Ride or die

The GIST: Twenty-five days, 106 goals, and many missed penalty kicks later, world No. 5 England is the UEFA Women’s Euro champion once again, defeating No. 2 Spain 3–1 in yesterday’s penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw.

• Here’s how the Lionesses outgritted, outplayed, and outlasted La Roja — and what the tourney’s success means for the growing women’s game.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England’s rollercoaster run ends with back-to-back titles: The red and white’s title defense seemed shaky — they lost their opener and were slow to find the back of the net all tourney — but time after time, the Lionesses roared back, launching three knockout stage comebacks on their path to the trophy.

• Yesterday was no different: England needed a second-half equalizer after Spanish midfielder Mariona Caldentey opened scoring early.

• Both teams failed to score in extra time, pushing the game to penalty kicks, where Lioness miracle goalkeeper Hannah Hampton made two crucial saves and supersub Chloe Kelly sealed the deal. It’s giving déjà vu.

👀 Zooming out: This was both the most-watched and the best-attended Women’s Euro ever, with a record-setting 657,291 fans trekking to Switzerland to cheer on their squads. And here in North America, the viewership numbers have been equally impressive, with U.S. viewership of the group stage alone doubling from 2022.

• TL;DR? You don’t need the No. 1 USWNT or No. 8 CanWNT in competition to draw an audience on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. The appetite for international women’s footy is only getting bigger.

The GIST: LA Spark Cameron Brink has been cleared to hit the hardwood nearly 13 months after tearing her ACL, but as she prepares to make her highly-anticipated return, injuries continue to wreak havoc across the league — and the repercussions could be far-reaching.

❤️‍🩹 NY Liberty icon Breanna Stewart avoids serious injury: Seafoam supporters held their collective breath on Saturday when Stewie left the court just three minutes into NY’s 101–99 loss to the LA Sparks. The two-time MVP shouldn’t miss extended time though, a huge relief for NY as they jockey for control of the Eastern Conference and enter a brutal stretch of their schedule.

• It’s the latest in a string of high-profile injuries: Golden State Valkyries All-Star Kayla Thornton also underwent season-ending knee surgery on Friday, a devastating blow for the Valks, who are fighting for a playoff spot in their inaugural season.

👀 A concerning injury trend emerges: With half the schedule still to play, there’s already been 164 documented injuries across the league so far this season. For context, there were 203 total last season and just 175 in 2023. That’s already a shocking 138% increase in two short years, and the question on everyone’s mind is why?

• Of course, there are plenty of variables to consider, but there has been a notable increase in the number of regular-season games each team plays, up from 40 to 44. This resulted in a condensed schedule and more travel — and players have noticed.

• Not to mention, All-Stars didn’t enjoy much of a break last week, so players like the now-injured Stewart and Thornton missed out on much-needed recovery time. Add scheduling to the list of grievances as collective bargaining agreement talks continue.

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