Allie Krieger (Futbol Americas (ESPN)): "It's that confidence, that pure confidence that [Arsenal] play with. They won 16 of the last 19 g..."

Futbol Americas (ESPN) · March 25, 2026 · 1h 5m

Futbol W: NWSL Week 2 Recap + Kiki van Zanten Joins The Show

Arsenal WFC momentum

It's that confidence, that pure confidence that [Arsenal] play with. They won 16 of the last 19 games. They won nine straight games. They came off of a 5-0 win against West Ham over the weekend.

Alyssa Thompson's form

She [Alyssa Thompson] has been spectacular 1v1. I think she's had a swagger about her. She's gotten better as the season has progressed for club and country. She is going to be a big piece of if they are able to come back in the second leg.

Kansas City Current defensive struggles

The concerning thing that I see [with Kansas City] is defensively and specifically on set pieces. It felt like two springs ago. I think that's a real concern if you're them because I know when Vlatko Andonovski was the coach, he was livid about that issue.

NWSL officiating

I think the refereeing so far, two weeks in, has been very good. The yellow cards have been yellows. The reds have been reds. I actually love [the ref cam], even beyond the wild moments. It's in some ways even justified some of these calls.

Arsenal WFC form

I was frustrated at the start of the season, kept picking up a little niggle with my knee, but now I feel back. I feel confident and playing under Renee, she gives me a lot of confidence.

Portland Thorns performance

I look at Jesse Fleming, both sides of the ball. After week one, where we had a couple red cards for Canadians, Captain Canada makes amends for teammates' red cards. It was a performance for the ages at a team level.

Wolfsburg tactical approach

I think for us, it's very important to be aggressive. Maybe let's make a foul sometimes so that they don't get in their game.

NWSL parity

This goes to show you that the league continues to prove that there are no easy games. Chicago now wanted to prove that last weekend was not the team or identity that they wanted to be and showcase.

NWSL discipline

I'm not cool with players getting red cards because they're not being smart in the situations where I think it could be preventable. In moments that are really key, you just have to be smarter in that situation.

Houston Dash culture

I think the strength of the roster and the trust that we have for each other is so different than the years past. We talk a lot about unity and just doing things together. If we win as a team, we lose as a team.