2025 NWSL final: Fluid Spirit clash with unpredictable Gotham in San Jose
Both teams are chasing their second NWSL Championship titles in California on Saturday night
Here we go. One game to decide it all.
The 2025 National Women’s Soccer League final is set. NJ/NY Gotham FC will take on the Washington Spirit on Saturday at PayPal Park in San Jose, California.
Let’s dive into who these two teams are, their respective journeys to the final, and what will define this game.
How did they get here?
Rolling with the chaos
Runners-up last year, the Spirit picked up just where they left off. Another second-place finish in the table and another journey to the final featuring raucous playoff wins at their sold-out home stadium, Audi Field.
A (3) 1-1 (1 )penalty shootout win over Racing Louisville in the quarter-finals, where Aubrey Kingsbury again saved three kicks, was followed up by a one-sided 2-0 semi-final win over the Portland Thorns, where the game really should have been put to bed before Croix Bethune called the match in the 83rd minute.
Squint, and this is almost a mirror image of 2024, when the Spirit eventually lost 1-0 to the Orlando Pride in the final. But, despite lots of success, 2025 has been anything but straightforward or predictable for the Spirit.
Washington lost their star Trinity Rodman to a back injury between April and August and then to a knee injury for a month in October. When Rodman plays, the Spirit has a record of W9-D6-L1; without her, they are W4-D2-L5.
And then there’s former head coach Jonatan Giraldez, who left for fellow Michele Kang-owned club Lyon midseason. Luckily, long-time assistant Adrian Gonzalez, who was the interim before Giraldez arrived from Barcelona in 2024, was able to take charge seamlessly.
Gonzalez has named an unchanged XI just once this season.
Upsets, inconsistencies and a blockbuster signing
Despite losing to the Spirit in a shootout in the 2024 NWSL playoff semi-finals, last season was statistically the best season in Gotham history. So, despite making the final this year, in many ways, Gotham has taken a step back.
In 2024, Gotham finished the season in third with 17 wins and 56 points. This season, ‘The Bats’ dropped to eighth with nine wins and 36 points. Crucially, their xG dropped significantly and their goals followed suit: 41.4 xG, 41 goals in 2024, to 33.5 xG, 35 goals in 2025.
Outside of the NWSL, there has been considerable success and a trophy. Gotham won the inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup in May, and have advanced to the semi-finals of the 2025-26 edition.
But what has truly seemed to define Gotham’s season was the September transfer of Jaedyn Shaw for $1.25 million (a record fee between two NWSL clubs) from North Carolina Courage. Shaw has brought instant main character energy and stunned in the playoffs. She had a goal and an assist in the 2-1 win over the Current in the quarter-finals, before scoring a 96th-minute direct free kick to win the semi-finals 1-0.
Gotham have been up and down all season. When they’re good, they’re good. But you don’t always know what you’re going to get from this star-studded cast.
Head-to-head
Spirit: 17
Gotham: 14
Draw: 12
Last meeting: Gotham 0-0 Spirit, 1st October 2025 (Concacaf W Champions Cup group stage)
Last NWSL meeting: Gotham 0-0 Spirit, 29th August 2025
What’s their Championship final pedigree?
This is the second consecutive NWSL Championship final for the Spirit and the fourth in the team’s history. The Spirit have lifted the trophy once, in Louisville in 2021 against the Chicago Stars. They were defeated in both 2016 and 2024.
Gotham are back in the final for just the second time. The only other appearance was their similarly miraculous run to the title in 2023, when Gotham were also the lowest-seeded team.
How to watch
The 2025 NWSL Championship final will kick-off at 1:00 a.m. in the UK and can be watched on TNT Sports.
For those in the US, the broadcast will be on CBS and can also be streamed on Paramount+.