Welcome back to Matildas Abroad, where I analyse the performances of all our Aussies playing overseas!
America (NWSL) — Gotham win on Kerr's début, Thorns suffer defeat
Mackenzie Arnold (centre) is one of the best goalkeepers in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). However, her race for the Golden Glove is becoming more difficult. Image source: Instagram (@cascadia.fc and @ghostlightarchives).
Mackenzie Arnold was in goals for Portland Thorns in their match against Seattle Reign, in which the Thorns suffered a 2–0 loss away from home in the fierce Cascadia Rivalry, a showdown between Oregon's Portland and Washington's Seattle in the Cascadia region of the Pacific Northwest (PNW). The loss pushes the Thorns down to third place, and it also gives Macca a setback in her race for the Golden Glove, in which she is equal second with the Spirit's Sandy McIver (Scotland's number one) on six clean sheets and two behind current leader Ann Katrin-Berger from Gotham (Germany's number one) on eight.
Sam Kerr (pictured) has made her long-awaited début for Gotham FC, coming on as a substitute in the historic Queens Classic. It's the first of many games to come for the Matildas captain and NWSL regular season all-time leading goalscorer. Image source: Instagram (@matildas).
Meanwhile, Gotham FC had two matches this week, kicking things off with a 3–1 win on the road over Utah Royals. Then of course, Gotham played the big game: the Queens Classic, a historic fixture in the District versus Empire rivalry against Mid-Atlantic rivals Washington Spirit. The first ever women's sporting event held at the iconic Citi Field and the first pro women's soccer match in NYC proper, the Queens Classic was a sold-out spectacle attended by 42,175 fans, making it the most attended women's sporting event in New York's history, smashing the record previously set by Coco Gauff's 2023 US Open women's singles final at nearby Arthur Ashe Stadium (which had an attendance of 28,143). It was also the second-most attended NWSL match in history, behind only the record of 63,004 set earlier this year for Denver Summit's inaugural match. The match ended 1–0 to Gotham thanks to a worldie from USWNT star Rose Lavelle, but the hype didn't end there as Sam Kerr came off the bench in the 64th minute to replace Sarah Schupansky in left midfield, adding another twist to an incredible story that will go down in the history books. Gotham sit fourth with a game in hand, on equal points with the Thorns who don't have a game in hand.
Canada (NSL) — Tumeth captains the Rise to an Aussie derby win
Tori Tumeth (pictured), who signed for the club just a few months ago, captained Vancouver Rise for the first time in an important win over Calgary Wild. Image source: Instagram (@hami.photos).
This week in the NSL, we saw all three Aussies face off in a bottom of the table battle between Calgary Wild and Vancouver Rise, played out in the Albertan capital. It was the visitors who ran out victors, with Tori Tumeth playing the entirety of the match for the Rise, who won 4–2, even captaining the side for the first time since signing ahead of the season. Meanwhile, Kahli Johnson remained out injured for the Wild, managed by Leah Blayney (who was coaching her début match for the side and her first ever club match, as she her only previous coaching experience was with national teams). The Rise remain second last in fifth after 11 matches, but have closed the gap with fourth-placed Halifax Tides after their 1–0 loss away to Montréal Roses. As for the Wild, they remain winless with just two points after 10 matches, setting them up for a second poor season after coming second last in the inaugural season last year. In the NSL, the top four advance to the playoffs, while the bottom two are eliminated but not relegated (as Canada lacks a second tier).
Transfer Talk — Grant joins Malmö, Tilly McNamara joins Racing Power, Tonkin joins Torreense
Charli Grant (pictured) has returned to Malmö, joining Malmö FF on a three-year contract. MFF are aiming to qualify for the Champions League and lift silverware, but there's a big gap to close in the Damallsvenskan this year. Image source: Instagram (@malmo_ff and @charli_grant).
Kicking off this very South Australian edition of Transfer Talk, Charli Grant has finally revealed her next destination after leaving Tottenham. The Adelaidean left-back, a product of Adelaide United, has returned to the Damallsvenskan and to Malmö, this time signing for the sky blue side of the city. She joins Malmö on a three-year deal, keeping her at the club until 2029 (unless a club is willing to pay a transfer fee). The Matildas fan favourite is no stranger to Scania, having previously played for Rosengård (now Malmö's rivals) and later Vittsjö before spending two and a half seasons at Spurs in the WSL. She also becomes the third or fourth Aussie to be at the club, joining Matildas teammates Courtney Nevin and Amy Sayer as well as Serbia international Vesna Milivojević, setting up an exciting Malmö Derby against Rosengård, who also have three Aussies (Izzy Gómez, Bryleeh Henry and Remy Siemsen). Journalist Isha Singhal, known by her social media alias Isha on the Field, was the first outlet to report the signing, and has already dubbed the clubs Ausengård and Ausmö, reminiscent of the 2023 Kristianstad team (featuring Amy, Remy and now-retired Clare Polkinghorne) or the North London Derbies between Ausenal versus Tottenham Ozspur.
Both of Adelaide United's centre-backs have left for Portugal's Campeonato Nacional Feminino (Liga BPI), with Matilda McNamara (left) joining Racing Power and Ella Tonkin (right) joining Torreense. Image sources: Instagram (@beyondthepitch2024 and @becpphotos, and @torreensefeminino and @ella.tonkin).
Going back to Adelaide United, two of their star centre-backs have signed contracts in Portugal's Campeonato Nacional (Liga BPI), with Tilly McNamara joining Racing Power and Ella Tonkin joining Torreense. The duo will join Valadares Gaia's Margaux Chauvet and Marítimo's Leah de Oliveira in the Portuguese top flight, with Carla Wilson and Damaiense now playing in the II Divisão. Racing battled relegation last season, sitting in seventh place and just one point above eighth, with eighth and ninth going to the relegation playoffs last season while 10th and last was, as usual, a direct relegation spot. Meanwhile, Torreense had a superb season, going from missing out on third place to Braga by just one point in 2024–25 to finishing three points off second in 2025–26 (with perennial champions Benfica and Sporting being the top two in that order, as usual). As a result of coming third, Torreense will play in the Champions League second qualifying round next season, being drawn against Anna Rasmussen's Juventus in a mini tournament hosted in Turin (as Juve are the highest ranked team in the mini tournament, above Hammarby and Albanian side Apolonia Fier).
Player of the Week — Tori Tumeth
This week's Player of the Week award goes to Tori Tumeth. Well done Tori!
Conclusion
That's all for this week, but stay tuned for next week! As always, feel free to jump into the comments with any questions or to discuss the weekend's matches. Thanks for reading, hopefully you found this helpful!
America (NWSL) — Gotham win on Kerr's début, Thorns suffer defeat
Mackenzie Arnold (centre) is one of the best goalkeepers in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). However, her race for the Golden Glove is becoming more difficult. Image source: Instagram (@cascadia.fc and @ghostlightarchives).
Mackenzie Arnold was in goals for Portland Thorns in their match against Seattle Reign, in which the Thorns suffered a 2–0 loss away from home in the fierce Cascadia Rivalry, a showdown between Oregon's Portland and Washington's Seattle in the Cascadia region of the Pacific Northwest (PNW). The loss pushes the Thorns down to third place, and it also gives Macca a setback in her race for the Golden Glove, in which she is equal second with the Spirit's Sandy McIver (Scotland's number one) on six clean sheets and two behind current leader Ann Katrin-Berger from Gotham (Germany's number one) on eight.
Sam Kerr (pictured) has made her long-awaited début for Gotham FC, coming on as a substitute in the historic Queens Classic. It's the first of many games to come for the Matildas captain and NWSL regular season all-time leading goalscorer. Image source: Instagram (@matildas).
Meanwhile, Gotham FC had two matches this week, kicking things off with a 3–1 win on the road over Utah Royals. Then of course, Gotham played the big game: the Queens Classic, a historic fixture in the District versus Empire rivalry against Mid-Atlantic rivals Washington Spirit. The first ever women's sporting event held at the iconic Citi Field and the first pro women's soccer match in NYC proper, the Queens Classic was a sold-out spectacle attended by 42,175 fans, making it the most attended women's sporting event in New York's history, smashing the record previously set by Coco Gauff's 2023 US Open women's singles final at nearby Arthur Ashe Stadium (which had an attendance of 28,143). It was also the second-most attended NWSL match in history, behind only the record of 63,004 set earlier this year for Denver Summit's inaugural match. The match ended 1–0 to Gotham thanks to a worldie from USWNT star Rose Lavelle, but the hype didn't end there as Sam Kerr came off the bench in the 64th minute to replace Sarah Schupansky in left midfield, adding another twist to an incredible story that will go down in the history books. Gotham sit fourth with a game in hand, on equal points with the Thorns who don't have a game in hand.
Canada (NSL) — Tumeth captains the Rise to an Aussie derby win
Tori Tumeth (pictured), who signed for the club just a few months ago, captained Vancouver Rise for the first time in an important win over Calgary Wild. Image source: Instagram (@hami.photos).
This week in the NSL, we saw all three Aussies face off in a bottom of the table battle between Calgary Wild and Vancouver Rise, played out in the Albertan capital. It was the visitors who ran out victors, with Tori Tumeth playing the entirety of the match for the Rise, who won 4–2, even captaining the side for the first time since signing ahead of the season. Meanwhile, Kahli Johnson remained out injured for the Wild, managed by Leah Blayney (who was coaching her début match for the side and her first ever club match, as she her only previous coaching experience was with national teams). The Rise remain second last in fifth after 11 matches, but have closed the gap with fourth-placed Halifax Tides after their 1–0 loss away to Montréal Roses. As for the Wild, they remain winless with just two points after 10 matches, setting them up for a second poor season after coming second last in the inaugural season last year. In the NSL, the top four advance to the playoffs, while the bottom two are eliminated but not relegated (as Canada lacks a second tier).
Transfer Talk — Grant joins Malmö, Tilly McNamara joins Racing Power, Tonkin joins Torreense
Charli Grant (pictured) has returned to Malmö, joining Malmö FF on a three-year contract. MFF are aiming to qualify for the Champions League and lift silverware, but there's a big gap to close in the Damallsvenskan this year. Image source: Instagram (@malmo_ff and @charli_grant).
Kicking off this very South Australian edition of Transfer Talk, Charli Grant has finally revealed her next destination after leaving Tottenham. The Adelaidean left-back, a product of Adelaide United, has returned to the Damallsvenskan and to Malmö, this time signing for the sky blue side of the city. She joins Malmö on a three-year deal, keeping her at the club until 2029 (unless a club is willing to pay a transfer fee). The Matildas fan favourite is no stranger to Scania, having previously played for Rosengård (now Malmö's rivals) and later Vittsjö before spending two and a half seasons at Spurs in the WSL. She also becomes the third or fourth Aussie to be at the club, joining Matildas teammates Courtney Nevin and Amy Sayer as well as Serbia international Vesna Milivojević, setting up an exciting Malmö Derby against Rosengård, who also have three Aussies (Izzy Gómez, Bryleeh Henry and Remy Siemsen). Journalist Isha Singhal, known by her social media alias Isha on the Field, was the first outlet to report the signing, and has already dubbed the clubs Ausengård and Ausmö, reminiscent of the 2023 Kristianstad team (featuring Amy, Remy and now-retired Clare Polkinghorne) or the North London Derbies between Ausenal versus Tottenham Ozspur.
Both of Adelaide United's centre-backs have left for Portugal's Campeonato Nacional Feminino (Liga BPI), with Matilda McNamara (left) joining Racing Power and Ella Tonkin (right) joining Torreense. Image sources: Instagram (@beyondthepitch2024 and @becpphotos, and @torreensefeminino and @ella.tonkin).
Going back to Adelaide United, two of their star centre-backs have signed contracts in Portugal's Campeonato Nacional (Liga BPI), with Tilly McNamara joining Racing Power and Ella Tonkin joining Torreense. The duo will join Valadares Gaia's Margaux Chauvet and Marítimo's Leah de Oliveira in the Portuguese top flight, with Carla Wilson and Damaiense now playing in the II Divisão. Racing battled relegation last season, sitting in seventh place and just one point above eighth, with eighth and ninth going to the relegation playoffs last season while 10th and last was, as usual, a direct relegation spot. Meanwhile, Torreense had a superb season, going from missing out on third place to Braga by just one point in 2024–25 to finishing three points off second in 2025–26 (with perennial champions Benfica and Sporting being the top two in that order, as usual). As a result of coming third, Torreense will play in the Champions League second qualifying round next season, being drawn against Anna Rasmussen's Juventus in a mini tournament hosted in Turin (as Juve are the highest ranked team in the mini tournament, above Hammarby and Albanian side Apolonia Fier).
Player of the Week — Tori Tumeth
This week's Player of the Week award goes to Tori Tumeth. Well done Tori!
Conclusion
That's all for this week, but stay tuned for next week! As always, feel free to jump into the comments with any questions or to discuss the weekend's matches. Thanks for reading, hopefully you found this helpful!
