Cardinals' Zach Ertz, Michael Wilson fully behind their loved ones at the Women's World Cup

As Julie Ertz said would happen at U.S. women's national soccer team media day last month, her husband Zach and son Madden traveled with her to the FIFA Women's World Cup in New Zealand, where Julie has been a key player in the U.S. team's first two matches.

Zach Ertz just got back from the trip last Saturday, and while not able to practice with the Arizona Cardinals because he was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list to start training camp, the veteran tight end is continuing his rehab from knee surgery.

Zach Ertz saw one of his wife's games in person, the U.S. team's opener against Vietnam last week. Then he flew back to Arizona and was on the field at State Farm Stadium Wednesday getting in some individual rehab work.

Ertz is hoping to be ready to play in Week 1 of the regular season, but for now he's supporting his wife from afar and longing to see his young son again — hopefully after the U.S. wins another World Cup.

Ertz wore a white U.S. jersey Wednesday, complete with his wife's number. When asked if he bought it, he coolly replied by saying it was given to him.

"I was part of the family program in New Zealand for that first game so I think you buy into the family program, you get a jersey," Ertz said. "Obviously it is the longest I'll be away from my son and Julie really for the past couple years. So it is tough definitely being apart from him. Definitely emotional saying goodbye. Definitely miss him. But Julie's there, she's able to see him every day."

It made more sense, the family decided, for Julie to take care of Madden in New Zealand with Zach's mother there with her, because Zach is staying with the Cardinals at a local resort and said he wouldn't be able get away from his work to spend more time with the family.

Julie seeks her third World Cup title, being part of the U.S. team in 2015 and 2019. She overcame a knee injury to play in the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021, then was out of playing soccer for the rest of that season and last when she and Zach became parents.

This year she returned to the NWSL, the top women's pro league in the U.S., and an injury to another U.S. national team player, Becky Sauerbrunn, led to Ertz being invited to return for another World Cup.

Madden will turn a year old far from home.

"I understood this was part of the deal. When she went back to playing I was fully supportive of that decision," Zach Ertz said. "It's gonna be tough missing his first birthday, that's for sure as long as they're still playing. But at the end of the day, this is gonna be amazing story to tell."

Zach was able give his wife something to inspire her from across the Pacific Ocean. He was approached by the NWSL to pen a letter to Julie, as other loved ones did for other U.S. players.

"They just reached out and said 'hey, we're doing this with some of the national team players, would you be willing to write it?' And I said, 'Yeah, of course,'" Ertz said. "So I ended up writing the little letter. It was definitely heartfelt. Never you want to see your wife cry, but at the same time when your words move her, I guess it's OK."

Ertz isn't the only Cardinal with someone special to him playing for the U.S. Rookie wide receiver Michael Wilson has been in a relationship with American star Sophia Smith since the two were freshmen at Stanford, and both have risen in their respective sports over the years to play at the highest levels.

Wilson said it's been an honor to be by Smith's side as she has become one of the top players in the NWSL and the world.

"The time change is tough, not seeing each other a lot and stuff. But having Zach helps a lot because he had to do pretty much the exact same thing with Julie," Wilson said Friday after training camp practice. "So we just support each other and love each other and just are rooted in our loyalty and our trust for each other."

Wilson was glad to be able to write a letter to Smith to motivate her at the World Cup. Smith smiled on video as she read it.

"I was honestly a little disappointed. I thought she was gonna cry. No, it was, it was great," Wilson said. "I think it came together well, and I think it left a good message in her heart going into New Zealand. So I know she was happy that I did that."

The Cardinals are entrenched at the team hotel and have meetings after practices. But the Women's World Cup is on in the background, as Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon is doing his part to help out Ertz and Wilson and the team is on board in support the U.S. women.

Players were able to catch the last part of Wednesday night's U.S. match after meetings.

"I think that both of those women might be better athletes than the guys we got wearing red and white and black in there," Gannon joked. "But no, the team is excited for those guys."

Wilson said he considered going to New Zealand but after he and Smith discussed it, he decided he wanted to be fresh without jetlag for the start of his first training camp. But Smith will spend much more time with Wilson after her NWSL season with the Portland Thorns ends in November.

Sanders injures hand

Second-year edge rusher Myjai Sanders left practice on Thursday with an issue and on Friday, Gannon said it was because he banged his hand.

“We’re kind of evaluating that and see where it goes,” the coach said, adding of the team overall, “We kind of got through yesterday pretty unscathed.”

Getting in Tune

During a radio appearance on Arizona Sports (98.7-FM) on Friday, rookie quarterback Clayton Tune told “Wolf and Luke” that he doesn’t regret telling reporters he felt he was the best quarterback among the entire 2023 QB draft class.

“I don’t have any regrets, but I think it’s just going to help make work harder and go out there and prove it every day,” Tune said, adding, “I usually don’t make a lot of statements. I guess in the moment I was fired up and I just kind of spoke my mind, but If I do say something, I want to back it up and I want to prove it.”

With Kyler Murray still sidelined due to his knee rehab, Tune has been getting ample looks with the second-team offense behind veteran QB Colt McCoy. Gannon said the primary backup job, however, is wide open.

“Yeah, I think all spots are open for grabs right now on the entire team,” he said.

Wearing the mic

Inside linebacker Kyzir White is presently wearing the designated radio receiver in his helmet during training camp, but Gannon doesn’t sound ready to commit to anyone wearing it full time as of yet.

“We’ll see. Right now, he is, but we’ll see,” Gannon said. “That’s always a day-to-day evaluation.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why two Arizona Cardinals are huge U.S. women's soccer fans