NWSL news: Royals let Rodriguez go, Zaneratto out for Olympics, and more

NWSL news: Amy Rodriguez became the second NWSL head coach in a week to be sacked as Utah Royals FC head into different direction

We have yet another shocking firing of an NWSL head coach. This time it was Amy Rodriguez. Less than 24 hours after Utah Royals FC valiantly battled the three-time NWSL champion Portland Thorns FC to a scoreless on home soil, the franchise announced that it has "relieved" the former World Cup champion Rodriguez of her duties as the sideline leader.

The club's goalkeeper coach Maryse Bard-Martel joined Rodriguez as she was also released from her position. The change doesn't end there. Utah's statement revealed that team president Michelle Hyncik will transition into a legal role with the Blitzer Family Office. Real Salt Lake President John Kimball will oversee business operations per the Royals for the time being.

"Our club and ownership group are committed to delivering a product our fans will be proud of," said
Kimball. "While we have faced adversity this season, we are focused on building a team off and on the field that can compete at the highest levels for years to come.”

The ex-Oud-Heverlee Leuven manager Jimmy Coenraets will act as the interim head coach. The Belgium, who just came to the Royals on June 7 does have experience turning basement dwellers into title contenders. Coenraets propelled OH Leuven from dead last to second in the Belgium Super League in just one season. Under his tutelage, the Belgium outfit never finished outside the league's top three. We'll have to see if that success is able to translate with this youthful Utah squad.

Again, similarly to the Casey Stoney sacking, this was a harsh one. If you just looked at the standings, you'd probably say it made some sort of sense. To be honest, it doesn't.

This decision wasn't announced after Utah was trounced by the Orlando Pride on June 21. It came following the Royals' best performance to date. While Utah failed to score against Portland this past weekend, it shockingly looked far and away the more threatening of the two sides going forward. The Royals' 25 shots were nine more than Rob Gale's Thorns. It was quite encouraging, but that didn't seem to be enough to save the ex-USWNT forward.

Rodriguez, who was working with the most inexperienced roster in the NWSL, finished her tenure in Sandy with a 2-11-2 record. Utah's seven goals scored are the fewest in the NWSL while its 27 goals conceded are tied for the league lead with Seattle Reign.

NWSL news: KC Current's Bia Zaneratto let the public know through social media that she is set to miss the Paris Olympics with Brazil

Arthur Elias and the Brazilian National Team kick off the 2024 Paris Olympics in less than a month. They'll do so without one of the nation's top goal-scorers, Bia Zaneratto. Kansas City Current's No. 9 took to social media on Sunday evening to inform the football world that she will be missing the Olympics due to a stress fracture in her fourth metatarsal. The forward expressed in her statement that she suffered the specific fracture in those 45 minutes she played during KC's 2-0 win over the Houston Dash on Friday night.

Zaneratto has nine goal contributions in just 11 appearances in her first season in the NWSL so far. With four goals and three assists in March and April, she became the first KC Current player ever to win an NWSL Player of the Month award earlier this season.

“I don’t even need to say how much my heart hurts, but I certainly did everything I could," said
Zaneratto.

Elias and company have two massive holes to fill in the frontline. No Kerolin and now no Bia. Brazil will kick off its Olympic journey on July 25 against Nigeria in Bordeaux. The São Paulo native played in all three of her nation's group-stage games at last summer's World Cup, scoring a goal in the opening match. Only the legend herself, Marta managed to produce more shots on target per 90 minutes than Bia during that tournament.

NWSL news: ESPN is set to debut a new women's football show featuring NWSL coverage with Ali Krieger and Sebastian Salazar

It's about time. ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports announced that it is adding a football show, solely focused on the coverage of the women's game. 'Futbol W', as it is dubbed will debut on July 23 on ESPN2 at 9:30 p.m. and will also air on ESPN+. After that, future episodes can exclusively be seen on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. EST every Tuesday.

Its main focuses include the NWSL, the USWNT, Liga MX Femenil, the Mexican Women's National Team, and the UEFA Women's Champions League. Krieger spoke about top-of-the-line player interviews being a large part of what the hour-long show will bring to the table.

It is hosted by USWNT icon Ali Krieger, who joined the network ahead of the 2024 NWSL season, and the former Colombian footballer Sebastián Salazar. Krieger, a two-time World Cup and SheBelieves Cup champion also earned a place on the NWSL's Best XI four times.

“Futbol W will inform, entertain, and showcase the incredible athletes to sports fans," said
Manny de la Fe, Vice President of Production at ESPN. "It will be our signature news and analysis studio program – a weekly one-stop destination for fans to get their need-to-know insight about women’s soccer.”