NWSL semifinal preview 2026: The final four, the ‘under-dawgs’ and the favorites

The NWSL quarterfinals were a comprehensive viewing experience.Across the four matches were goals that arrived in open play and from set pieces. There were scant score lines and voluptuous ones. One match was ultimately decided by a questionable penalty call, an unfortunate own goal in another, and a red card that was more an expression of despair than a volatile act in yet another.Don’t bother letting the dust settle on Utah Royals goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn’s definitive performance or Gotham’s executive approach to the postseason. It’s already time to carry those learnings into the semifinals, which are proving to be just as wide-ranging in narrative.The No. 7 Utah Royals are in their first playoff run in club history. They will travel to D.C. to play the Spirit, a team that has reached the last two NWSL championships and lost both. That the championship is in D.C. is both a unique motivator for the No. 3 Spirit and a tremendous dose of pressure that increases with each step toward Nov. 21.The Kansas City Current healed from last year’s quarterfinal wound with a dramatic win over Angel City at their home CPKC Stadium. On Sunday, they’ll face off against the team that caused it with an extra-time winner, shield-winners Gotham FC. That match will not take place at Sports Illustrated Stadium, where Gotham normally play, due to its poor pitch quality, but their supporters seem well-prepared to make the 5,000-seat Icahn Stadium in Manhattan feel just as loud.Below, some points of consideration for each semifinal team in order of ascending ranking.No. 7 Utah Royals: The under-dawgsSometime around their fifth unbeaten game this season, the Utah Royals shed their underdog status. That streak doubled to 10 before it was broken. Losing forward and highest goalscorer Mina Tanaka to a hamstring injury created issues for Utah, but their ability to withstand San Diego’s creative hypnosis and score their first goal in over a month was a strong reminder that this team’s foundation might be their greatest strength.The Spirit are a fitting escalation in their debut playoff journey. As loud as the Wave’s Snapdragon Stadium was, Audi Field will be louder. And as threatening as San Diego’s attacking players can be, the Spirit’s will be even more dangerous if they bring any semblance of the energy they brought to their quarterfinal.Utah succeeded against San Diego because they were patient, centrally compact, precise in their spacing, and defensively aligned. Their opponents were likely unprepared for Jameese Joseph, who normally plays as a No. 9 or a winger, to be employed as a free-roaming No. 10 to ignite Utah’s attack, duties once given to Tanaka.Most of the head-to-head matchups go in favor of Washington but if Utah can get their tactics right and figure out when to press, they will trouble the Spirit.at Washingonton Spirit, Saturday at noon ET, CBS and Paramount+No. 4 Kansas City Current: Weaponizing taking things personallyKansas City appear to be channeling the passion, and the pettiness, of one of the greatest basketball players of all time in their playoff campaign.“They were tough,” Michael Jordan said in documentary series The Last Dance as he recalled battling with the Indiana Pacers in the 1998 Eastern Conference finals. “And it became personal for me.”Current winger Michelle Cooper said after their quarterfinal victory that’s how her team has navigated the whole season, as though every underestimation was a personal affront.It’s a dangerous provocation in sports, particularly when a player or team is nursing a wound, as Kansas City have been. They may have outlasted Angel City to advance to the semifinals but another rung of vindication awaits them in New York City. The matchup is dangerously on the nose: last year, the Current were shield winners, and this season Gotham won that trophy. Kansas City have scored the most goals per game this season (1.8 on average, according to FotMob), while Gotham have conceded the least (0.7 on average) and have kept the most clean sheets at 15.Kansas City cannot allow Gotham to dictate the pace of the game, especially if they score first. As thrilling as a Temwa Chawinga vs. Jess Carter matchup will be, this match feels ripe for the taking in midfield.at Gotham FC, Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, ABCNo. 3 Washington Spirit: DJ, turn them upAudi Field, or Rowdy Audi, is the DJ to the Spirit’s rapturous showcasing of late. Praise for their 4-1 win over the Portland Thorns is rightfully directed toward Trinity Rodman’s brace and assist, but Tanzanian striker Clara Luvanga has unlocked Rodman in new ways while also proving she can get on the scoresheet herself.Luvanga’s goal and two assists bring her up to six goal contributions in as many games since she signed with the Spirit from Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia. It is the kind of statistic that has compelled spectators to relate Luvanga to the likes of Bunny Shaw and Barbra Banda. Most importantly, her addition provides the Spirit yet another punisher up top. Her blistering pace and relentless work rate will require obscene levels of concentration to contain — and even if they do, Rodman is there waiting in the wings, as is Italian forward Sofia Cantore.That said, this is around the time where memories of the Spirit’s last two attempts at a trophy went unfulfilled. Even as they face a lower seed, there will be some nerves. Utah will be much more defensively organized than the Thorns, and if McGlynn has another outrageous performance then this one could come down to a matter of a goal. Luckily, the Spirit have plenty of options.vs. Utah Royals, Saturday at noon ET, CBS and Paramount+No. 1 Gotham FC: Always tinkering, never stressedGotham have managed their season with the confidence of a team that’s won two championships in the last three years and the carefulness of a side that’s had to navigate a multitude of injuries, from short-term to season-ending.This has resulted in soccer that has not always been entertaining, but it has been effective. Gotham know how to get where they want to be in the postseason. So far, coming in as the favorites hasn’t fazed them, but the Current are bound to shake that up.Gotham find joy in possession of the ball, and the Current will be happy to let them have it. Jaedyn Shaw and Midge Purce compete in the playoffs as though knockout soccer was designed specifically for them; they only need a moment to showcase their brilliance. Gotham will be buoyed by the fact that their quarterfinal goal (an own goal coming off a corner kick) was the type of play the Current are most shaky at defending: set pieces.One goal will not be enough to silence Kansas City after all they’ve held against them since last November. Whether Gotham can gracefully ratchet up their intensity a notch will be a telling indicator of just how far they can go.vs. Kansas City Current, Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, ABCThis article originally appeared in The Athletic.Gotham FC, Kansas City Current, Washington Spirit, Utah Royals FC, NWSL2026 The Athletic Media Company