USWNT Stars Shine and Struggle in WSL Opening Weekend

Chelsea dominated. The scoreline didn’t.

On an opening weekend that should have ended with three points, the champions were instead stung late as Aston Villa snatched a 1-1 draw, a sharp reminder that possession and pressure mean little without a ruthless edge.

At the heart of it all was Alyssa Thompson.

Thompson’s bigger stage at Chelsea

Given a start and plenty of license, Thompson kept finding the right pockets, the right runs, the right moments. What she didn’t find was the finish. For Chelsea, that wastefulness turned a controlled performance into a familiar frustration. For Thompson, it underlined exactly where her next step must come.

Chelsea need her now. Not as a promising kid, but as a frontline threat.

With Millie Bright, Guro Reiten and Sam Kerr gone, the dressing room feels different. The hierarchy has shifted. There is space in the attack, and pressure to fill it. Thompson’s first year laid the groundwork: seven league goals, a team-high return that hinted at how quickly she can adapt.

Year two is not about hints. It’s about production.

Her trajectory with the USWNT is already rising. Stationed on the right wing, she has four goals for the national team and has turned flashes of talent into real end product, strengthening her grip on a roster spot ahead of qualifiers. The template is there: direct, decisive, dangerous.

Chelsea now need that same player in blue — the one who turns promising positions into the goals that kill off games like this one.

Coffey’s quiet but crucial step

For Sam Coffey, the weekend was less about headlines and more about the simple act of stepping back onto the pitch. After a knee injury wrecked her previous WSL campaign and kept her out of the USWNT’s June friendlies, the midfielder finally returned in Manchester City’s 3-1 win over Birmingham City.

She entered in the 73rd minute, replacing Laura Blindkilde Brown, a late cameo that carried more significance than its box-score line would suggest. It marked a restart.

Coffey arrived from Portland Thorns midway through last season and grew steadily into City’s midfield as they chased the WSL title. Her reading of the game, her ability to anchor play and connect lines, made her a natural fit as the pressure ramped up. Then the injury halted everything.

Now she has her platform back.

Her return also lands as a timely boost for Emma Hayes. Without Coffey in June, the USWNT lacked a trusted, natural holding midfielder against Brazil, a gap that was glaring in the balance of the side. Getting Coffey back on the grass is the first box ticked.

The next is rhythm. If she finds it quickly in Manchester, she can force her way right back into the center of Hayes’ plans for club and country.

Fox, steady as ever for Arsenal

Some players live in chaos. Emily Fox lives in consistency.

Arsenal’s opener — a tight 1-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion — showcased exactly why coaches lean on her. No fuss, no drama, just another assured performance at outside back as the Gunners banked three important points.

Arsenal pushed their line high, squeezed the pitch and hunted the ball back early, a risky approach that demands discipline and sharp defensive instincts from fullbacks. Fox delivered, again. She picked her moments to step, shut down space, and still found time to join attacks when the chance was there.

Since arriving in 2024, she has become one of Arsenal’s most reliable two-way outlets. She doesn’t need to crash the highlight reels to shape a match; her value lies in the fact that you almost never have to worry about her side of the field.

For the USWNT, that same reliability is gold. On a weekend of mixed fortunes for American players, Fox’s performance was exactly what you’d expect: solid, smart, and quietly decisive.

Tullis-Joyce’s rough start, bigger battle

Phallon Tullis-Joyce’s season began with a jolt.

Within eight minutes of Manchester United’s opener against London City Lionesses, she had already been dragged into a complicated afternoon. After a couple of early saves, she was caught out of position on a corner, leaving Alanna Kennedy free to head in and punish United’s slack set-piece defending.

The problems at the back didn’t stop there.

As United chased the game late, another lapse in the 82nd minute left Daniëlle van de Donk with the space — and audacity — to flick home a cheeky finish behind her back. The 2-1 defeat summed up an untidy defensive display and left Tullis-Joyce and her back line with a long list to fix.

For the goalkeeper, the stakes stretch beyond Carrington. She is firmly in the conversation for the USWNT’s No. 1 shirt, but the battle will not be won on shot-stopping alone. Her footwork and distribution remain under the microscope, key areas she must sharpen to fully earn Hayes’ trust.

A strong WSL season could tilt that race. If Tullis-Joyce can match her shot-stopping with calm, reliable work at her feet, she has a real chance to separate herself from the pack.

On opening weekend, the margins were clear for all four Americans: Thompson must turn threat into goals, Coffey must turn minutes into rhythm, Fox must keep doing what she always does, and Tullis-Joyce must turn raw potential into complete command.

The season won’t wait for any of them.