Updated NWSL Playoff Bracket 2026 and Quarterfinals Schedule After Latest Results

The 2026 NWSL playoffs kicked off on Friday with the Utah Royals pulling off an upset by defeating the No. 2 seed San Diego Wave FC at Snapdragon Stadium to reach the semifinals.

There are still three games remaining in the quarterfinal round that will be played over the next two days, starting Saturday with the Kansas City Current hosting Angel City FC.

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Nov. 6: No. 7 Utah Royals def. No. 2 San Diego Wave FC, 1-0

Nov. 7: No. 4 Kansas City Current vs. No. 5 Angel City FC at 12 p.m. ET

Nov. 8: No. 1 Gotham FC vs. No. 8 Seattle Reign FC at 12:30 p.m. ET

Nov. 8: No. 3 Washington Spirit vs. No. 6 Portland Thorns FC at 3 p.m. ET

Kiana Palacios scored the lone goal in the Royals' win over San Diego in the 30th minute.

Friday marked the first playoff game in Utah history. It was also a triumphant moment for the franchise in its third season after returning to NWSL play following dissolution of the original iteration in December 2020.

San Diego entered the postseason coming off the best regular season in franchise history with 18 wins and 58 points, but the playoff run ended abruptly with its first shutout loss at home since July 11.

Looking ahead to the rest of the weekend schedule, Utah will await the winner of Sunday's matchup between Washington and Portland.

The Spirit and Thorns split two head-to-head meetings in the regular season with each team winning on the road. Washington will be the home game in the quarterfinal showdown as it looks to get over the final hurdle after losing in the championship game each of the past two years.

Gotham is the No. 1 seed for the first time in franchise history. The Bats are seeking their second straight championship and third in the past four seasons. There hasn't been a repeat champion since North Carolina in 2018 and 2019.

Saturday's matchup is a showdown of a KC team trying to rebound after last year's disappointing quarterfinal loss after being the best team in the regular season against an Angel City squad that had one of the best turnarounds of any club from 2025.

Angel City won more games this season (15) than in the previous two years combined (14).

Kansas City and Angel City were the two highest-scoring NWSL teams in the regular season with 54 goals each.