Crystal Dunn retires: Is she the greatest NWSL player ever?

Full Time: A show about women's soccer · Jan 30, 2026 · 51m

On Thursday, we saw one of the greatest U.S. women’s national team players of all time hang up their cleats. At age 33, Crystal Dunn has decided to retire from professional soccer.

So, on this episode of Full Time, host Jillian Sakovits is joined by The Athletic’s Tamerra Griffin and Melanie Anzidei, as well as Claire Watkins from Just Women’s Sports, to unpack what Dunn’s legacy will be now that she is retiring. What trail did she blaze as a Black player on the USWNT? How did she carve out a unique team-first leadership style? Was she the greatest NWSL player ever? The podcast gets into all…