Cascarino to join Wave from Lyon after Olympics

Lyon’s Delphine Cascarino has signed with San Diego Wave and will join the club after her Olympics run with France’s women’s team, the NWSL team said on Wednesday.

The winger’s contract is through 2026 and with a mutual option for 2027 — pending P-1 visa and International Transfer Certificate.

“Delphine is a world-class player in the prime of her career. Her experiences at both the club and national team level will be invaluable to this team,” San Diego Wave sporting director and general manager Camille Ashton said in a news release.

“We are thrilled to welcome Delphine to San Diego. She joins us at a pivotal time and will make an immediate impact for us on the pitch.”

Cascarino, 27, leaves Lyon after helping clinch an eye-catching 23 titles since her 2015 professional debut, scoring 45 goals along the way in 223 matches in all competitions. With France, the winger has scored 14 goals across 64 appearances.

France, who are hosting the Olympics, will begin their group stage run on Thursday against Colombia. They’ll then face Canada on July 28 and New Zealand on July 31. The knockout round will begin on Aug. 3, building up to the gold medal match on Aug. 10.

After the Olympics, Cascarino will seek to revive a San Diego Wave side that have fallen short of expectations with a current spot at 10th in the league standings. Earlier last month, a poor run of form for the NWSL Shield-holders led to the firing of head coach Casey Stoney. The team is currently being led by interim Paul Buckle.

Elsewhere in the ongoing NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, San Diego Wave regained much-needed momentum with a 3-1 win over Bay FC last week in their tournament-opener.

On July 26, they’ll host Liga MX Femenil’s Club América, before closing out the group stage away on Aug. 1 vs. Angel City FC.

The knockout round will commence with semifinals on Aug. 6, and the final on Oct. 25.

The NWSL regular season will resume next month.