NWSL playoffs preview: Can anyone stop Kansas City? How each team will, won't win it all

"The 2025 NWSL playoffs are here and just like in the regular season, everyone is chasing the Kansas City Current after the Shield-winners' historic season. Kansas City is the undeniable favorite to win the NWSL Championship on Nov. 22, but historically, the NWSL has been anything but predictable. Could one of the other seven teams go on a run for a few weeks and lift the trophy? Of course? Will they? Well... here's why each team will -- and won't -- win the NWSL Championship."

"Next game: at KC Current, Nov. 9, 12:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN Why they will win: Talent and tactics. Gotham is not your average No. 8 seed. This is a team that should have finished higher up the table, but laid an egg on Decision Day. Still, Gotham is loaded with championship-caliber talent: little over a month ago, they were lighting up the league with new arrival Jaedyn Shaw joining the healthy, in-form Rose Lavelle and the workhorse Jaedyn Shaw."

"If Esther González, with her 13 regular-season goals, is healthy, she has proven capable of carrying the team throughout the season. Why they won't win: Defensive lapses. Only Kansas City conceded fewer goals than Gotham's 25 this season, granted, but the way in which Gotham has conceded goals is something Kansas City could feast on. Gotham endured self-inflicted mistakes trying to play out of the back in Sunday's loss to North Carolina."

The 2025 NWSL playoffs feature the Kansas City Current as the clear favorite after a historic Shield-winning regular season, but the league's postseason history is highly unpredictable. Seven other teams possess realistic paths to the title if form, fitness and tactical execution align. Gotham FC combines championship-caliber attackers such as Jaedyn Shaw and Rose Lavelle and relies on Esther González's goal scoring when healthy, but defensive errors and risky build-up play undermine consistency. Louisville presents a gritty, direct counterattacking identity capable of punishing opponents, making single-elimination matches volatile and open to surprise outcomes.

Read at ESPN.com