Washington Spirit vs. KC Current Set for 2026 NWSL Championship for Bracket Final

Kansas City Current has punched its ticket to the NWSL championship game.

Kansas City beat Gotham FC 2-1 on Sunday to advance to the title match, where it will face the Washington Spirit, who downed Utah Royals FC on Saturday in the semifinal.

Kansas City had the edge through the early part of the game. The Current took a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute when Croix Bethune scored on a free kick.

That lead held through the end of the first period and into the second, but Gotham finally answered in the 69th minute. Gotham got the ball into the box on a cross, and Kansas City's Laney Rouse was trying to clear it when she hit it into her own goal.

After the blunder on defense, it appeared the game would need to be decided in added time, but the Current's Haley Hopkins scored off the crossbar to give her side the lead in the 89th minute.

Gotham couldn't answer in stoppage time, and Kansas City secured a spot in the championship.

The Current, which joined the NWSL in 2021, has reached the championship game once but has never won it all. They'll look to change that this year as they go up against a Washington team that is making its third straight championship game appearance.