#453: Natalia Astrain on USWNT challenges and opportunities

Natalia Astrain, the Telemundo soccer commentator who's coached youth and professional women's soccer on both sides of the Atlantic and coaxed intentional, lovely soccer from the U17 women's national team in 2022, joins the pod. She has a distinct vantage point for observing the challenges and opportunities facing women's soccer in America as the national team prepares for the beginning of the Hayes era. Wide-ranging conversation -- everything from Onyeka Gamero's path to the first team at Barca to the superpowers of the American player and the overemphasis on results at young ages in the States.Subscribe to Scuffed on Patreon! Patrons get a private feed for the Monday Review, which is, among other things, a run-down of club action for national team players every week with Watke and Vince. We have recently added patron-only content that’s available every Friday. Patrons also get access to our private Discord server, live call-in shows, and the full catalog of historic recaps we've made: https://www.patreon.com/scuffed Skip the ads! Subscribe to Scuffed on Patreon and get all episodes ad-free, plus bonus episodes. Patrons at $5 a month or more also get access to Clip Notes, a video of key moments on the field we discuss on the show: https://www.patreon.com/scuffedCheck out our store, where you can get Scuffed hats and sweatshirts and other stuff: scuffedpodcast.com/storeAlso, check out Boots on the Ground, our USWNT-focused spinoff podcast headed up by Tara and Vince. They are cooking over there, you can listen here: https://boots-on-the-ground.simplecast.comAnd check out our MERCH, baby. We have better stuff than you might think: https://www.scuffedpodcast.com/store  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.