UEFA as well as by other international sporting and non-sporting bodies. In addition, another concern for American athletes playing in Russia was then Ekaterinburg's WNBA and Olympic Gold Medalist American basketball player Brittney Griner was arrested that same month for bringing vape cartridges with cannabis oil into the country when returning from the U.S. to play for her club again; she spent 10 months in jail and prison after being found guilty in court before returning to the U.S. in a prisoner swap last December. With all this going on, Williams' family and friends told her to leave the country.

Note: last year American Sh'Nia Gordon was in Turkey in preseason training with CSKA Moscow in late February of 2022—she stayed with the team through training camp in Turkey but did not return to Russia as FIFA allowed players who wanted to leave Russia or Ukraine to have their contracts cancelled and move to clubs abroad. She signed with Racing Louisville of the NWSL but only played in four games and then was released. She spent last season with Le Havre in northern France, scoring four times in 18 matches as the club finished tied for eighth with Guingamp on 24 points from a 7-3-12 (W-D-L) record. Before joining CSKA Moscow for the 2021 season, Gordon had played in France with Dijon and Metz (see: The Week in Women's Football: Sh'Nia Gordon interview; Ukraine update; NWSL Challenge Cup - Tribal Football).

Though Williams is the only American playing women's football in Russia, The Athletic recently reported—citing the Wall Street Journal—that there were up to three dozen Americans playing in the country in various sports, including five women's basketball players, though none were WNBA players; they used to play in the country in the U.S. off-season but stopped going, in part because Russian clubs were banned from the EuroLeague and also to support Brittney Griner, who has said that she will not play abroad again except for national team duty (see: "Why some American women's basketball players competed in Russia this season" by Ben Pickman in The Athletic, June 5, 2023). The Athletic article featured American basketball players Ashley Beverly-Kelly and Jonquel Jones of Dynamo Novosibirsk in Siberia. These athletes continued to compete in Russia despite the U.S. State Department recommendation that Americans "Do Not Travel" there.

Williams did not choose the same route that Gordon—a good friend—did in leaving the nation: "People think I'm crazy but I like it here." She said family members would say: "'You need to leave and come home.' Why? The conflict is not in Moscow. Every country has their own problems. I like it here. It's cheaper than America. Everything is clean—the food is not processed—everything they make is clean, fresh vegetables and meat…I'm just living my life."

She continued her thoughts about how normal her days are despite the on-going military conflict: "My life was the same, training, therapy. Everything has its time. My parents were extremely concerned: 'You should come home.' Come home and do what? This is my job. Also, the timing—I couldn't join a club in States as the [NWSL] season was about to start and other countries started in the summer."

She said that she did have interest from one NWSL team for the 2023 pre-season, explaining that: "One NWSL club contacted me with, not for a 100% contract, but to come to tryout in preseason camp, but you have to pay for [that] yourself. Why am I paying this money to play when I have offers in Russia and different countries where I don't have to pay money out of my pocket, because women footballers don't get paid a lot to begin with and you want us to pay to tryout and maybe get a spot? No."

We have discussed this issue, which has been an ongoing situation for the NWSL since its first year in 2013, with some tryout situations clearly taking advantage of players who are vying for a spot on a team while voicing the keeping costs low line. With the attention that the Mykiaa Minniss (ex-Washington State University) case brought to the league during the 2023 preseason and the fact that NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman was asked about it and now has to deal with the issue, we do expect changes to be made to compensation and expenses for trialees—as well as team procedures with improved scouting practices around the league's annual draft—so that situations like what Minniss and others have endured will be a thing of the past; it will not a minute too soon either (see: The Week in Women's Football: Are Sydney FC the A-League's greatest? KC Current coach axe - Tribal Football).

When asked what she might do after the 2024 season when her contract expires at Dinamo, Williams said that she could stay in Russia, move to another European nation or come home to the NWSL: "I do get interest from clubs. I would love to live in Spain."

Williams emphasized one of the strengths of the Russian Women's Super League: "In Russia, it's not about who has money; if you want to play football, they will pay you to play. Little kids on Dinamo [in their academy], they live here and bus to school and come back. They don't have to pay for their living [or] their food every day, and even [the club] gives them some money for snacks (expenses); it is the complete opposite in America. I paid to play in a little club league in Ft. Wayne, Indiana and, even to do that, was more than $1,000 every year. I worked other jobs growing up [while here] they enjoy their life…. In Russia they are getting paid to play and I think that changes your mentality. You can do whatever you want to do and not worry about the financial part."

In the June 2023 edition of World Soccer, their excellent Asian correspondent John Duerden wrote a long article about the Russian Federation leaving UEFA for the Asian Football Confederation (see: "Goodbye UEFA? Speculating that Russian football could be ready to embark on a new era in Asia after flirting with this summer's CAFA Championship," by John Duerden, World Soccer, June 2023, pages 38-43) as the Russian Federation is currently banned from all UEFA club and national team competition since February of 2022; Duerden's main point was that Russia could walk into the AFC and be competitive. Russia has former allies from the Soviet Union days in the AFC such as Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and growing relations with China. Duerden points out that, geographically, three quarters of Russia is in Asia but most top club sides play west of the Ural Mountains, with a traditional European focus. There are financial implications too. On the men's side, the AFC has a solid Champions League but it lacks the massive revenues of UEFA's tournament. The article made some interesting points but was focused on the men's side.

We looked at the effects of Russia joining the AFC from the women's perspective at both the national team and club level. For the women's national team, it could be a boost as they would immediately slide into being one of the top sides in Asia—along with Australia, China, the two Koreas and Japan—for six-to-eight WWC Finals spots. From UEFA, the Russian WNT has only qualified for two finals—both in the U.S. in 1999 and 2003, where they made the Quarterfinals both times. For the 2023 event, Russia won 5 of 6 games (for 15 points) in their Qualification group and would have made the UEFA Playoffs at least, behind Denmark, but Bosnia and Herzegovina advanced to UEFA WWC Playoffs with only 11 points after their suspension. On the men's side by comparison, since the start of WWC at the beginning of the 1990's, Russia has played in five of eight men's World Cup Finals before being banned in 2022, ahead of their UEFA playoff matches for Qatar.

The real downside to Russia joining the AFC is on the continental women's club level and we have reported on the AFC Women's Club Championship in the past and, though there are plans to expand it, the tournament has been very much in the embryonic stage since 2019, with the 2022 edition comprising only five teams across the Eastern and Western regions of the federation. This tournament is a long-ways from being seen as consistent and reliable and not anywhere in the same discussion frame as the UEFA Women's Champions League. UEFA's WCL is a huge draw as a destination for players from around the world, as we see in our extensive reviews every year of the rosters for the first rounds comprising teams from all over Europe. If Russia did leave UEFA permanently, it could impact their ability to attract talent from abroad (see more below).

Last year we wrote about how Heather O'Reilly—a former U.S. national team player who is retired and now coaching in college—came back to play with Shelbourne in the Republic of Ireland in the 2022-23 UEFA WCL preliminary rounds in order to have that experience, as she had missed the tournament when she played at Arsenal during her career (see: The Week in Women's Football: Annual review of UEFA Champions League qualifying group stage - Tribal Football). On the men's side, the AFC Champion's League is a credible competition, split into West and East regions until the final. However, even there, UEFA Champions League far surpasses the AFC tournament on revenues.

Kaylan Williams was able to provide insight from the Russian women's football perspective into this prospective confederation move, saying: "I know that the U-15 and U-16's [Russian youth WNTs] just played in Asia recently and demolished teams 16-0, 13-0 and 8-0. Some teams have said that there was no way they are playing in Asia." On the club side, she said that the Champions League is a priority: "That's a goal and that's a big dream that kids talk about… People I talk to have this mentality that they will wait until after the war and get back in the European UEFA again."

Kaylan Williams again emphasized that she is a professional athlete in a growing league that prioritizes the women's game: "Living in Russia has been the best experience of my life. I've learned so much about myself and football. I [went from] a brand new person in a brand new culture [and] not knowing a single word of Russian to now I speak Russian every day and one of my teammates is from Ugandan [WNT forward Fauzia Najjemba (19), who won a title last season with BIIK Kazygurt in Kazakhstan: see our recent column on former BIIK coach and current Gintra of Lithuania head coach Kaloyan Petkov: The Week in Women's Football: Profiling Kaloyan Petkov; Celtic welcome Chinese starlets; Euro League reviews - Tribal Football] and I am the translator on the team for her. I have seen myself grow as a forward and a defender I have become more variable in every aspect on the field. It's been great."

This season thus far, Zenit Leningrad tops the table on 40 points, one ahead of CSKA with 39 points after 14 games. Williams' Dinamo is an impressive fifth with 20 points (from 13 games) in their first season in the league, trailing third place Lokomotiv Moscow (34 points) and Zvezda Perm (24 points). The last four league winners are: CSKA Moscow in 2019 and 2020, Lokomotiv Moscow in 2021 and Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2022—with Zvezda 2005 Perm the all-time leader with six titles, followed by Energiya Voronezh and Rossiyanka with five.

In the 2023 season, there are 38 imports from 16 countries for 12 teams, up from 31 last years from 12 countries for 10 teams (see our column from last season: The Week in Women's Football: Sh'Nia Gordon interview; Ukraine update; NWSL Challenge Cup - Tribal Football) with still the majority from Eastern Europe or former Soviet Republics.

2023 Russian League Players from abroad

• Belarus 10
• Azerbaijan 4
• Ukraine 4
• Nigeria 3
• Serbia 3
• China 2
• Kazakhstan 2
• Argentina 1
• Armenia 1
• Brazil 1
• Cameroon 1
• Haiti 1
• Montenegro 1
• Poland 1
• Portugal 1
• Uganda 1
• U.S. 1

Ryazan, Rostov, FK Chertanovo Moscow, Krylya Sovetov Samara and Krasnordar all have only one import and Rubin Kazan has two, with fifty percent of Ukraine's imports playing for Kazan, which currently sits in a tie for tenth with Yenisey with 7 points, while half of the Belarusian imports play at Perm, as well as the other two Ukrainians in the league this summer.

Top League Scorers

A look at the current top scorers table in the Russian Women's Football Championship shows the importance of imports as only four of the top 12 are Russians (including only one of the top seven). Portugal youth and full international Ana Dias (25) of leaders Zenit Leningrad is in first place on the Golden Boot Race with 13 goals from 14 matches and is in her third season with the club.

At CSKA Moscow, tied for second with nine goals are four players: forward Gabrielle Onguene (34) of Cameroon—who joined Rossiyanka in 2015 and first came to the country in 2012 to play in Kaliningrad and won three league titles with Rossiyanka and CSKA—and Serbian international Nevena Damjanovic (30), who has played for clubs in Denmark and Portugal, Zenit's Polish international midfielder Gabriela Grzywinska (27) of Poland, who is in her third year with the club, and Nigerian international Chinonyerem Macleans (23) of Lokomotiv Moscow, who is in her second season with the Russian Railways-backed club and has also played in Belarus and for two clubs in Poland.

Kaylan Williams (see above) of Dinamo Moscow is tied for sixth among the scorers this season with Russian international (with over 50 caps) Olesya Kurochkina (39) of Zvezda Perm with six goals.

Tied for eighth place on five goals are a quintet, including Belarusian international forward Tatiana Krasnova (27) of Rostov, Nigerian and CSKA forward Francisca Ordega (30—ex-Washington Spirit of the NWSL who also played in Spain, Sweden and Australia and is in her third year with the club—she was recently named to Nigeria's 2023 WWC Finals side), and three players from Russia--all internationals at some level—full international Yana Sheina (23) of Lokomotiv Moscow, full international Nadeszhda Smirnova (27) of CSKA, who is in her eighth season with the club, and U-17 international Medea Zharkova (19) of Krasnodar, who in her fourth season with the side.

2023 Women's World Cup Preview

This week we continue our preview of the 2023 Women's World Cup, looking this week at Groups C and D, after previewing Groups A and B last week: (see: The Week in Women's Football: World Cup Groups A & B preview; Calgary Foothills exclusive - Tribal Football).

Group C In New Zealand—Costa Rica, Japan, Spain and Zambia

Spain opens up group play next month versus Costa Rica while Japan faces the always difficult Zambia. Spain should advance in a canter along with 2011 WWC Champions Japan. Zambia, with supremely talented forward Barbara Banda back after missing the last Women's African Cup of Nations since passing recent regulations in tests for testosterone levels, will score; Zambia's Copper Queens have too much fire power for Costa Rica, who have qualified for two of the last three WWC Finals under their very good local coach Amelia Valverde, but they don't score in abundance—in their last 14 games, they have won only once (a 2-1 win at home in San Jose over Philippines last October) with two ties and six goals scored versus 25 allowed. With Spain, keep an eye on young Real Madrid wing back Olga Carmona (23), who could be a breakout star. Japan has Jun Endo (23) of Angel City in the NWSL, who should also be a young player to watch. Spain and Japan should be too experienced for CR and Zambia in this group.

Spain still is struggling with player unrest as 15 players have not played for the national team since the 2021 Women's EURO last summer, demanding changes to the coaching culture of head coach Jorge Vilda and refusing to play (see our recent column for more information on players refusing to play: www.tribalfootball.com/articles/the-week-in-women-s-football-reviewing-spanish-german-italian-leagues-plus-us-indoor-season-4461007). Recently 12 of the 15 said that they would play after coming to an agreement with their Federation. In his preliminary 30 woman roster released in mid-June, Vilda surprisingly brought in only three of the 15: 2022-23 UEFA WCL winners Barcelona's duo Aitana Bonmati and Mariona Caldentey, and Manchester United's Ona Batlle. It is interesting that only 20% of them were recalled, with Vilda staying loyal to those who played for him during the protest period. Also from Barca, Alexia Putellas—who had not joined the protest—was brought in after just starting to play for her club after recovering from an ACL. The reigning U-17 and U-20 FIFA World Champions has an amazing talent line and could easily fill 2-3 national teams, so even with the questions around Vilda and his style, this team will be disappointed if they don't make the Championship Final.

Note: Batlle, who played for Barca's Academy and B team, has signed a contract through 2026 with the reigning UEFA WCL title holders Barcelona.

All but two of the 30 players are from the very competitive Spanish League, with one each from clubs in England and Mexico:
Goalkeepers: Elisa Rodriguez (Real Madrid), Cata Coll (Barcelona), Enith Salon (Valencia), Elene Lete (Real Sociedad)
Defenders: Ivana Andres (Real Madrid), Olga Carmona (Real Madrid), Sheila Garcia (Atletico de Madrid), Irene Paredes (Barcelona), Rocio Galvez (Real Madrid), Ona Batlle (Manchester United, England), Laia Codina (Barcelona), Paula Tomas (Levante), Oihane Hernandez (Athletic), Jana (Barcelona)
Midfielders: Claudia Zornoza (Real Madrid), Irene Guerrero (Atletico de Madrid), Maria Perez (Barcelona), Alexia Putellas (Barcelona), Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona), Teresa Abelleira (Real Madrid), Maite Oroz (Real Madrid), Fiamma Benitez (Valencia)
Forwards: Jenni Hermoso (Pachuca, Mexico), Esther Gonzalez (Real Madrid), Alba Redondo (Levante), Athenea del Castillo (Real Madrid), Marta Cardona (Atletico de Madrid), Salma Paralluelo (Barcelona), Eva Navarro (Atletico de Madrid), Imma Gabarro (Sevilla)

For the Nadeshiko of Japan, their side was finalized on June 13 and the one major surprise is that forward Mana Iwabuchi (30) of Arsenal, who played with Tottenham Hotspurs on loan in England this past season, did not make the squad; thus, team captain Saki Kumagi was the only member remaining from the 2011 WWC Champions side. Four of the team play in England in the WSL, while two each play in the NWSL and in Italy, with one based in Sweden and the rest are tied with clubs at home:

Goalkeepers
YAMASHITA Ayaka (INAC Kobe Leonessa)
HIRAO Chika (Albirex Niigata Ladies)
TANAKA Momoko (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza)

Field Players
KUMAGAI Saki (AS Roma/Italy)
NAOMOTO Hikaru (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Urawa Reds Ladies)
TANAKA Mina (INAC Kobe Leonessa)
MIYAKE Shiori (INAC Kobe Leonessa)
SHIMIZU Risa (West Ham United/England)
SEIKE Kiko (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Urawa Reds Ladies)
MORIYA Miyabi (INAC Kobe Leonessa)
HASEGAWA Yui (Manchester City/England)
SUGITA Hina (Portland Thorns FC/USA)
HAYASHI Honoka (West Ham United/England)
MINAMI Moeka (AS Roma/Italy)
NAGANO Fuka (Liverpool FC/England)
CHIBA Remina (JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies)
UEKI Riko (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza)
MIYAZAWA Hinata (Mynavi Sendai Ladies)
TAKAHASHI Hana (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Urawa Reds Ladies)
ENDO Jun (Angel City FC/USA)
ISHIKAWA Rion (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Urawa Reds Ladies)
FUJINO Aoba (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza)
HAMANO Maika (Hammarby IF/Sweden)

For Zambia, the Copper Queens head coach Bruce Mwape in May named 35 members for a provisional squad ahead of the WWC, comprised of 22 locals and 13 foreign-based players that will hold a local camp on June 3 before proceeding to Furth, Germany for an international camp with games against fellow WWC Finalists Republic of Ireland, Switzerland and Germany. It is good to see so many local players involved in the trip to Germany, who will gain experience by playing European sides, have more time to make the Finals squad but also could be noticed by European clubs and their scouts during their friendly matches.

Green Buffaloes Women's FC forward Maylan Mulenga, who finished the FAZ Women's Super League season as the third highest goalscorer with 23 goals, was included in the squad. Besides the 22 local players, the others in the camp play in Kazakhstan (4), Spain (4), Turkey (3) and China (2):

GOALKEEPERS

Catherine Musonda (Tomiris-Turan-Kazakhstan), Eunice Sakala (Nkwazi Queens), Hazel Nali (Fatih Vatan Sport-Turkey), Chitete Munsaka (Elite Ladies), Letisha Lungu (ZESCO Ndola Girls)

DEFENDERS

Margaret Belemu (Shanghai Shengli-China), Martha Tembo (BIIK Kazygurt Shymkent-Kazakhstan), Lushomo Mweemba, Agness Musesa, Esther Siamfuko (all Green Buffaloes), Pauline Zulu, Esther Banda (BUSA), Judith Soko (YASA), Jackline Nkole (Indeni Roses), Mary Mulenga (Red Arrows), Vast Phiri (ZESCO Ndola Girls)

MIDFIELDERS

Comfort Selemani (Elite Ladies), Misozi Zulu (Hakkarigucu Spur-Turkey), Ireen Lungu, Hellen Chanda (both BIIK Kazygurt Shymkent-Kazakhstan), Evarine Susan Katongo (ZISD Women), Mary Wilombe, Susan Banda (both Red Arrows), Rhoda Chileshe (Indeni Roses), Prisca Chilufya (Fatih Karagumruk A.S-Turkey), Avell Chitundu (ZESCO Ndola Girls)

STRIKERS

Xiomara Mapepa (Elite Ladies), Ochumba Oseke Lubanji (Red Arrows), Regina Chanda (ZANACO Ladies), Hellen Mubanga, Rachael Nachula (both Zaragoza CFF-Spain), Grace Chanda, Rachael Kundananji (both Madrid CFF-Spain), Barbra Banda (Shanghai Shengli-China), Maylan Mulenga (Green Buffaloes)

On June 8, Zambia's women's national football team added American coach Lisa Cole to their technical team as a technical advisor to head coach Bruce Mwape for the Women's World Cup. This move has been known for a few weeks within the coaching community in the States and Cole is extremely qualified to help Zambia as a technical advisor. She led Papua New Guinea at the U-20 Women's World Cup when the country was a host in 2016. She coached host Fiji last year in the Oceania Women's Nations Cup, which doubled as WWC qualifiers for this year's Finals, when they lost to Papua New Guinea in the Final match. She has been an assistant coach at three colleges in the U.S. (including Florida State University) and the head coach at the University of Rhode Island. In the pro leagues, she has been an assistant coach for Boston Breakers in WPS, a head coach for the Breakers in the WPSL-Elite and NWSL and later an assistant coach with the Houston Dash. She coached the U.S. U-17 women's national team and has also been the Director of Women's Football and head coach for Antigua and Barbuda in CONCACAF. I have known Lisa for years and she is an excellent choice. I just wonder why, since her hire has been in the works for a little while, the Zambian federation could not have brought her in earlier to help with the WWC team for a longer period while also assessing and evaluating the local soccer scene as well.

Staff of Zambian head coach Bruce Mwape (second from right) ahead of the 2023 WWC Finals.

Photo courtesy of the Football Association of Zambia.

Zambia fell to Ireland 3-2 in a friendly in Dublin on June 22. Zambia took the lead in the 17th minute when Barbra Banda's shot deflected off of Isibeal Atkinson (West Ham United in the WSL), the post and into the goal. Amber Barrett (Turbine Potsdam of Germany) scored a second half brace while Claire O'Riordan (Celtic of Scotland) added another by the 65th minute for a 3-1 lead. Rachel Kundananji scored again for Zambia with 12 minutes left but couldn't score again. Zambia's two goals again emphasized that they will trouble defenses in Australia/New Zealand this summer.

Costa Rica's head coach Amelia Valverde brought in 30 players to camp in early June (see graphic below). Nineteen play at home, three are based in Mexico, two in the U.S., and one in France, with five unattached—all who have played professionally or collegiately abroad:

• Lixy Rodriguez (32), who played with Leon in Mexico last season and in the past in Spain.
• Emile Valenciano has played collegiately in the States in the past at the Citadel, a military college in South Carolina.
• Priscilla Chinchilla (21) has been playing for the past three years for Glasgow City in Scotland and could see a move after the World Cup to one of the top European leagues (see more in: The Week in Women's Football: Profiling Kaloyan Petkov; Celtic welcome Chinese starlets; Euro League reviews - Tribal Football).

• Carolina Venegas (31) played last season for Atlas of Mexico, scoring four goals in eight matches in the 2022-23 Apertura and then adding six goals in 15 games in the Clausura; she has also played in Spain, Portugal and in the UWS in the States with the Santa Clarita Blue Heat in 2017, making the Championship Final that season.

• Sofia Varela (25) played last season for Santos Laguna in Mexico and had eight goals in 25 matches across the two championships in 2022-23.

Group C Prognosis:

This group should be pretty clear cut, with Spain and Japan advancing to the knockout stage. Spain—if the players can unify under their embattled head coach—could make the semifinals and even the Final while Japan could finish at the Quarterfinal stage, one round better than they did in France at the last WWC, falling to ultimate runners-up the Netherlands in a difficult match. Zambia and their attackers, led by Barbra Banda, should be a delight to watch and they will score. Costa Rica, in their second WWC in the last three, will hope to be able to move more of their younger players abroad via this shop window.

Group D in Australia—China PR, Denmark, England and Haiti.

England should make the semifinals at least, while topping this group easily, despite some late injuries this year that have taken out some key talent in the side. Denmark were runners-up in 2017 at the Women's EUROS but fell at the group stage at the 2021 Women Euros and likely won't have Racing Louisville's Nadia Nadim, as she recovers from a second ACL injury last year, though she had a late recovery last summer to make the EUROs final side from her first ACL. Denmark hasn't been in the WWC Finals since 2007 in China, failing to advance from the Group Stage, the same as in 1999 in the U.S., though they made the Quarterfinals in the first two events in 1991 in China and 1995 in Sweden. The expansion from 24 to 32 teams for 2023 has allowed them and other European nations to join the traditional qualifiers like England, France, Germany, Spain, etc. China is the current regional Asian Champions for 2022, while Haiti's triumph is huge for the French-Speaking Caribbean as well as the nation itself, though the squad is likely to come entirely from those playing for clubs abroad or their diaspora.

England announced their roster on June 1 and there were some notable absences. Forward Beth Mead (Arsenal) tore her ACL in November and said that she would not make it back for the WWC. Mead won the 2021 EUROs Golden Boot with 6 goals, added 5 assists and was named Player of the Tournament last summer. England head coach Sarina Wiegman said: "She is so positive and she's going really well. But we set the time schedule she had. We would have taken so many risks to try and get her to the World Cup. But to push her too much could mean she gets injured again."

Forward Fran Kirby (Chelsea) and Arsenal's Leah Williamson will miss the tournament due to ACL injuries. Williamsson (26) went down in the third week of April after only 11 minutes of a crucial match against Manchester United. She went down after winning the ball in a seemingly innocuous challenge with Katie Zelem on the halfway line and immediately indicated that she was in pain. Williamson, the EUROs winning captain last summer, said on Instagram: "Until I have the words to express my feelings properly, I will struggle to verbalise them. The noise around the situation is loud and I need some quiet to let it all sink in. Unfortunately, the World Cup and Champions League dream is over for me and everyone will think that's the main focus, but it's the day-to-day of what I'm about to go through that is the most draining of my thoughts. I had my tears and made my peace with it the night it happened and since then I have been following the steps I'm told to, in order to best help myself in the short and long term. Ultimately, I think it's just my time. In the past couple of years alone I have watched teammates beat serious illnesses and adversity with the biggest of smiles on their faces. I also hold perspective that globally there are much greater difficulties and therefore my circumstances right now are just that, circumstantial, and I've seen a lot worse."

Beth England of Tottenham is back with the squad after scoring 12 goals for Spurs in 12 games following her transfer to the club in January from Chelsea (where she played for six and one-half seasons) and was critical in helping her new London side stay in the WSL as they finished ninth on 18 points and safely out of the relegation zone; she scored a brace in three of her club's last four matches as they picked up five points. Spurs topped Leicester City and Brighton & Hove Albion (both tied on 16 points) and relegated Reading (11 points). She was on the side but did not play in last summer's Three Lionesses EURO triumph at home but with the injuries in attack, she should see significant playing time. Other injured players who missed playing time this year from knee surgeries will be back, including Chelsea center back Millie Bright and Barcelona defender Lucy Bronze. Jordan Nobbs was also named despite sustaining an injury in Aston Villa's penultimate game of the season. Katie Zelem returns after not making the last squad in April for matches against Australia and Brazil.

The team's former captain, Steph Houghton of Manchester City, was not selected for the squad. Only three of the players are based with clubs abroad: two in Spain and one in Germany:

Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Manchester United), Hannah Hampton (Aston Villa), Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City)
Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona/ESP), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Esme Morgan (Manchester City), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal)
Midfielders: Laura Coombs (Manchester City), Jordan Nobbs (Aston Villa), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich/GER), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona/ESP), Katie Zelem (Manchester United)
Forwards: Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Bethany England (Tottenham Hotspur), Lauren Hemp, (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Katie Robinson (Brighton), Alessia Russo (Manchester United)

Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United), Jess Park (Manchester City but spent the 2022-23 season on loan at Everton) and goalkeeper Emily Ramsey (Everton) have been named on standby and will train with the squad when they report to St. George's Park during the week of June 19.

Houston Dash's Ebony Salmon was also named as an alternate, according to her Houston Dash head coach and English native Sam Laity, when I talked with him shortly after the announcement: "She [Salmon] is disappointed. Who wouldn't want to play in a World Cup? There's another chance for her. She has to be ready. She's on the reserve list [for the] first four names called up if there is anyone dropping out…. She also understands; she is actually pretty mature for her age. The message is pretty clear—keep going, the pressure is off a little bit now, enjoy your football, do your best in training."

In a few European nations with strong local leagues, like England, France and Spain, it is a risk for a national team pool prospect to move to the U.S. or Mexico because of the distance to travel for national team camps and call-ups. The NWSL certainly does have current European internationals, but Salmon might have been a casualty of her not being ever-present in WSL games or telecasts. This is something that we will continue to track in the future, particularly after the Women's World Cup this summer, as a number of players from Europe and elsewhere are expected to sign long-term deals with NWSL clubs for the second half of the season, which we will begin reporting on in our NWSL season reviews later this summer.

The first game between Denmark and China could be crucial in deciding the other team to advance. For Denmark, Pernille Harder has twice finished top of 'The 100 Best Female Footballers in the World' by The Guardian; she's scored in the finals of the UEFA Women's Champions League and the UEFA Women's EURO, won seven league titles in three different countries and was named European Player of the Decade by the IFFHS. Yet Harder (30) has never played in a World Cup Finals. Olympique Lyon forward Signe Bruun complements Harder in attack. A downside is that Stine Larson (27) of Hacken of Sweden—who has over 20 goals in almost 70 national team games—will miss the tournament due to an ACL. At press time, the final roster had not been released.

Since winning the AFC title in early 2022, China has only won once, with four ties and two losses—the latter to Sweden (4-1) and Spain (3-0). Midfielder Wu Chengshu scored twice in eight games with Canberra United of the A-League Women in Australia. Forward Jiali Tang (28) played at CF Madrid last season and previously at Tottenham. Forward Yuxi Xiao (27) played nine games at Adelaide United in the A-League Women but did not score in a side that struggled. For China to have any chance of making the knock out stage, they have to boost their scoring ratio.

Haiti will score and entertain with some talented forwards. Haiti's advancement through the Intercontinental Playoffs to become the first French-speaking island nation from CONCACAF to make the Finals was a tremendous achievement and well deserved, particularly as players have had to overcome emotional and sexual abuse from the very highest levels at the federation at home for years. This team has been building for a decade and nothing should take away from that achievement. Most of their players, though not dominated by diaspora like Philippines, play abroad, primarily in France.

Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women's football. Get yours copy today.

Follow Tim on Twitter: @TimGrainey