Match Preview: Kansas City Current Begins Teal Rising Cup, Presented by Visit Missouri, Against Palmeiras

KANSAS CITY (July 11, 2025) – Returning to the pitch for the first time in over three weeks, the Kansas City Current begins the inaugural Teal Rising Cup, presented by Visit Missouri, on Saturday at CPKC Stadium as the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is on pause from regular season play. The Current, who sit atop the NWSL standings, will take on Brazilian Serie A1 club Palmeiras at 8 p.m. CT

Saturday’s game will broadcast domestically on ESPN+ with Dave Borchardt and Jillian Carroll Letrinko on the call, as well as internationally on Disney+. Fans can also catch the action on 90.9 The Bridge, as well as tune in to hear the match in English, Spanish or Portuguese on the KC Current App.

TEAL RISING CUP, PRESENTED BY VISIT MISSOURI
The inaugural Teal Rising Cup, presented by Visit Missouri and hosted by the Kansas City Current, will be held at CPKC Stadium on July 12 and 15. The four-team tournament features fellow NWSL team Chicago Stars FC and Brazilian Serie A1 clubs Corinthians SC and Palmeiras. The Teal Rising Cup will feature doubleheaders at CPKC Stadium on both matchdays, with a consolation and championship match to round out the event on July 15.

The event gets underway on July 12 when Chicago Stars FC squares off against Corinthians SC at 4:30 p.m. CT in match one. The Kansas City Current will then take on Palmeiras at approximately 8 p.m. in match two. Action returns to CPKC Stadium on July 15 with the third-place game kicking off at 5 p.m. The inaugural Teal Rising Cup champion will be determined in a battle between the winners of match one and match two at approximately 8 p.m. Tickets are available HERE.

On Saturday, the opening match between Chicago Stars FC and Corinthians SC will broadcast on ESPN+ domestically and Disney+ internationally, as well as on ESPN Brazil. The second match between Kansas City Current and Palmeiras will be on ESPN+ domestically and Disney+ internationally, and fans can also tune into 90.9 The Bridge and the KC Current App. On Tuesday, both the consolation and championship games will broadcast on ESPN+ domestically and Disney+ internationally. SporTV in Brazil will also broadcast the action so long as at least one of the Brazilian team is playing in the respective contest. 90.9 The Bridge and the KC Current App will also have the action for whichever game the Current is in.

BRAZILIAN CONNECTIONS
Two of the top club teams in Brazil have made the trek to Kansas City, where there is certainly no shortage of Brazilian talent. The Current has three players who hail from Brazil: forward Bia Zaneratto, midfielder Debinha and goalkeeper Lorena. Zaneratto, who played for Palmeiras from 2020-24 and guided them to the 2022 Copa Libertadores Femenina title, is the club’s all-time leading scorer with 55 goals in 83 matches. Zaneratto has scored 36 international goals in 103 appearances for the Brazilian National Team. She has played in four FIFA World Cups (2011, 2015, 2019, 2023) and two Olympic Games (2016, 2020), totaling one World Cup goal and three Olympic goals.

Debinha has 146 caps and has scored 61 international goals, which ranks third all-time in Brazilian National Team history. She is a veteran of three Olympic Games (2012, 2016, 2020) and the 2019 FIFA World Cup, also leading Brazil to Copa América crowns in 2018 and 2022. Lorena made her debut for the Brazilian National Team in November 2021. After missing the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup due to injury, she returned to play every minute of Brazil's campaign at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, recording three clean sheets in six matches. She led Brazil to the silver medal.

FIRST HALF WRAPPED
At the halfway point of the 2025 NWSL regular season, the Kansas City Current remains atop the league leaderboard – a place it has been for nine consecutive weeks – with 33 points and an 11-2-0 record. The club’s 11 victories through 13 matches are already the second highest regular season win total in franchise history. The team closed the first half of the regular season with a 1-0 victory over Angel City FC on June 20, which marked the club’s sixth consecutive win for the second longest regular season winning streak in franchise history.

Kansas City has scored 29 goals across its 13 matches so far in 2025. Twenty of those 29 goals this season have been in the first half, with 12 of those coming in the opening 25 minutes. The Current has scored first in all but one of its games this year and is 11-1-0 when converting first. Four of the seven fastest goals in the NWSL this year have been by Current forwards: Bia Zaneratto (3’ vs. Bay FC, May 11), Michelle Cooper (3’ at Gotham FC, June 7) and Temwa Chawinga (4’ vs. Portland Thorns, March 15), plus an own goal by Racing Louisville FC on June 14 in the second minute.

Chawinga, last year’s NWSL MVP and Golden Boot winner, is currently second in this season’s Golden Boot race with eight goals and two assists while defender Hailie Mace’s four assists also rank second. Kansas City boasts a plus-19 goal difference, nine better than the next closest team. On the defensive end, Kansas City’s six clean sheets – all credited to goalkeeper Lorena – lead the league. Lorena is also now the outright owner of the club record for regular season shutouts. The team has allowed just 10 goals through its first 13 regular season games, tied for the fewest in the NWSL.

BUSY BREAK
Several Kansas City Current players were still in action during the NWSL break for international duty. Midfielder Rocky Rodríguez and Costa Rica met forward Nichelle Prince and Canada for a friendly in Toronto, Ontario, in which Team Canada prevailed, 4-1. Rodríguez saw a full 90 minutes on the pitch. Prince subbed in during the 63rd minute vs. Costa Rica as well as in the Allstate Continental Clasico with the United States in Washington, D.C.

Brazil called up goalkeeper Lorena for an international friendly against the French National Team in France at the end of June. Lorena logged a full 90 minutes in the 3-2 loss. Lorena and Brazil now turn their attention to the 2025 Women’s Copa América, held in Ecuador from July 12 to August 2. The team has been training at Granja Comary, the headquarters of the Brazilian National Team, in Rio De Janeiro.

Forward Michelle Cooper, midfielder Claire Hutton and defender Izzy Rodriguez were with the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT), the latter who earned her first senior team call-up. The USWNT played two matches against the Republic of Ireland and one vs. Canada, going 3-0-0 and outscoring its opponents 11-0. Cooper started the first match against Ireland as well as against Canada, logging 73 and 68 minutes, respectively. Hutton played in all three games with two starts, recording her first career assist vs. Ireland in game two and her first career goal vs. Canada in what were only her fifth and sixth caps, respectively. Rodriguez made her debut in the second meeting with Ireland, finding the back of the net to become the 23rd player in the USWNT’s 40-year history to score in their first cap.

Additionally, forward Mary Long and defender Katie Scott were with the U.S. Youth National Team for a joint Under-18 and U-19 training camp from June 24 to July 1 at McCurry Park in Fayetteville, Ga. They were two of four NWSL professional players on the U-18 squad. The duo, which was part of the USA’s bronze-winning U-17 World Cup team in 2024, most recently helped the U-20 team to a 2026 FIFA World Cup berth at the Concacaf U-20 Championship earlier in June.

BEST OF THE BEST
On July 3, the NWSL announced its Best XI of the Month, presented by Amazon Prime, for June, which included three Kansas City Current players: Forward Temwa Chawinga, goalkeeper Lorena and defender Kayla Sharples. Chawinga garnered Best XI praise for the third time this season and the eighth time in her career, which is now tied for fourth all-time. Both Lorena and Sharples landed on the Best XI for the second time in their careers, as Lorena also collected the accolade in March while Sharples earned it in October/November 2024.

Kansas City’s three recipients were the most of any team in June, as has been the case every month this season. The Current has received a league-leading 13 Best XI selections between March, April, May and June. No other club in NWSL history has had more players recognized on the Best XI team in the first four months of the season. Additionally, head coach and sporting director Vlatko Andonovski was chosen as the NWSL Coach of the Month for June. He guided the Current to a 3-0-0 record during the June slate as the only team in the league to win all its matches last month, outscoring its opponents 7-3 in that span.

HOME SWEET HOME
Kansas City has played 26 matches across all competitions (regular season, NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, The Women’s Cup, postseason) at CPKC Stadium – the world’s first stadium purpose-built for women’s professional sports – since its opening on March 16, 2024. The club boasts an impressive 22-1-3 ledger all-time at CPKC Stadium across all competitions, including a 14-1-3 record across 18 NWSL regular season home games, and has scored at least once in every match played at home. Kansas City remains the only team in the NWSL without a loss or draw at home this year.

The Current has won 14 of their last 15 home matches across all competitions, having outscored opponents 39-8 in that stretch. Forward Temwa Chawinga has been involved in at least one goal in 16 of her 19 NWSL regular season matches at CPKC Stadium, totaling 21 goal contributions (17 goals, four assists). She has contributed to 25 goals (19 goals, six assists) in 24 matches at CPKC Stadium across all competitions. The 2024 NWSL MVP and Golden Boot winner has been directly involved in at least one goal in all but four of her 24 matches played in Kansas City across all competitions.

ALEX, ACTIVATED
The Kansas City Current has removed forward Alex Pfeiffer from the season ending injury (SEI) list, and she returns to the active roster the day before the Teal Rising Cup. Pfeiffer, who signed with the Current in October 2023, was placed on the SEI list in July 2024 after a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus. Her rookie season in the NWSL was cut short after 10 appearances. Inking her first professional contract at just 15 years and 338 days old, Pfeiffer became the fourth youngest player signed in NWSL history and the club’s first player through the league’s Under-18 Entry Mechanism. She made an immediate impact by scoring the game-winning goal in her professional debut on March 16, 2024, against the Portland Thorns, making her the youngest goal scorer in league history at 16 years, 3 months and 20 days old.

HERE TO STAY
Two Current standouts, forward Michelle Cooper and defender Izzy Rodriguez, recently re-signed three-year deals with the club, keeping them in Kansas City through the 2028 season. Both Michigan natives, who were part of the most recent United States Women’s National Team camp together, have played their entire professional careers in Kansas City.

Cooper first signed with the Current in February 2023. She was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft after two standout collegiate seasons at Duke where she was the 2022 MAC Hermann Trophy winner. She has had 63 appearances, 52 starts, 12 goals, eight assists and over 5,400 minutes across all competitions for the Current. Rodriguez first signed with the Current ahead of the 2022 season after being selected in the fourth round of the 2022 NWSL Draft following a standout career at Ohio State. She then re-signed a two-year deal with the Current in 2023. She has 93 appearances, 52 starts, four goals, 10 assists and over 5,000 minutes across all competitions.

KC CURRENT SIGNS GOALKEEPER REPLACEMENT PLAYER
The Kansas City Current has signed Grace Gordon as a goalkeeper replacement player for the Teal Rising Cup. A native of Chester Springs, Pa., Gordon played three seasons at Seton Hall before transferring to Oklahoma State for her final two years of collegiate eligibility. She started all 22 matches of the 2024 campaign and logged nearly 2,000 minutes, making 77 saves for a .802 save percentage and 0.90 goals-against average. Her 12 shutouts on the year led the Big 12 Conference, and she guided the Cowgirls to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2020.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Kansas City defender Kayla Sharples – Sharples has been on the pitch for all 1,170 minutes of play during the first half of the 2025 NWSL regular season, the only field player on the roster to log every minute She won 100 percent of attempted tackles and made 12 clearances in June to earn herself a spot on the league’s Best XI of the Month. Sharples has anchored a Current back line which has contributed to six straight victories. She has also been a staple on Kansas City’s defensive unit which has conceded just 10 goals in 13 matches to equal the fewest in the NWSL. Also getting in on the offensive action, Sharples has scored two goals this year, both off headers.

Palmeiras defender Poliana Barbosa Medeiros – Poliana, who is the captain of Palmeiras, has played for the club since 2022, totaling 12 goals across 81 appearances. She led Palmeiras to the Copa Libertadores Feminina (2022) and the Campeonato Paulista Feminino (2022, 2024) titles and was named the best defender of the 2024 Campeonato Paulista Feminino. She is the first women’s player to win five career Libertadores titles. Additionally, she played with Brazil at the 2015 and 2019 FIFA World Cups as well as the 2016 Olympic Games. Poliana previously played with the Houston Dash (2016-17) and Orlando Pride (2018) before her return to Brazil.

Limited single-match tickets for 2025 regular season home matches are now on sale to the general public. The best way to ensure you won’t miss a second of the action at CPKC Stadium is by joining the Current Club, the Current’s trailblazing fan membership experience. Focused on ensuring fans continue to be able to access exclusive opportunities, members can unlock special benefits like priority access to single match tickets, members-only gifts and discounts, access to live and virtual events, exclusive content and more. 2025 Season Ticket Member Account Holders are already enrolled in Current Club at no additional cost. Click HERE for more information about the Current Club.