Match Preview: Kansas City Current faces Atlético de Madrid in championship of The Women’s Cup

KANSAS CITY (August 16, 2024) –– The Kansas City Current wrap up the club’s International Summer of Soccer Saturday at 8 p.m. CT against Atlético de Madrid in the championship of The Women’s Cup. Saturday’s championship match at CPKC Stadium is the second game of a doubleheader, as Japanese club INAC Kobe and South African club Mamelodi Sundowns will play for third place at 5 p.m. CT. Both matches will be broadcast on VIZIO WatchFree+, channel 1301. Kansas City fans can listen to Dave Borchardt and Jillian Carroll Letrinko call the Current’s match on 90.9 The Bridge or on the KC Current app in English and Portuguese.

Kansas City booked its place in the championship of the club’s first intercontinental competition with a 3-0 victory over the Sundowns Wednesday night at CPKC Stadium. Forward Alexa Spaanstra opened the scoring with a thunderous long-range strike in the 24th minute, then fellow forward Michelle Cooper doubled the Current’s lead in the 38th minute after smoothly evading the Sundowns’ goalkeeper on a breakaway opportunity. Midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo rounded out the scoring in the 42nd minute with a curled effort from the corner of the Sundowns’ 18-yard box.

Goalkeeper Almuth Schult, who made her club debut Wednesday night, recorded two saves in a debut shutout for the German international. Cooper, meanwhile, notched both a goal and an assist against the Sundowns. Forward Nichelle Prince made her first appearance for the Current since returning from competing with Canada in the 2024 Paris Olympics, playing the final 25 minutes of Wednesday’s contest.

Atlético de Madrid, a traditional Spanish power ranked among the best clubs in Europe, earned its spot in Saturday’s championship after stifling INAC Kobe in a penalty shootout. Midfielder Tatiana Pinto opened the scoring for Atlético in the first half, neatly slotting home an angled ball from forward Rasheedat Ajibade from the endline. Atlético led for a majority of the match, but INAC Kobe found an equalizer in the second half to level the contest. The match went to a penalty shootout, which Atlético won 3-0.

The Spanish club competes in the top division of Spanish women’s club football, Liga F. Atlético took home the Copa de la Reina, an annual competition held among Spanish women’s association football teams in 2023. The club is currently preparing for the 2024-25 campaign and, following The Women’s Cup, has a crucial UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifying tournament hosted by Arsenal September 4 and 7 in London.

GET TO KNOW ATLÉTICO
Atlético de Madrid are one of Spain’s premier women’s soccer clubs. In addition to its recent Copa de la Reina triumph, Atlético won Liga F in three consecutive seasons starting in 2016-17. Atlético also won the Copa de la Reina in 2015-16 and won the 2020-21 Spanish Women’s Super Cup. Atlético is currently in preseason and is looking to build off a 2023-24 campaign that saw the club finish in third place in Liga F with 61 points.

Forward Sheila Guijarro was the club’s leading scorer last season, recording 13 goals in 29 matches. Guijarro’s goal scoring tally was the sixth highest in Liga F. Ajibade, a Nigerian international, scored 10 goals in league play a season ago. Atlético is led by 31-year-old first-year head coach Víctor Martín. Martín is no stranger to top-flight Spanish football as he joined the club a successful year-and-a-half stint at Spanish club Madrid CFF, leading the club to its best-ever finishes in Liga F.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Kansas City Current forward Michelle Cooper – Cooper continued her impressive form during the Current’s International Summer of Soccer Wednesday night against the Sundowns, picking up a goal and an assist as the Current won 3-0. In total, Cooper has appeared in five matches between the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup and The Women’s Cup, notching both two goals and two assists. The winger will look to test an Atlético back line that conceded just 22 goals in 30 Liga F games last season.

Atlético de Madrid goalkeeper Lola Gallardo – Widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in Liga F, Gallardo’s quality was on full display Wednesday against INAC Kobe. The Spanish international helped lead Atlético to the championship of The Women’s Cup after saving three consecutive INAC Kobe penalty kicks. Gallardo remarkably blanked the Japanese side in the shootout, while Atlético made its first three spot kicks to win the shootout 3-0. Gallardo allowed just 21 goals in 27 Liga F matches last season, recording nine clean sheets. She has 37 career caps for Spain’s national team.

THE WOMEN’S CUP
This will be the sixth edition of the Women’s Cup, and the third mini tournament of 2024. Juventus won the Louisville leg of The Women’s Cup, taking down Palmeiras 1-0 Aug. 13 in the championship. The Italian club joins NY/NJ Gotham FC, who won a Women’s Cup competition in Colombia in March, as winners of Women’s Cup events so far in 2024. The tournament began in 2021, hosted by Racing Louisville FC, with its goal to increase international club competition. Since its establishment, more than ten different countries have competed, with the Current marking the fifth NWSL club to participate.

ANOTHER ATTACKER IN THE FOLD
The Kansas City Current announced the signing of Mwanalima Adam Jereko, commonly referred to as Jereko, earlier today. The Kenyan attacker and former Turkish Women’s Super League standout agreed to a contract with the club through the 2025 season, with an option for the 2026 season.

With nearly ten years of experience with the Kenyan national team, Jereko gained notoriety early in her career in her home country. She began playing professionally in high school with the Mombasa Olympic ladies before her tenure with Kenyan Premier League Team Thika Queens FC starting in 2018. In 2021, she made the move to Hakkarigücü Spor of the Turkish Super League. Jereko bagged 23 goals, including two hat tricks, with the club last season.

BACK TO BUSINESS
Saturday marks the Current’s final match of its International Summer of Soccer. Kansas City has welcomed opponents from around the globe to CPKC Stadium over the last month but, following Saturday’s showdown against Atlético de Madrid, the Current return to NWSL action. The Current will only stray from traditional league play to wrap up the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup Oct. 25, when Kansas City faces NJ/NY Gotham FC in San Antonio.

Otherwise, the Current have just ten regular season matches remaining before the postseason. Kansas City sits in second place in the NWSL table with a 10-1-5 record, three points behind first-place Orlando. Kansas City’s first match as the NWSL returns from its Olympic Break comes with a road tilt Aug. 25 against the Washington Spirit at 11 a.m. CT. The Current’s next home match is Sept. 7 against Utah Royals FC.