The Women's Cup will kick off this week at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky on Wednesday. The inaugural tournament will be live on Paramount+ as four top flight women's clubs face off in this brand new event. The competition will be hosted by Racing Louisville FC and feature fellow NWSL side Chicago Red Stars, and welcome European sides Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
Ramona Bachman of PSG and Sarah Zadrazil of FC Bayern Munich sat down with Attacking Third to discuss expectations and tactics ahead of inaugural tournament. Both players have different experiences when it comes to the American side of the game. Bachman, the Swiss international who previously played in the WPS, a precursor league to the NWSL with the Atlanta Beat, considers NWSL a highly competitive league.
"I see the league as one of the toughest, athletic-wise," said Bachman on her perceptions of the NWSL.
"Basically the U.S. league is really athletic, all the teams look really fit. It's always tough to play. I've had my experiences, I've played in the U.S. league and obviously in international games against the USA. They're always really, really, tough games and you need to be focused. It's a lot about fitness and I think that's what we're lacking at the moment which is normal during preseason, but that's going to be a point where we focus on."
For Zadrazil, the Women's Cup is a chance to reconnect with the Southeastern part of the U.S. The Austrian international played collegiately at Eastern Tennesee State University.
"I had some flashbacks on the plane here to be honest," Zadrazil said on her return to the southeast.
"It's always a great feeling coming back to the U.S. I made super, super, good experiences here in college and really enjoyed my time here and I am really excited to play . . . I think we play some amazing teams [PSG] os a huge team in Europe, and two NWSL teams who are super good so I'm just excited to play. We always want to compete with the best and it's a great opportunity to do that."
The four matches of the tournament will take place beginning August 18. Racing Louisville FC and Chicago Red Stars play against other for a spot in the final in a match that's also part of the NWSL regular season. FC Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain will go head to head to represent Europe in the Women's Cup final, while the losers will compete in a third place match alongside the final on August 21. All matches will stream live on Paramount+.
And make sure to follow Attacking Third, a CBS Soccer Podcast devoted to all things women's soccer, bringing you coverage of the USWNT, NWSL, WSL and more with breaking news, previews recaps and in depth coverage of the sport's biggest stories.
