Into the Channel ⚽️ A Podcast Primarily About Women's Football

Yeah, the Olympic women's football tournament has started by the time this will be published to Spotify and Apple podcasts, but now you'll have the opportunity to laugh at what predictions we immediately got wrong on Matchday 1.

In this episode, we put all 12 Olympic sides into neat little tiers based on our expectations for them.

Who can go for the gold? Who will celebrate a silver or bronze? And who will be content walking away with a participation ribbon?

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing coverage of the NWSL and the 2024 Olympics.

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The Olympics are nearly here, so let's take a (figurative) trip to France to cover the home side for the tournament.

Our guest today is Assile Toufaily, former Lebanon Women's National Team player, PhD Candidate, and freelance football writer for Forbes. Assile is based in France and does incredible work covering Division 1 Arkema and the global women's game.

In this episode, we discuss the possibility of this being the last-best chance for some of France's legendary players to win a major tournament; France's lack of attack during Euro qualifiers; and how manager Herve Renard's search for his next job has made the news.

Would you like to stay informed on women's football, especially in France? Then you absolutely should check out Assile's work in Forbes, as well as follow her on social media:

Forbes; Twitter; Tik Tok; Instagram; The Super Subs IG

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing coverage of the NWSL and the 2024 Olympics.

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The Olympic previews roll on, and this time we're talking about the US Women's National Team.

In this episode, we sit down with Bridie O'Toole, the founder and host of "Busy Watching Women's Soccer," the phenomenal YouTube show where Bridie breaks down film and gives in-depth tactical analysis.

We started with the incredibly unfortunate news about Cat Macario's injury and how that could affect how USA plays out of the midfield.

Then, we discussed USWNT through the context of their three upcoming Olympic opponents: Zambia, Germany, and Australia. Bridie dropped some tactical knowledge on how the USA might approach each opponent and what those opponents might try to counter the stars and stripes.

(Editorial note: This episode was recorded after the friendly vs. Mexico and before the send-off match vs. Costa Rica, but we made at least one pre-match prediction for that one, so listen closely to see if we got it right or wrong.)

We encourage you to support Bridie's work. Her videos are really thoughtful, and if you rock with us, chances are you view football in a similar way, but she'll still surprise you with great insights.

Bridie's YouTube channel

⁠Bridie's website⁠

Bridie's Patreon

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing coverage of the NWSL and the 2024 Olympics.

Check us out:

X/Twitter: @itc_pod 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@intothechannelpod

Instagram: @intothechannelpod

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Our Olympic previews march on, and we are thrilled to welcome Júlia Belas Trindade to break down Brazil.

Júlia is an educator, researcher, PhD student, and freelance football writer for the Guardian, where she regularly contributes to the newsletter "Moving the Goalposts."

In this episode, we chat with Júlia about the evolving landscape of women's football in Brazil, the team's potential ceiling at this Olympic tournament, the key players they'll need to play well to reach that ceiling, and much more. (And, of course, you know we talked about the potential return of Kerolin.)

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing coverage of the NWSL and the 2024 Olympics.

Check us out:

X/Twitter: @itc_pod 

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Our Olympic preview coverage continues as we're joined by the great Mariam Kourabi of She Scores Bangers, who breaks down her home team of Canada.

In this episode, Mariam discusses the ups and downs the Canadian national team has gone through the past few years, with winning the 2020 Olympic Gold Medal, struggling through a disappointing 2023 World Cup, and now managing the departure of legendary players while building a new culture around talented young players.

We also got into her thoughts on Canada's chances in Group A and the tournament, more broadly.

You can -- and should -- get a wide range of football news from Mariam on twitter, and you can listen to her show on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing coverage of the NWSL and the 2024 Olympics.

Check us out:

X/Twitter: @itc_pod 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@intothechannelpod

Instagram: @intothechannelpod

Threads: @intothechannelpod

Tik Tok: @intothechannel

We continue our trek through the Olympic contenders by chatting with Peter Weis of Bulinews.

Peter has been writing about football for more than 20 years, and has covered every major women's international tournament since 2011.

In this episode, Peter talks tactics and how Germany's group of Frauen-Bundesliga stars will connect for the national team after a disappointing showing in the 2023 World Cup.

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing coverage of the NWSL and the 2024 Olympics.

Check us out:

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The 2024 Olympics is nearly here, and that means the incredible women's football tournament is here with it.

In this episode, we chat with Samantha Lewis, a true pioneer in women's football journalism. Samantha currently writes for ABC News in Australia covering the Matildas and all things women's football, and you can listen to her on the ESPN podcast, The Far Post.

We talked about Australia's chances at medaling, what young players we should watch for in the tournament, and who needs to perform their best in order for "the Tillies" to meet the fans' high expectations.

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing coverage of the NWSL and the 2024 Olympics.

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In our endless search to discuss the NWSL through as many lenses as possible, we decided to look at Matchweek 15 through the lens of two teams and two players who jumped out to us.

Spotlight teams

- North Carolina Courage smothered Washington Spirit in their 1-0 victory in Washington DC Saturday, and their smothering defense caught Dino's eye. On top of that, the club is anxiously awaiting the arrival of Australian attacker/midfielder Cortnee Vine, as well as the potential return of 2023 NWSL MVP Kerolin. Big things happening in Cary, North Carolina.

- Chicago Red Stars went to San Diego and scored a 3-0 win over the Wave (*Please see the editorial note below*) Grant talked about what he saw in Chicago's big away victory, then wondered aloud about the makeup of this Chicago side and how things might shake out in the playoffs.

Spotlight players

- Dino broke down the impact of Claire Hutton, the 18-year-old defensive midfielder for the Kansas City Current, who has been a stalwart for the club at the top of the table. Through a mix of consistency, good decision-making, and availability, Hutton is making a real mark on the league in her rookie campaign.

- Grant chose to spotlight Orlando Pride's Adriana and her weekend brace vs. Angel City FC. The Brazilian winger has been racking up good performances the past six weeks, and she could prove to be a pivotal piece in Orlando's chase for the NWSL Shield and the NWSL Championship.

Editorial note: This episode was recorded on July 1, two days before Brittany Alvarado, former Video and Creative Manager at San Diego Wave FC, released a statement about the treatment she and other employees endured while at the club.

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing coverage of the NWSL and the 2024 Olympics.

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The USWNT announced its Olympic roster, and we have notes!

Players not on the roster

- Lily Yohannes was not included on the roster, but it's not so simple as her being "left off." Dino did some reporting, and we have the inside scoop. After that, we talked about the potential implications of Yohannes not being in the squad

- Croix Bethune is an alternate, and that's cool and all, but could the USWNT miss her incredible passing ability as a true No. 10?

- No Alex Morgan, either. We discussed why that could have been and salute the legend, who will surely get more time with the national team eventually, including a much-deserved retirement tour when the time comes

The positional units

- We take a look at the keepers, defenders, midfielders, and forwards selected to the squad and detail what we like about the versatility and continuity of the squad

- But we also looked at some potential holes in the skills this team might need to win the gold medal

The ITC Starting 11

- You know we love to put together a starting 11, so we did exactly that, starting from starting GK (take a guess), and working our way forward

How far can this team go?

- We wrapped things up by walking through the bracket after the group stage and making wayyyyyy too early predictions because sports punditry is supposed to be fun and we like to do that

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing coverage of the NWSL and the 2024 Olympics.

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San Diego Wave FC announced the club has parted ways with manager Casey Stoney.

Dino and Grant talk about Stoney's time at the Wave, including the club winning the 2023 NWSL Shield and the 2024 Challenge Cup, before diving into what's been a dismal 14 weeks to start this season.

After that, your boys talk about the three teams at the front of the line in the title race: Kansas City Current, Orlando Pride, and Washington Spirit.

We dive into the stats and storylines for those big three, but we haven't forgotten that Gotham FC and Portland Thorns FC remain alive in the title race with roughly half the season remaining.

Finally, we discussed Seattle Reign FC's home draw vs. Racing Louisville, which led to Reign manager Laura Harvey providing some insight into the club's future plans during the post-match press conference.

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing coverage of the NWSL and the 2024 Olympics.

Check us out:

X/Twitter: @itc_pod 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@intothechannelpod

Instagram: @intothechannelpod

Threads: @intothechannelpod

Tik Tok: @intothechannel