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

Ajax midfielder, American Wonderkid, and Into the Channel-favorite Lily Yohannes has been named to the USWNT's upcoming squad for two friendlies against South Korea.

We jumped in the studio to record our instant-reaction to the news while trying to provide a little context around a 16-year-old American player competing at a high-level in Europe and getting such a serious look at the national team.

We also discussed the fascinating choice Yohannes has between USWNT and the Dutch national team. It's certainly a situation that women's football fans across the USA and the Netherlands will be monitoring.

USA will first take on South Korea at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT on June 1; and the second friendly will be at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on June 4.

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing 2023-24 UEFA Women's Champions League #UWCL coverage. 

Check us out:

X/Twitter: @itc_pod 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@intothechannelpod

The Global Game certainly lived up to its name this past week.

In this episode, Dino and Grant talk about a couple of league-winners over in Europe before bouncing back stateside to cover a match of importance to both of them.

First, we discuss Lyon's victory over PSG in the D1 Arkema Final, which saw OL jump out to a 2-0 lead before PSG relied on its resilience and fantastic play from Tabita Chawinga to provide a pretty tight finish. There was plenty to get into from that match, and we tried to cover most of it.

Next, we hopped over to England, where Chelsea secured its fifth-straight WSL title with a dominant victory over Manchester United. We talked about the Blues' great performance, the impact of Mayra Ramirez, and the value of the team playing for Emma Hayes.

We also took a few minutes to let Grant get his sad-boy feelings out about his Manchester City squad winning their final match of the season, but also losing the title before his very eyes a few weeks back during their loss to Arsenal at Joie Stadium in Manchester.

And finally, we head back to our home country to discuss the "ITC Derby" between Seattle Reign FC and Orlando Pride. Where Dino's Pride took home a 3-2 victory in a match that had a surprisingly close scoreline, but also shined a light on each squad's strengths and weaknesses.

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing 2023-24 UEFA Women's Champions League #UWCL coverage. 

Check us out:

X/Twitter: @itc_pod 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@intothechannelpod

For the majority of clubs, we are 35 percent of the way through the NWSL season, and Dino and Grant have some thoughts about what we might see the rest of the way.

We started with the four favorites to win the NWSL Shield and discussed a relevant storyline related to each club:

Orlando Pride: Depth, flexibility, BANDA

Washington Spirit: Croix Bethune is very, very good

Portland Thorns FC: Sophia Smith playing for her second-straight Golden Boot and third-straight MVP

Kansas City Current: Chawinga + depth = Success! (Plus, the amazing contribution of African-born players in the NWSL)

After that, we talked a little about the rest of the teams in the league -- dedicating varying amounts of time to each.

Finally, we closed out with a brief (very brief, like, 3-4-minute) discussion about Championship Saturday in the WSL. Chelsea can lock up its fifth-consecutive league title in Emma Hayes' final match with the club with a win over Manchester United; but Manchester City is lurking if Chelsea falters.

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing 2023-24 UEFA Women's Champions League #UWCL coverage. 

Check us out:

X/Twitter: @itc_pod 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@intothechannelpod

In this episode, we (figuratively) travel to France and discuss the Division 1 Arkema semifinal matches and preview the final between our old pals: Lyon and PSG.

We've watched these clubs battle both in their domestic league and the UEFA Women's Champions League, so we're looking for another banger between these great squads.

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing 2023-24 UEFA Women's Champions League #UWCL coverage. 

Check us out:

X/Twitter: @itc_pod 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@intothechannelpod

Let the NWSL midweek action begin!

Dino and Grant discuss Wednesday night's action and take a quick look at what's next for those six clubs.

Houston Dash vs. Gotham FC

Gotham FC was able to notch a road victory in H-Town, and they're starting to show some signs of life after a slow start, but are they really the juggernaut everyone thought they'd be after their noisy offseason? Meanwhile, the Dash are hardly living up to their name offensively. What's next for this new ITC darling?

Seattle Reign FC vs. Kansas City Current

It was a physical battle in the Emerald City, and it also turned out to be a showcase for the Reign's backup goalkeeper Laurel Ivory. How did the Reign manage to contain the Current's explosive attack? Grant was in the building and asked Laura Harvey that exact question.

San Diego Wave FC vs. Utah Royals

Jaedyn Shaw looked like the best player on the pitch, but what else is new? The Wave have won two of their last three matches and have their goal differential back on the right side of zero. Utah is looking like an expansion club, but there's still multiple things to be excited about in Salt Lake City.

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing 2023-24 UEFA Women's Champions League #UWCL coverage. 

Check us out:

X/Twitter: @itc_pod 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@intothechannelpod

In this special WSL-focused episode of Into the Channel, Dino and Grant take a look at the title race across the pond.

First, we quickly recap Chelsea's mid-week stumble vs. Liverpool and the idea that the Blues were gasping for air on their way to the finish line.

Then, we cover Manchester City's devastating home loss to Arsenal, with a little extra reporting by Grant, who was in the building at Joie Stadium for the match.

Did Manchester City get too defensive in the second half? Were Arsenal's subs perfectly executed by Jonas Eidevall? Is the loss of Bunny Shaw too much for the Sky Blues to overcome? We ask those questions (and more) and try our best to answer them.

Lastly, we talk about Chelsea again -- who maybe aren't quite wheezing to the finish, after all. In Emma Hayes' final home match with the club, they battered Bristol City 8-0 and completely obliterated the goal differential-lead Manchester City had going into the day.

What does it mean for the title race? Your boys have takes.

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing 2023-24 UEFA Women's Champions League #UWCL coverage. 

Check us out:

X/Twitter: @itc_pod 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@intothechannelpod

The UEFA Women's Champions League Final is set. And even though plenty of people expected Barcelona to face off against Lyon for the trophy, neither club had an "easy" road to get here.

In this episode, Dino and Grant first talk about Barcelona's 2-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. We dove into the interesting lineup and formation changes Barca made, the Aitana Bonmatí masterclass, and yeah, the red card and general officiating woes.

We made sure to pay homage to Chelsea, who were worthy contenders throughout the tournament.

Next, we broke down Lyon's business-like 2-1 victory over French rivals PSG. We've talked a lot about Lyon scoring early, but the past few matches have shown they've been saving goals for later, too. What does that mean?

And, of course, we bid farewell to another one of our new favorite clubs, but we'll continue to keep an eye on PSG as they make their way through the Division 1 Arkema playoffs in league-play.

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing 2023-24 UEFA Women's Champions League #UWCL coverage. 

Check us out:

X/Twitter: @itc_pod 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@intothechannelpod

We're poised for another incredible week of NWSL action. In this episode, we take a quick look at each of the seven games this week.

0:00 - Washington Spirit vs. Orlando Pride

10:30 - Angel City FC vs. KC Current

15:55 - NC Courage vs. Seattle Reign FC

22:00 - Chicago Red Stars vs. Portland Thorns FC

30:15 - Utah Royals FC vs. Houston Dash

38:05 - SD Wave FC vs. Bay FC

43:50 - Gotham FC vs. Racing Louisville

51:00 - Dino and Grant try to fix Gotham FC

56:45 - Dino admits he's a Houston Dash fan, and Grant quickly joins him on the bandwagon

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing 2023-24 UEFA Women's Champions League #UWCL coverage. 

Check us out:

X/Twitter: @itc_pod 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@intothechannelpod

Well, we thought the first-leg matches of the UEFA Women's Champions League were going to be bangers, and we've never been more correct about anything in the history of this show.

To start the show, we tackled Chelsea's incredible 1-0 victory over Barcelona in Spain (!!!), where the Blues were able to neutralize Barca's key attacking players.

We talked about the great work from Jess Carter, Ashley Lawrence, Kadeisha Buchanan, and Niamh Charles in the back. And you know we had to discuss Erin Cuthbert's brilliant goal, which not only gave Chelsea the victory, but netted Cuthbert a unique honor that has her standing alone in football history (for now).

If that match wasn't dizzying enough, we head over to France to discuss an instant contender for match of the year: Lyon storming back from 0-2 down to win 3-2 in the final moments of the match.

We discussed what worked for PSG for the majority of the match -- Sakina Karchoui, Tabitha Chawinga, Marie Antoinette Katoto, Sandy Baltimore -- and then we talked about where things went terribly, terribly wrong for them.

On the Lyon side, we dove into Manager Sonia Bompastor's timely substitutions; the run of goals from Kadidatou Diani, Melchie Dumornay, and Amel Majri; the idea of a club having "the heart of a champion;" and Majri's "call me" celebration.

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing 2023-24 UEFA Women's Champions League #UWCL coverage. 

Check us out:

X/Twitter: @itc_pod 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@intothechannelpod

The first leg of the UEFA Women's Champions League Semifinals are Saturday.

Dino and Grant take a look at the recent form of the four clubs still battling for the coveted UWCL trophy.

We started with Barcelona, fresh off some dominating victories in Liga F, and talked about all the factors opponents need to beat them.

We then moved to London to take about those Chelsea Blues, who have had some uncharacteristic stumbles in two domestic tournaments.

Next, we traveled to Décines-Charpieu to talk about Lyon. We shouted out Vicki Becho's recent form in league play in their recent match vs. St. Etienne. And, of course, we addressed the rumor that Lyon manager Sonia Bompastor has been tabbed as the next manager for Chelsea Football Club.

Last, but CERTAINLY not least, we talked about PSG's superstar talent all across the pitch and the challenges they presented Lyon in their last league match that ended in a 1-1 draw in Lyon's house.

Subscribe now to catch all of our women's football talk, including our ongoing 2023-24 UEFA Women's Champions League #UWCL coverage. 

Check us out:

X/Twitter: @itc_pod 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@intothechannelpod