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

USWNT is going to face Brazil in the CONCACAF W Gold Cup Final.

USWNT defeated Canada in dangerous conditions, but we try not to harp too much on the obvious stupidity of playing football on an unplayable pitch.

Brazil defeated Mexico in a match where they looked like the better team, but a (semi-questionable?) red card colored some's view of the match.

And even with those caveats, football is great, and everyone should love it.

We then preview what USWNT-Brazil could look like and whether or not we'd start the final with a group of younger players or vets.

After that (around 51:00), we go "Into the News" to discuss:

- UEFA's outrageous fine of SK Brann for a fan chant

- Ajax defeats FC Twente 3-0 in league play

- Kika Nazareth is a wizard

- Barbra Banda signs with Orlando Pride: Dino rejoices

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 kickoff this episode by discussing USWNT's promising 3-0 victory over Colombia. There was some great skill, some wild shithousery, good subs, and maybe some not-so-good game-planning.

After that, we talk about Brazil's 5-1 drubbing of Argentina and why that rivalry match looked so one-sided.

Then we talk about Mexico-Paraguay, where Mexico was in control, then it was slightly in doubt, then they were back in control, then it was in doubt again, and then... yeah, you get the picture. We also discussed why Lizbeth Ovalle is a certified STAR and generally continued singing the praises of Mexico. (Lots of love for Paraguay, too!)

We wrapped the quarterfinal recap by discussing the rockfight between Canada and Costa Rica, and talked about what we expect to see when USWNT battles its neighbors to the north.

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

Spain took home the UEFA Women's Nations League title with a 2-0 victory over France with a dominant defensive performance.

Dino and Grant talk about how Spain didn't allow any of France's world-class attackers to get going, then marvel at the sheer volume of battle-tested players younger than 25 La Roja have on its roster.

It wouldn't be an episode of ITC without a good hypothetical, so Dino challenged Grant to come up with a World 11 that could beat Spain.

After that, we discuss Germany notching a win over the Netherlands in the UWNL third-place match to secure a spot in the 2024 Olympics.

Germany isn't lacking young talent themselves, so the hosts talk about the difficult proposition it will be to win the Euros and just compete on that side of the pond in national team 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

Mexico scored a decisive 2-0 victory over the USWNT on Monday in the CONCACAF W Gold Cup.

But was it poor form, bad strategy, or the wrong 11 for the stars and stripes? Or how about some other options: Was Mexico just as physical and prepared? Does La Tri just have excellent players who showcased their skill in a huge spot?

We tackle those questions and send our apologies (in two languages) to Mexico for overlooking them.

After that, we chat about USA drawing Linda Caicedo, Catalina Usme, and a solid Colombia side in the Quarterfinals.

Will the boys dare to put their faith in the USWNT again?

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 US Women's National Team looked great against Argentina!

***Editorial note: This episode was recorded after the USWNT beat Argentina 4-0, but before the USA lost 2-0 to Mexico. We'll be talking about USA-Mexico on the next episode***

In this episode, we talk about Jaedyn Shaw's incredible performance and USWNT's willingness to try different combinations of players on the pitch. Surely that will be a strength throughout this tournament!

Dino and Grant then move on to discuss Spain's continued run of dominance and wonder aloud if this team is primed to go on a "generational run."

Lastly, the boys discuss the possibility of France upending Spain's potential generational run after the French beat Germany in a match the Germans absolutely had to have.

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

Are the remaining giants in the UEFA Women's Champions League starting to show some weaknesses?

Dino and Grant take a look at two VERY interesting match results from the last week.

First, Grant's Sky Blues scored a 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Kingsmeadow, where MCFC Goalkeeper Khiara Keating put in another phenomenal performance. City is now level on points with Chelsea at the top of the WSL table, giving Emma Hayes' squad another thing to worry about as they try to win that elusive Champions League trophy before she heads to the USA.

Next, Dino broke down some concerning issues from juggernaut Barcelona in their Liga F match vs Levante, which saw the perennial Champions draw third-place Levante on the strength of an Alba Redondo goal.

Could there be some cracks developing in Barcelona? (We discuss this based on a question from friend of the pod @Neo10555 on YouTube.)

*Editorial note: This episode was recorded before the news of Mia Fishel's ACL injury was publicly reported. Into the Channel wishes Mia a speedy and full recovery.

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 past week was light on Champions League football, but there was still plenty of elite women's club football to watch from around the world.

Dino and Grant started with the Division 1 Arkema clash between Lyon and PSG (whaddya know, two UWCL teams). This match had a little bit of everything, and we left thinking our new pals from Paris should be feeling quite confident right now.

After that, we had an Into the Channel Derby between Dino's Arsenal and Grant's Manchester City. This one featured physical play, great goalkeeping, skilled passing, and a significant amount of shithousery.

We also quickly covered: Chelsea-Crystal Palace; Sevilla-Barcelona; Wolfsburg-Eintracht Frankfurt; and Ajax-Feyenoord.

Before wrapping up this week's episode, we talked about the USL's announcement that its new Super League received Division One sanctioning from US Soccer. It will be the second Division One women's football league in the USA, next to our beloved NWSL, of course.

We talked about what that means for women's football in the states and what we're excited to see from this upstart league.

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 Draw was held on Feb. 6, and just like the entire tournament up to this point, it delivered.

In this episode, Dino and Grant utilize the very-American "draft" format to choose their favorite quarter-final matches:

Brann-Barcelona

- Brann is matched up against the best team in the world, so we discussed how the "Bullies from Bergen" should attack the first leg vs. Barcelona

Häcken-PSG

- Offense vs. Defense in one of its purest forms. Each leg of this quarter-final has the potential to be an absolute classic

Ajax-Chelsea

- We love a great battle in the midfield, and Lily Yohannes vs. Erin Cuthbert could be a phenomenal clash between two ITC favorites

Benfica-Lyon

- Lyon likely wants to redeem themselves after their 2-2 draw vs. Slavia Praha on Matchday 6; while Benfica surely wants to keep the momentum going from their 4-4 draw vs. Barcelona on MD6 (funny how that works, eh?)

Lindsey Horan; football culture in the USA; and USWNT in the Gold Cup

Before we wrapped up the show, we talked a little about Lindsey Horan's interview in the Athletic, but we focused more on the differences between footballing culture in the USA vs. other countries (mainly Europe). We ended with a mini-diversion into the freshly announced USWNT Gold Cup roster, with a special focus on the Forwards named to the squad.

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

Matchday 6 of the UEFA Women's Champions League delivered edge-of-your-seat drama until the final whistles in Group C, as well as a mix of re-affirming, concerning, and downright celebration-worthy performances in the other groups.

In the audio version of this week's show, we start by talking about Group C, or as Dino correctly named it early in the proceedings: "The Group of Life."

After that, we managed to grab time with one of the voices of the UWCL on DAZN: Cam Pope!

Cam joined us to talk about Barcelona-Benfica's incredible 4-4 draw, as well as BK Häcken's stout 1-0 victory over Real Madrid. He also covered everything from underdogs vs. giants in the tournament, the continued growth of the women's game, how he got his start in women's football, and more! (Thanks again to Cam, who is a wealth of information and a fantastic broadcaster.)

After the interview, we discussed the remaining matches from MD6, including Brann's 2-1 victory over St. Pölten, where Brann once again showed their mental toughness by scoring two unanswered goals, including the LATE winner by Amalie Eikeland.

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:

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@intothechannelpod

X/Twitter: ⁠@itc_pod⁠

Matchday 5 in the UEFA Women's Champions League produced two great days of football.

In this episode, we start with Brann advancing to the knockout stage for the first time in the club's history -- and your boys were FIRED UP about it.

We also spent a few minutes wrapping up Group B by discussing Lyon's dominant 7-0 victory over St. Pölten.

From there, we turned our attention to Group C, which Dino accurately named "The Group of Life" early in the tournament. The Roma vs. Bayern Munich match saw magic from the dynamic duo of Manuela Giuliagno and Valentina Giacinti and a brace from Lea Shüller.

Then it was time to discuss PSG's 3-1 victory over Ajax, and that led to Dino asking a SPICY question that sounded a bit like a prediction.

When our attention turned to Group D, Grant sung the praises of both BK Häcken and Paris FC, who played to a hard-fought 0-0 draw, where Chiamaka Nnadozie looked like a prize fighter who moonlights as one of the world's absolute best goalkeepers.

Chelsea punched their ticket as Group D winner with a 2-1 win over Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge, but it was a solid performance from Las Blancas, who played the match with no stakes.

Lastly, we talked about Group A, where defending champions and current juggernaut of juggernauts Barcelona kept the momentum rolling with a 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, who won't be moving onto the knockout stage. That honor goes to Benfica, who gutted out a 2-2 draw vs. Rosengård in the Swedish side's best showing of the group stage.

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