The last international window of 2025 has wrapped up. I covered all of the action that took part in November in the previous post. This time, I look at the action in December.

The second leg of the UEFA Nations League Final is big, but the two matches I’m most interested in are the qualifying openers for Trinidad and Tobago and El Salvador. In terms of new blood that may represent CONCACAF at the World Cup, they’re two good contenders, and their in the same group, so only one will qualify for the W Championship.

Spain vs Germany
Match Highlights

Spain were lucky to come away from the first match with a goalless draw. The Germans nullified Spain’s attack and regularly had them in retreat with dangerous counters. But of all of their efforts, Germany did not score. So they would have to get a result in Spain. This match was also preceded by the news of Aitana Bonmati’s injury that will keep her out for up to 5 months.

5’ Spain opened the match much more strongly, including two danger chances in the 5th minute. The first from a good interchange between Esther and Pina, but Esther’s shot misses the target. The second a header from Alexia Putellas that forces a great diving save from Berger.

30’ Spain would continue to have the better of chances, but in the 30th minutes, Germany would get a decent shot on target from Jule Brand at the top of the box that took a small defection, but Cata Coll made the diving save.

37’ In the first half, Spain did a much better job of handling Germany’s counters, and they were able to create counters of their own, something largely absent from the first leg. In this case, Spain’s fluid counter results in a ball to the far post for Mariona, but she scuffs her volley wide.

45’ Just before the end of the half, Spain would get two more solid chances. Vicky Lopez putting a good shot just over the crossbar, and off the ensuing restart, Spain won possession and quickly countered, but Mariona’s shot was saved and collected by Berger.

45’+3 Before the end of the half, Germany would come close to finding the opener, but Nicole Anyomi’s shot went just wide. So, as happened to Germany in the first leg, Spain had a wealth of chances but couldn’t find the net. Since a winner was needed, someone would rue their missed chances, but after three halves, neither team had punished their opponents yet.

61’ Spain would finally find an opener in the 61st minute. Claudia Pina started wide and worked her way central. She found a good run by Mariona in the box and played a good one two with her. Mariona’s layoff the perfect setup for Pina to hammer home. Berger could probably do better on the shot, but it’s well-placed and takes a bounce that would have made a save difficult.

68’ With a goal scored, the floodgates didn’t quite open, but it was close. After 150 minutes of both teams failing to score on great chances, it took Spain 13 minutes to score 3 once the first finally scored. Spain’s second was a peach of a curler from Vicky Lopez. It’s a great finish from Vicky, but also credit to Esther, whose run occupies Knaak long enough for Vicky to have the space to get her shot off.

74’ Spain would put the match to bed minutes later when Pina would cut out a pass and drive on goal placing her shot perfectly past Berger.

Spain win their second Nations League title, on a solid second leg performance. Germany played very well against the Spaniards, and they showed that Spain can be made to feel very uncomfortable via their first leg performance.

Final Score: Spain 3-0 Germany

As a quick reminder, many of the World Cup qualifying matches are also matches for other tournaments. You can find a primer on how the qualification works in the different confederations in my earlier post.

Barbados 0-5 Trinidad & Tobago (Group F)
Full Match / Match Highlights

Trinidad & Tobago were attacking from the start, and they had the ball in the net after 10 minutes, but it was ruled out for offside. The opening goal came a few minutes later, scored by Kedie Johnson on a header from a corner. Barbados nearly responded immediately. Acacia Small got free down the right flank and crossed to Rianna Cyrus, but her shot was scuffed and easily saved by Simone Eligon. TNT would continue to pile on the pressure throughout the first half, but they couldn’t find a second goal. The scoreline at halftime was 1-0.

The second half started more even between the two teams, with both getting forays in the attack. Barbados had the first dangerous attempts on goal with Small played in behind the defense, but her shot hit side netting wide. A couple minutes later, she’d be played in again, but Eligon came out and made the save. The back and forth continued until the 76’ when Kedie Johnson scored her second on a blast from distance. Barbados got more aggressive looking for goals, and TNT punished them for opening up in the back. Ariana Borneo made 3-0 in the 81’ and Aaliyah Prince made it 4-0 two minutes later with a lovely, mazy run. TNT would wrap up the scoring in stoppage time from a freekick to win 5-0.

Highlight of the Match: Ariana Borneo scored a peach of a curler, and it was her first international goal! Aaliyah Prince’s goal was nice as well, but a golazo to get one’s first goal is hard to beat.

Puerto Rico 7-0 Saint Lucia (Group A)
Full Match / Match Highlights

This was a “one-way traffic” kind of match with Puerto Rico in control from the start. They opened the scoring in 4’ from a Jill Aguilera header. Danielle Marcano and Jailene DeJesus would make it 3-0 by the 18’. Aguilera would go on to score 4 goals in Puerto Rico’s 7-0 demolition of Saint Lucia.

Highlight of the Match: Along with being the match winner, Jill Aguilera’s first goal was the pick of her four. A fine header.

Guyana 1-3 Nicaragua (Group B)
Full Match / Match Highlights

Although the possession was heavily in favor of Nicaragua, it was relatively even first half from Guyana and Nicaragua. Nicaragua got on the board first through Sheyla Flores pouncing on a poor back pass in the 3’, but Guyana got going around the quarter hour mark and found an equalizer on a textbook header from Annalisa Vincent to put away a freekick. Guyana continued to put pressure on the Nicaraguan goal, sending one good shooting opportunity wide and another to waste with a poor header. Nicaragua would get back in control of the match, especially by attacking down their right flank through Flores and Nuria Marquez. Late in the first half, Marquez would dribble her way into the box and finish from a difficult angle to give her side the 2-1 lead at half.

Guyana never got going in the second half. They were only able to create two shots, one of which was a desperation bicycle kick that went wide. Nicaragua would find a third goal via Doriana Aguilar, who cleaned up a misplayed cross that Genie failed to collect in goal. Nicaragua would see out the match go top of Group B with 6 points.

Highlight of the Match: Sheyla Flores and Nuria Marquez were Nicaragua’s best avenue of attack throughout the match, and Marquez’s goal to put her side back in the lead late in the first half was key to Nicaragua turning their possession advantage into a control of the match advantage.

Guatemala 4-1 Bermuda (Group C)
Full Match / Match Highlights

Guatemala were quickly in control of the match. They threatened Bermuda’s goal multiple times in the opening minutes, and Maria Monterroso would put away a header from a corner in the 5’ to give Guatemala the lead. The second goal came 10 minutes later when Dina Polanco cleaned up a rebound after a number of chances were stopped during a goalmouth scramble. The save of the match also happened here, but it was not on the field. After the goal, Guatemala’s players celebrated near the boards circling the field, and a young fan ran down the stands to celebrate with them. When he got to the bottom, he tripped on the handrail and would have faceplanted into the concrete had he not caught himself. Guatemala would maintain control for the rest of the half but the score remained the same, 2-0 at half.

The second half proceeded much like the first, though Bermuda had a few more forays into attack. Maria Monterroso would complete her brace in the 61’ with a shot from distance that caught Bermuda’s keeper a little too far off her line. A fourth would come in the 75’ from the penalty spot that looked a bit light and well-sold by the attacker, but the angle isn’t great to take a definitive stance. From the kickoff, Bermuda would immediately play down the left flank and cross into the box for Eva Frazzoni to head home. It was a great, quick counter attack if a team can be said to counter from their kicking off after conceding. But the goal would only be consolation as Guatemala would see out the match.

Highlight of the Match: It was equal parts audacious and aware, Maria Monterroso’s second goal for Guatemala was absolutely an unnecessary shot but one made with the awareness that the keeper was a little too far off her line, and Monterroso made her bet pay off.

Cuba 2-2 St. Kitts & Nevis (Group E)
Full Match / Match Highlights

Let us just establish up front that this newsletter’s author is a big Cecil Aldana fan. The Cuban striker has dominated the Ecuadorean league playing for Liga de Quito, including being the top goal-scorer this past season. At the end of the season, she signed with league champions, Independiente del Valle, seeing las Dragonas get stronger in the offseason.

This match features two teams that are built around getting the most out of quality strikers- Cuba wanting to get the most of the aforementioned Aldana and St. Kitts & Nevis looking to maximize Phoenetia Browne, who plays for Espanyol in Spain’s Liga F. Accordingly, both teams looked to mitigate their threats by ensuring both attackers were double-covered. Browne would start from deeper position than the forward line to find the ball, and she made a moment payoff when she intercepted a pass and drove on goal. She held off three defenders and coolly slotted past the keeper to give St. Kitts & Nevis the lead.

In general, Cuba really struggled to move from the transition phase into the attacking phase. St. Kitts would often steal and counter (as exemplified by the goal). Having fallen behind, Cuba would have Aldana drop deeper back to help in build up and get touches on the ball away from the covering central defenders. As the half wore on, with Aldana dropping deeper to get involved, Cuba were able to get Maristania Mengana a couple half-chances, but she was wasteful with them. Cuba would nearly score an equalizer right at the end of the half, but Kyra Dickinson would palm away a header from Aldana destined for goal, and St. Kitts & Nevis would go into the half with the 1-0 advantage.

The second half started as expected. St. Kitts found their counter opportunities while Cuba sought an equalizer. That equalizer would come in the 53’ minute, as Cuba got the ball wide on the right played into the box. St. Kitts couldn’t clear the scramble in the box, and a second chance ball found the found Cecil Aldana open in front goal to put in. Energized by the equalizer, Cuba continued to have the better of possession, but they still struggled turning transition into dangerous attacks.

The match would take a turn in the 68’ minute, when an excellent longball split two St. Kitts defenders and found the run of Mengana, who was fouled in the box as she was about to shoot, winning a penalty for Cuba. After a brief injury delay, Aldana stepped up and buried her penalty to give Cuba the 2-1 lead. The lead would prove short-lived, however. St. Kitts would quickly get on the attack, and a shot from the top of the box would draw a great save from [Cuba keeper]. But on the ensuing corner kick, St. Kitts & Nevis would equalize on an own goal from a defender, but a St. Kitts attacker would have scored had the ball not gone in off the defender. Both teams had chances in the final 15 minutes, but nothing too dangerous, and the game ended 2-2.

Highlight of the Match: Although Aldana lead in goals scored, Phoenetia Browne’s opening goal was the pick of the bunch and earns my highlights of the match.

Dominican Republic 2-2 Surinam (Group D)
Full Match / Match Highlights

This one started a barn burner with 3 goals in the opening 16 minutes. The Dominican Republic would have the first attacking opportunity, but Surinam would have two goals in 5 minutes. Isabelle Hoekstra collects a longball, cuts through two defenders and scores. Two minutes later, Hoekstra would provide the assist on a well-placed pass into the box that Chanté Dompig put away for the 2-0 lead. The match settled into a bit of a stalemate in the midfield- the Dominican Republic struggling to get their attacking phase going and Surinam being a little less aggressive with a lead. But the Dominican Republic would get a goal back on a line-spitting throughball that found Mia Asenjo’s perfectly timed run, and the attacker slotted home to make it 2-1. Both teams would have half-chances in the final 30 minutes of the first half, including a speculative shot from distance for Surinam that clanged off the crossbar, but neither could find another goal, and the teams went into half 2-1.

Surinam came out in the second half defensively, and Dominican Republic had the bulk of the offensive opportunities. The Dominican Republic also began to press higher and more aggressively than in the first half. Although it created more offense, it didn’t translate to dangerous opportunities. Dominican Republic would, of course, find an equalizer in the end. In the 85’, Mia Asenjo would collect a throw in deep, muscle her way past a defender into the Surinam box and fire a shot past [Surinam keeper] to complete the comeback. Neither team would threaten goal in the final minutes, and the match ended 2-2

Highlight of the Match: The openers for both teams were the product of good long balls and calm finishing, so I’ll highlight Hoekstra’s goal for Surinam and Asenjo’s first goal for Dominican Republic.

El Salvador 3-0 Honduras (Group F)
Full Match / Match Highlights

El Salvador wasted no time as Danielle Fuentes scored a golazo from distance in the 4th minute. El Salvador would continue to create chances down their left side as back Elaily Hernandez would step up and send her own rocket on goal, but it clanged off the crossbar and away. El Salvador would continue to dominate play in the first half, putting Honduras under pressure throughout the half. In particular, Maddeline Nieto, in goal, and central defender Evelin Ordoñez were busy making saves and blocking shots.

El Salvador would pickup where they left off, and their got their second in the 48’ when Brenda Ceren would get through on goal. Her shot would clang off the crossbar, but Yoselyn Lopez hammered in the rebound. The final goal would come late in second-half stoppage time when a corner wasn’t cleared and Victoria Meza was able to put home the cap on a dominant, 3-0 win.

Highlight of the Match: Dani Fuentes’s opener was an absolute banger from over 30 yards out, and that wins it my highlight of the match.

After the first set of matches, the standings in the qualifiers looks as follows. Only the group winners move on to the CONCACAF W Championship, which also serves as the next round of World Cup qualifying.

American Samoa 4-0 Cook Islands
Full Match

American Samoa came into the first round of OFC qualifying as the nation ranked the lowest in the confederation, but they recently hired Amanda Cromwell, for USWNT player and coach at the college level as well as a season at NWSL club, Orlando Pride. Her tenure in Orlando was ended after being found guilty of retaliation against players in 2022, and as far as I can tell, the American Samoa job is her first since leaving Orlando.

I can only hope there’s been growth since her termination, but I can certainly credit her for her work with American Samoa. Despite being the lowest ranked, they were by far the best team of the four participating in this first round of qualifying.

Cook Islands were second best against Tahiti in the previous match, but a standout performance from goalkeeper Rianna Pepe helped them get the win. In this match, Cook Islands were second best throughout. And although Pepe still made some good saves, she could not repeat her lights out performance from the first match.

The open quarter of an hour was fairly even in terms of possession, but American Samoa was far more productive with their possession. It took a while to find the net, but the found a goal in the 22’ through nice buildup wide that led to a cross for Morgan Patea to knock home. The second would come from a shot from distance for Alma Mana’o in the 36’. The match would be all but over in 44’ when Alayna Fuamatu-Ma’afala would complete the first-half scoring. A fourth in the second half would wrap up the goals for American Samoa, as the move on to join Group A in the second round of qualifying.

Group A features New Zealand and the Solomon Islands, so it will be a difficult group to get through, but the top two teams move on to the third round, and American Samoa look like they will relish the challenge.

Highlight of the Match: The opening goal was probably the best, but Alma Mana’o has been a long-time servant for American Samoa, I’ve included both of the first two goals as the highlight of the match.

Irritatingly, Fox Sports have not posted the full match replays on their website. They have historically taken them down quickly, but they have previously posted them, at least. So I can only work with the highlights from COMNEBOL to summarize.

Uruguay 0-0 Ecuador
Match Highlights

Uruguay are coming off their loss to Paraguay in the street fight. Ecuador earned a point against Venezuela in a match they were second best in throughout. This match seemed to follow a similar path to Ecuador’s previous match, with Uruguay being the stronger team but never able to the ball past Liceth Suarez. Late in the first half, Suarez dropped a freekick into the path of an Uruguay attacker, but her defense stepped up and blocked the ball out for a corner.

Uruguay continued to have the better chances in the second half, but they couldn’t find the net. As the half wore on, Ecuador nearly stole the points when Milagro Barahona got through on goal, but Augustina Sanchez made a diving save, and the follow up shot was put over the bar. In the end, Uruguay could not make one of their chances count, and the match ended in a 0-0 draw.

Highlight of the Match: As with the match against Venezuela, Liceth Suarez had the standout performance to keep a clean sheet for Ecuador, and I’ll highlight two of her saves again, both on Belen Aquino.

Argentina 8-0 Bolivia
Match Highlights

After a surprise draw with Colombia, the Bolivians looked to keep the spirits high when they travelled to Argentina. But instead of another surprise, la Verde would be brought back down to Earth pretty hard. After conceding an early goal, Bolivia were able to hold Argentina at bay for a bit. But unlike the match against Colombia, there were no dangerous forays into the attack. Two more goals in the last 10 minutes of the first half put Argentina into a commanding lead at half time.

Two second-half goals from Kishi Nunez would send Argentina on their to turning the match into a route, as the Albiceleste would go on to win 8-0.

Highlight of the Match: There were a lot of goals to choose from, but the interplay in Nunez’s first goal made it my favorite.

Venezuela 6-0 Peru
Match Highlights

Peru were the other side that had a surprise result in the previous matchday, and they, too, would be brought down from that high as Venezuela went on a tear. The first goal came in the 13’ minute when Deyna Castellanos was played though nicely, and she buried her shot. The bulk of Venezuela’s goals came during a 16 minute stretch either side of half time, as they found 4 goals between the 36’ and 52' minutes. A late capper from Genesis Florez in the 85’ completed Venezuela’s dominant outing.

Highlight of the Match: Perhaps a bit of Portland Thorns homerism, but the opener from Castellanos was my favorite.

Chile 1-0 Paraguay
Match Highlights

After the Matchday 3 results, this encounter took on additional significance, as it would give Paraguay a chance to go from strength to strength while dragging Chile down further. Chile could use it to rebound from their upset to Peru.

Chile were the primary aggressors, but they couldn’t create much of danger, though they did force a couple saves from Bobadilla. The goal came in the 33’ and started with some cool play from Christiane Endler to clean up a poor back pass and ended with Yanara Aedo banging a shot off the crossbar and into the net. The match took a turn in the 69’ when Danna Garcete picked up her second yellow, forcing Paraguay to finish the match with 10 players. Chile had plenty of opportunities to expand their lead after the red card, but they failed to make any of those chances pay. It wouldn’t matter in the end, as they held on for the 1-0 victory.

Highlight of the Match: Naturally, Chile’s end-to-end play for the goal is the pick of the match.

After four matchdays, the CONMEBOL qualifying table looks as follows. As a reminder, the top two teams qualify for the the World Cup. The next two advance to the interconfederation playoffs.

Venezuela and Argentina are looking good after the latest round of matches. Chile and Colombia, the favorites, are also right there. Matchday 5 features Colombia hosting Venezuela and Chile hosting Argentina, so big matches are afoot.

Finally, let me run down the friendlies (and UEFA Nations League 3rd Place fixture because I couldn’t be bothered to give it its own section). I won’t add a Highlight for the Match for each of these, but I’ll link to match streams/highlights for as many as I can find. Also, I’m going to limit to some of the major friendlies only.

USA 2-0 Italy
Match Highlights

There is a lot of commentary out there already, so I won’t add much to it, but I have to say, if Lily Yohannes’s floor is approaching her current form, she will be a menace at the 2027 World Cup. Shaw, Hutton, Heaps, and Macario really looked good together.

If you read last week’s post, this summary will sound familiar. Early signs that the USA will be a threat at the 2027 World Cup.

England 2-0 Ghana
Match Highlights

England were about as dominant against Ghana as they were against China, they just didn’t score as many goals. Ghana should take some heart from the match. The first goal conceded was on a defensive error and the second on an unfortunate penalty. There’s an alternate version of this match that ends with England scoring 5 or 6. But there’s another version that has Ghana holding on for a 0-0 draw. Ghana has had a lot of young talent waiting to breakthrough, and it feels like that’s finally happening. Their semifinal WAFCON run this summer was a good indicator of what could be coming for them.

Sweden 2-2 France
Match Highlights

France stole the win in the first leg, and they gave up the win in the second leg, but they did ultimately get the goal to finish third. France can feel good about finishing third, but they still feel off the top teams. Sweden remain …well… Sweden. None of the big teams doubt they can beat Sweden. None of the big teams can assume they can beat Sweden.

Japan 1-0 Canada
Full Match

Canada have gone 5 straight matches without scoring a goal. Relevantly, all of those matches have been on the road. They’ve scored 11 goals in their last three home matches. So if Canada can just annex Brazil, they’ll be golden for the World Cup.

Morocco 0-2 South Africa
Full Match

The goals came late for South Africa, but this result caps a solid 2025 for the Banyana Banyana. Missing out on the WAFCON semifinal to Nigeria will hurt, but that’s a reasonable defeat. Morocco started 2025 strongly, but since losing the WAFCON final in the summer, their results have dipped.

Portugal 0-5 Brazil
Match Highlights

If you watched this years Copa Libertadores, you’ll know that Gabi Zanotti still has it, and her scoring the opening goal of the match is not surprising. But Brazil really should be moving on to younger players. There were other players who had solid Libertadores performances and are roughly half Zanotti’s age. For context, here’s a profile of her by Jeff Kassouf from 2012. 2012! I know, Brazil aren’t looking to make Zanotti the centerpiece of their attack, and she’s been solid of late. I can’t say she doesn’t deserve to be there. But I worry that she’s getting starts at 40 years old for friendlies that are meant to serve as Brazil’s warm up to the World Cup in a year and half.

In the next post, I want to review some of the league champions from around the Americas. A number have wrapped up in the last month (NWSL, LigaMX Fem, NSL) so I will look at them as well as revisit some of the champions that were crowned earlier in the year.