AD

Barring any last-minute hitches, the Spirit will use the first pick in the distribution ranking order to claim her. Washington has no plans to trade the top selection and hasn’t received any formal offers.

AD

A final resolution is expected in the coming days, which would allow Pugh to report to the Spirit next week and make her debut May 20 against FC Kansas City at Maryland SoccerPlex.

Spirit management and Pugh’s representatives at Wasserman Media Group said they did not want to comment. Gulati did not return messages seeking comment.

>> Pugh and the national team will participate in a four-country event this summer: the Tournament of Nations, July 27-August 3 with Australia, Brazil and Japan in San Diego, Seattle and Carson, Calif. Each matchday is a doubleheader. FIFA rankings: USA 2, Japan 6 (tie), Australia 8, Brazil 9.

AD

There are no NWSL matches scheduled between July 23 and Aug. 3, but there are two games on Aug. 4.

The competition coincides with the late stages of the Women’s European Championship in the Netherlands. The USSF said it will stage the Tournament of Nations every year in which the World Cup or Olympics aren’t held. The same four teams will compete in the 2018 event.

AD

This spring, four of the top five teams in the world gathered in the United States for the second SheBelieves Cup, played on the East Coast and won by France.

>> With 93 percent approving, the FIFA Congress agreed to leave open the bidding process for the 2026 World Cup through Aug. 11 for countries from CONCACAF, Africa, South America and Oceania. A final vote on the host(s) has been scheduled for June 13, 2018 in Moscow.

AD

>> The Liga MX playoffs (correct, MLS isn’t the only one with playoffs) began Wednesday with two quarterfinal first legs: Jorge Villafaña assisted on Santos Laguna’s goal in a 4-1 home defeat to Toluca, while neither American, Tigres’ Jose Torres or Monterrey’s Edgar Castillo, was in uniform for Tigres’ 4-1 home victory.

Tonight: Top-seeded Tijuana, featuring Paul Arriola and Joe Corona, visits Morelia and Atlas hosts Chivas.

AD

>> MLS last night: Tossaint Ricketts scored twice in the last 10 minutes as Toronto FC earned a 2-1 comeback victory over the Columbus Crew before an announced crowd of 10,318. The reigning Eastern Conference champions (6-1-4) have won five straight for the first time in club history and pocketed 11 of a possible 18 points on the road. TFC will host Minnesota United on Saturday.

AD

>> The North American Soccer League announced Orange County (Calif.) as a 2018 expansion team, based at Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Stadium. A formal club name is in the works. The NASL, which has provisional second-division status, is operating with eight teams this year. San Francisco Deltas provided the league’s first West Coast presence by launching this season.

>> The 104th edition of the U.S. Open Cup began in earnest with 27 matches, including Christos (Maryland) winning at Frederickburg (Virginia), 3-0, on Pete Caringi III’s hat trick. Christos will visit the USL’s Richmond Kickers next Wednesday. Caringi’s father is the longtime coach at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.