Canada is competing in the SheBelieves Cup for the second time after finishing third in 2021. Canada were drawn into Group B at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 along with Nigeria, Australia and the Republic of Ireland. Japan is participating in the SBC for the third time after coming to the United States in 2020 (fourth place) and 2019 (third place), and was drawn into Group C at the World Cup along with Costa Rica, Spain and Zambia. Brazil is participating in the SheBelieves Cup for the third time after participation in 2021 (second place) and 2019 (fourth place). Brazil were drawn into Group F at the World Cup along with France, Jamaica and the Group C playoff winners.
VISA SHEBELIEVES CUP MVP
For the fourth straight year, Visa, the presenting sponsor of the SheBelieves Cup, is awarding the MVP trophy to the tournament’s most outstanding player. The award will be announced after the conclusion of the final. Spain’s Alexia Putellas won the 2020 first prize, chosen by a selection committee of former women’s national team players from each participating country, while Rose Lavelle claimed the 2021 MVP honor and American Catarina Macario was the 2022 recipient.
A new selection committee made up of representatives from all participating nations will be announced for the 2023 SheBelieves Cup and fans will once again have the opportunity to vote for the winner of the Visa SheBelieves Cup MVP award using an online vote to choose from a list of the selected finalists to be selected by the committee. The fan vote feeds into the overall decision of the Visa SheBelieves Cup MVP 2023.
WITHIN THE SERIES: USA vs. JAPAN
Sunday’s matchup in Nashville marks the 39th all-time clash between the USA and Japan and the first since they met on March 11 at the 2020 SheBelieves Cup. That game, a 3-1 USA win, saw Rapinoe and Press scoring great first-half goals and Horan scoring a late insurance goal after Japan’s Mana Iwabuchi pulled back in the 58th minute was the US’s last game in over eight months as the world shut down rapidly due to the COVID-19 pandemic . With teams now playing again in 2023, USA lead the all-time streak against Japan with an overall record of 29S-1S-8D. The USA’s only defeat in that series came at the 2012 Algarve Cup. Since then, the USA have been unbeaten in the last 11 meetings between the teams, with seven wins and four draws in that span, including a 2-1 win at the 2012 Olympic Final and a 5-2 win at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final.
Alex Morgan has scored 12 goals in 14 career games against Japan, the most goals she has scored against an opponent in her international career and the most goals by a player against Japan in USWNT history. One of those goals came in the 2011 World Cup Final when Morgan scored the opening goal in the 69th minute. After a 2-2 draw at the end of regular time and extra time, Japan eventually prevailed 3-1 on penalties to lift the World Cup.
Rapinoe has five goals and six assists in 13 career games against Japan, while Horan (2 goals) and Mallory Swanson (1 goal) have also scored in previous encounters with Japan.
USA will play in Group E at the 2023 Women’s World Cup
The USA women’s national team meets World Cup debutants Vietnam, 2019 runners-up Netherlands and Group A play-off winners – either Portugal or Cameroon. Aug. 20 in 10 stadiums and nine host cities, five in Australia and four in New Zealand.
The USA will play the entire group stage in New Zealand. The USA will open the Group E game against Vietnam on July 22 at Eden Park in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau (13:00 local time / 21:00 ET on July 21), which will also serve as the venue for the World Cup opening ceremony 2023 will serve on July 20th when New Zealand plays Norway. The USA then meets the Netherlands on July 27 at the Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington/Te Whanganui-a-Tara (1pm local time / 9pm ET on July 26), followed by the Group A playoff winners on August 1st at Eden Park in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau (7pm local / 3am ET).
WORLD CUP FIELD NEARLY COMPLETED
The expanded The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 will be the first with 32 countries, up from 24 in 2019 and 2015. Of the 32 teams for Australia/New Zealand, 29 have qualified with only the play-off winners yet to be determined.
Those three remaining spots will be determined in this FIFA window during the Inter-Confederation Playoffs, taking place in New Zealand from February 18th to 23rd. Used as a test event before the Women’s World Cup, the ten-team playoff tournament features the ten nations divided into three groups, with the winners of each group qualifying for the Women’s World Cup. Group A started on February 18 with Cameroon beating Thailand 2-0. The Indomitable Lionesses will now take on Portugal on February 22 in a bid to secure a place at the World Cup. The game will be played at World Cup venue Waikato Stadium in Hamilton, Kirikiriroa, and winners Portugal against Cameroon will meet USA in Group E at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 this summer.
In Group B, Haiti defeated Senegal 4-0 on February 18 to take on Chile on February 22 for a place at the World Cup. This match will be played at North Harbor Stadium, Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau and the winner of play-off Group B will face England, Denmark and China PR in Group B finals.
Group C consists of four teams, so Chinese Taipei will meet Paraguay and Papua New Guinea will meet Panama on February 19, with the winners playing for a place at the World Cup on February 23. The two semi-finals will take place at Waikato Stadium and North Harbor Stadium, and the final at Waikato Stadium. The winner will face France, Jamaica and Brazil in Group F.
New Zealand and Argentina, both already at the World Cup, will also play a series of friendlies against play-off teams during the FIFA window. Argentina defeated Chile 4-0 on February 17 while New Zealand lost 5-0 to Portugal.
SHEBELIEVE’S MOVEMENT CONTINUES TO GROW
SheBelieves is a US Soccer initiative inspired by US WNT players to inspire and empower women and girls. Launched in the run-up to the 2015 Women’s World Cup, the campaign has since grown into a powerful message of empowerment and belief in yourself. The SheBelieves Cup is a flagship event for the campaign, which also includes efforts such as the SheBelieves Summit Presented by Deloitte.
The SheBelieves Summit 2023 will take place on March 11-12 at Deloitte University in Westlake, Texas. Returning to its original all-in-person format, the sixth annual SheBelieves Summit will have speakers from sports, business and beyond with the goal of providing attendees with the tools they need to secure jobs in their chosen careers back up and continue on their way to your goals. Registration for the event is now open.
USA BOX NOTES
- The most-capped player in this roster is Becky Sauerbrunn with 213, followed by Alex Morgan (202), Megan Rapinoe (197), Crystal Dunn (129) and Lindsey Horan (124), while the lowest-capped player is Trinity Rodman (13) are. , Casey Murphy (12), Naomi Girma (12), Adrianna Franch (10) and Taylor Kornieck (10).
- Eleven of the 23 players in the US roster for the 2023 SheBelieves Cup have less than 30 caps: Sofia Huerta, Emily Fox, Midge Purce, Alana Cook, Ashley Sanchez, Ashley Hatch, Murphy, Franch, Rodman, Girma and Kornieck.
- Morgan is the top scorer in the international squad with 120 goals. Megan Rapinoe has 63, Mallory Swanson has 30, Lindsey Horan has 26, and Dunn and Lavelle have 24 each.
- Six different players have scored for USA so far in 2023, led by five goals from Swanson, two goals from Lavelle and one goal each from Morgan, Lynn Williams, Hatch and Kornieck.
- Swanson leads USA in total minutes played in 2023 with 246 minutes played. Fox and Cook are in second place with 225 minutes each.
- Nine of USA’s 11 goals this year were assists, with six different players providing an assist in 2023. Rodman leads with three assists, followed by two from Lavelle and one each from Sanchez, Huerta, Williams and Morgan.
- With her assist on Swanson’s opening goal, Alex Morgan now has 48 career assists and is just one assist away from joining Carin Jennings-Gabarra at #10 on the US all-time assists list.
- Nine players were directly involved in a goal with either a goal or an assist that year, led by Swanson’s five goals. Lavelle is second with four goals in total (two goals and two assists).
- The US have had three consecutive shutouts to open 2023, with Alyssa Naeher keeping clean sheets against New Zealand (January 18) and Canada (February 16) and Casey Murphy scoring the shutout against the Football Ferns on January 21.
- Head coach Vlatko Andonovski is 45-5-6 in 56 games with the USWNT, 36 at home and 23 against teams in the top 13 in the world.
IN FOCUS: JAPAN | FIVE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
FIFA World Ranking: 11
AFC Ranking: 2
World Cup appearances: 8 (1991, 1995, 199, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019)
Best World Cup Finish: champion (2011)
Record against USA (WDL): 1W-29L-8D
Last match against USA: March 11, 2020 (USA win 3-1 in Frisco, Texas)
head coach: Futoshi Ikeda (JPN)
JAPAN DETAILED BREAKDOWN BY POSITION
Goaltenders (4): 1-Ayaka Yamashita (INAC Kobe Leonessa), 17-Shu Ohba (East Tennessee State, USA), 18-Momoko Tanaka (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza), 21-Chika Hirao (Albirex Niigata Ladies)
Defenders (8): 2-Risa Shimizu (West Ham United FC, ENG), 3-Moeka Minami (AS Roma, ITA), 4-Saki Kumagai (FC Bayern Munich, GER), 5-Shiori Miyake (INAC Kobe Leonessa) , 6-Rion Ishikawa (Urawa Reds Ladies), 12-Ruka Norimatsu (Omiya Ardija Ventus), 19-Saori Takarada (Linköping FC, SWE), 22-Kiko Seike (Urawa Reds Ladies)
MIDFIELDS (7): 7-Hinata Miyazawa (Mynavi Sendai Ladies), 8-Fuka Nagano (Liverpool FC, ENG), 13-Jun Endo (Angel City FC, USA), 14-Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City FC, ENG), 15-Hina Sugita (Portland Thorns FC, USA), 16-Honoka Hayashi (West Ham United FC, ENG), 20-Aoba Fujino (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza)
FORWARD (4): 9-Riko Ueki (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza), 10-Mana Iwabuchi (Tottenham Hotspur FC, ENG), 11-Rikako Kobayashi (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza), 23-Maika Hamano (Hammarby IF, SWE)
JAPAN CABLE NOTES
- Japan head coach Futoshi Ikeda succeeded Asako Takakura, who is one of the pioneers of Japanese women’s football and became the first female coach of the Japan women’s national team to coach the Nadeshiko from 2016 to 2021.
- Ikeda, a former professional player for Urawa Reds, is the former head coach of the Japan U-20 women’s national team. He led Japan to the championship at the 2017 AFC U-19 Championship and qualified for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, which Japan won. He was also a former coach of the Japan U-17 women’s national team, so he is well acquainted with Japan’s young talents and their journey to the senior side.
- Ikeda has called up a 23-man youth squad for the 2023 SheBelieves Cup, with just one player – 32-year-old defender Saki Kumagai – who is over 30 years old. Japan, which always seems to be in the midst of a youth movement Based on its achievements at international youth level, 12 players are under the age of 25, including three teenagers in defender Rion Ishikawa, midfielder Aoba Fujino and forward Maika Hamano.
- By far the most experienced player in this squad with 132 caps, Kumagai has represented Japan at the last three FIFA Women’s World Cups, including the crucial penalty against USA in a penalty shoot-out during the 2011 FIFA World Cup final.
- Small forward Mana Iwabuchi is the next most experienced with 86 caps and is the top scorer in this squad with 37 caps.
- Kumagai currently plays her club football for Bayern Munich in Germany. She left Olympique Lyon after the 2020/21 season after eight seasons with the French powerhouse, during which she won five UEFA Women’s Champions League titles and played with Americans Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Morgan Gautrat and Catarina Macario at various times.
- While Kumagai is the only player in this squad to play her club football in Germany, 11 others are currently playing their club football outside of Japan. Five players, including Iwabuchi, play in the Women’s Super League in England, three in the United States, two in Sweden and one in Italy.
- Angel City FC midfielder Jun Endo and Portland Thorns FC midfielder Hina Sugita, who is teammates with USA’s Becky Sauerbrunn and Crystal Dunn, are the NWSL representatives in this squad, while goaltender Shu Ohba plays without cap at East Tennessee State. At the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2022 in Costa Rica, a 3-1 victory for Japan, she was Japan’s starting goalkeeper in their group stage clash with USA.
- The other 11 players in this squad all play their club football domestically in Japan’s WE League.