Gotham FC October 2026 international recap: Last break of the 2026 NWSL season
For the first time in four months, women's soccer players joined up with their national teams for the first international break since June. As has been the case for many years, NJ/NY Gotham FC had a large portion of their squad away on international duty, with 10 players playing for their respective national teams.
Tierna Davidson and Rose Lavelle were joined by late call-up Jaelin Howell for the USWNT while goalkeeper Teagan Wy was on U-23 duty. While abroad, Bruninha, Jess Carter, Sam Kerr, Denise O'Sullivan, Guro Reiten, and Talia Sommer were in action for their respective national teams as well. One notable absence was goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who received a much-needed break from international duty with Germany and was not called in for their most recent set of friendlies.
Gotham FC and the October international break
Teagan Wy: USWNT U-23
Wy was called into the U-23 team, which trained concurrently with the senior national team at the new U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Wy did not make it into either of the team's matches, 5-0 and 6-2 victories over the Dominican Republic, with Angel City FC goalkeeper Angelina Anderson starting both games.
An additional note on the U-23 team: both Jordynn Dudley and Jaedyn Shaw were called into camp, but both pulled out due to injury. Dudley's injury is a foot fracture suffered in training before Gotham's 1-1 draw with Angel City FC, which has ultimately landed her on the SEI list. Meanwhile, Shaw's withdrawal from the squad was precautionary and seems to be less serious by comparison.
Tierna Davidson: USWNT
Davidson started both of the USWNT's friendlies against Spain. She went the full 90 minutes in their 2-0 loss at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., before playing 80 minutes in their 2-2 draw at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania. She started both matches alongside San Diego Wave FC defender Kennedy Wesley. Davidson was subbed out in the second match for Utah Royals FC defender Kate Del Fava in what was her first-ever senior national team cap at 28 years old.
Rose Lavelle: USWNT
Like Davidson, Lavelle started both matches against Spain, playing 66 and 61 minutes respectively. She was substituted out for Mallory Swanson in both games, with the first match seeing Swanson make her first USWNT appearance since a 3-0 friendly win over Argentina on October 30, 2024. In the second match, she scored an 86th-minute equalizer for her first USWNT goal since scoring the game-winner in the 2024 Olympic Gold Medal Game against Brazil.
Jaelin Howell: USWNT
After an injury forced Sam Coffey to withdraw from the squad, Jaelin Howell received her first call-up since December of last year. After being an unused substitute in game one, Howell played 29 minutes off the bench in game two, coming on for Bay FC's Claire Hutton.
Bruninha: Brazil
Bruninha was called up to the Brazilian national team for a pair of friendlies against Argentina. She came off the bench at halftime of the first match, a 3-1 victory for Brazil, before having to come off due to injury in the 70th minute. It has since been announced that the injury was an ACL tear. As such, Gotham FC placed her on the SEI list, ending her NWSL season and potentially ending her hopes of playing at her home World Cup next summer.
Jess Carter: England
Carter was called in for England's two-legged 1st-round World Cup Qualifying playoff games with Greece. Carter was an unused substitute in the first game but started and played the full 90 minutes in the second leg, where England won 5-0 at home. England won the first match in Greece 3-1, meaning the team will advance to the next round with an 8-1 aggregate win.
Sam Kerr: Australia
In her first international break as a Gotham player, Kerr played two friendly matches for Australia against Germany and Haiti. The striker started both matches, playing 64 and 66 minutes, respectively. She scored Australia's opening goal in the 4-2 loss to Germany, with the other Australian goal scorer being Holly McNamara, the player who replaced Kerr in the 64th minute. Then in Australia's 7-1 win over Haiti, Kerr assisted long-time international teammate Caitlin Foord for their fifth goal in the 65th minute. The two were also teammates at Sky Blue FC for a season back in 2015.
Denise O'Sullivan: Republic of Ireland
O'Sullivan started and played in the second leg of Ireland's World Cup Qualifying playoff matchup against Kazakhstan, scoring the final goal in their 4-0 victory. Ireland won the first leg, where O'Sullivan did not make the matchday squad, 8-0 meaning they advanced by a 12-0 aggregate score over Kazakhstan.
Guro Reiten: Norway
Reiten started both legs of Norway's World Cup Qualifying playoff against Romania. She played 67 minutes and scored the opener of the first game in the 10th minute, setting up a 2-0 away win for Norway, before playing 62 minutes in their 6-0 win at home. Norway advanced to the next round on an aggregate score of 8-0.
Talia Sommer: Israel
Finally, Sommer started and played the full 90 minutes of Israel's World Cup Qualifying playoff matches against Switzerland. She scored a hat-trick in their "home" leg match that was played in Hungary, but Switzerland still came away the winners by a score of 7-3. Switzerland would then win their home leg 2-0, eliminating Israel by an aggregate score of 10-3.
Today's best reads
Gotham FC news roundup: Rose Lavelle meets her hero, Bruninha's injury, and more
Jaelin Howell deserves her call-up to the USWNT after another great season
Recapping and reflecting on recent October happenings at Gotham FC
Bruninha's season ends: ACL and knee injury curse continues to haunt Gotham FC
Gotham FC's short-term move for Olivia Wingate does not make sense
