Hello good people,

I sincerely hope that you’ve found a way to enjoy some WAFCONing. If you haven’t, you missed one of the tournament’s most dramatic moments yet. South Africa lost their first match and were losing 2-0 to Ivory Coast. WAFCON doubles as World Cup qualification, and a second loss in the group stage would have sent South Africa out of WAFCON and next year’s World Cup. Thembi Kgatlana gave them hope with a banger in the 71st minute, then Hildah Magaia did this in the 99th:

Madness.

Also, the Chawinga sisters (Temwa and Tabitha) wrecked one of the tournament favorites, Nigeria, and Barbra Banda scored four goals against Egypt. The group stage wraps up next week, and there are still games every day until the serious business of the knockout stage begins. The full schedule is below.

In other woso news, I’ve finally gotten to some of the stuff I’ve been wanting to write. Ainsley McCammon’s absurd assist last weekend got me thinking about young players potentially on the verge of on-pitch glow ups. So I dug through some data to identify five players to watch the rest of the season.

We also had three Wednesday games, so those xG race charts and pass networks are in a piece below as well. I’m also linking to a fascinating conversation we had on Hey Spirits with James Hocken, Sporting Director at the Washington Spirit. I had a lot of questions about their scouting process and how they come across young, ready-made talents across the globe—and got some intriguing insight.

That’s all for now. Have a great WAFCON-filled weekend, and let’s do that woso…

A handful of young players have put up intriguing numbers throughout the first half of the season, and could be on the cusp of taking the next step. So I wrote about five young players to keep an eye on the rest of the season.

The week’s Wednesday slate gave us one game that featured three times as many goals as the combined score from the other two games. Game state was a factor, as was midweek travel and league position. Still, we learned some things about most of the teams that played Wednesday night, come let us nerd about it all.

Annie & I were joined by James Hocken, Sporting Director for the Washington Spirit! If you've ever wondered how the club scours the globe for talent, or what it takes to comply with a strict salary cap – this episode has answers.

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WAFCON is simply the best.