The road to the NWSL Championship in Washington will begin this weekend with the start of the playoffs, with the league’s top eight teams competing against each other in hopes of winning the silverware that has eluded so many.
Three previous champions are in the field, including 2025 winners Gotham FC, who face the Seattle Reign and head a group of mostly talented teams hoping to win the NWSL Championship for the first time, with Gotham entering as favorites after winning the Shield for the first time. Becoming the first team to win back-to-back championships since the North Carolina Courage won in 2018 and 2019. The other former winners, the Washington Spirit and Portland Thorns, will face each other in Sunday’s quarterfinals in one of the most anticipated games of the weekend.
The San Diego Wave are any contender when it comes to potential first-time champions, with the team taking the Shield race to the final day before claiming Gotham’s latest prize. They’ll face the Utah Royals, who will be making their postseason debut, on Friday, while all eyes will be on the Midwest on Saturday. In the most competitive matchup of the quarterfinals, Kansas City is set to play the biggest spoiler after going on a late-season tear, fueled by current host Angel City, U.S. women’s national team hopeful Ally Sentnor.
Here’s a look at how CBS Sports thinks the NWSL postseason will shake out.
1/4 final
Eastern all the time
Friday, November 6
San Diego Wave vs. Utah Royals, 10 p.m. (Prime Video)
Saturday, November 7
Kansas City Current vs. Angel City FC, 12pm (CBS, Paramount+)
Sunday, November 8
Gotham FC vs. Seattle Reign, 12:30 p.m. (ABC)
Washington Spirit vs. Portland Thorns, 3 p.m. (ABC)
Semifinals
The matches will take place on the weekend of November 14 and 15
Gotham FC/Seattle Reign vs. Kansas City Current/Angel City FC, time TBA
San Diego Wave/Utah Royals vs. Washington Spirit/Portland Thorns, time TBA
The final
Saturday, November 22
Teams TBD, 8 p.m. (CBS. Paramount+)
Assault on the third playoff bracket
Before the regular season, our editorial team did some work very early predictions Along with Attacking Third analysts. Four of the six experts picked the Kansas City Current as the future NWSL Champions, while two picked the Washington Spirit to win it all. There were two who thought Gotham FC would win the NWSL Shield, while others picked Washington Spirit, Orlando Pride and Kansas City Current.
Now that the postseason is here, there is a wave of change. Quite literally. While there are a couple who think there could be some upsets, many analysts are going with the San Diego Wave to come out on top in the NWSL Championship. Others chose Gotham FC to watch their NWSL Championship win the shield. The Kansas City Current also cut the bracket to raise the title of one of our analysts.
Here are the NWSL playoff brackets: