I think it’s really time for us to start putting things together, start stringing good performances together that we can start building on heading into the qualifiers but also the bigger picture of heading into France ’19 and looking to hopefully defend our title.” On the similarities in vision that she and her partner, the basketball star Sue Bird, have in their respective sports: “I think if I could have half the vision that Sue has on the basketball court on the soccer field, I’d be in a pretty good place. But I think that was something we really fought for and something that we wanted to get a better relationship in terms of venue selection between the federation and us. I think that if I had to do it all over again, I would do the same thing. I think the only thing maybe I’d do differently is maybe talk to people first about it, but even then it’s like I wasn’t looking for permission or even really thinking about that. I think the number of white players, just say in the NFL, that not even knelt but I would say voiced their opinion or their support of Kaepernick and what was happening was not nearly enough.

The Americans open play against Germany in the second game of a doubleheader, following the opener between the national teams of France and England. The SheBelieves Cup is an opportunity for the U.S. The tournament will have a similar role this year in that the U.S. The second-ranked Germans are the reigning Olympic champions and have won the Women’s World Cup twice (2003, 2007) and finished fourth in 2015. The team doesn’t participate as a team in the Olympics, since the country isn’t recognized as a sovereign nation.

However, Germany lost to Denmark in the knockout stage of the UEFA Euro tournament, thanks to a late goal from new Reign FC defender Theresa Nielsen. The United States, meanwhile, lost both of the tournaments it hosted in 2017: the SheBelieves Cup and Tournament of Nations (against Australia, Brazil, and Japan). and the best midfield combination to dictate the game and adjust to opponent tactics. Much of that task falls to the midfield, where there are a lot of strong players who have yet to prove they can all work together. Getting off on the right foot will be critical for the team’s momentum.

Despite his lengthy resume in the game, this will be his first job as a head coach. France defeated the Lionesses 1-0 in October thanks to a late Viviane Asseyi goal, so come Thursday afternoon they do have that chip on their shoulder. Her athleticism and leadership will be absent from Les Bleues’ roster in the tournament, which will mean the pressure will be on Henry, along with other veterans, to hold down the fort. Marozsán is a goalscorer by nature and will be looking to make a impact this year after scoring 32 goals in 81 games for the national team. Several known faces on the USWNT roster will be out from the tournament with injuries.

Women’s National Team and Germany have a rich history of competitive matches and the two countries have combined to win 10 of the 13 FIFA senior level championships that have been contested, with the USA taking the 1991, 1999 and 2015 World Cups, and the 1996, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics; and Germany winning the 2003 and 2007 World Cups and the 2016 Olympics. In the knockout stage, Denmark earned a legendary result and ended Germany's reign as six-time defending champions of Europe with a 2-1 win in the quarterfinal. European Qualifying for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup began in September of 2017, and Germany kicked things off well with a 6-0 win against Slovenia. As a player, Jones played most her career for her hometown FFC Frankfurt team, but also played in the USA with the Washington Freedom in 2002-03, helping the club to the championship in 2003. In Brazil, Popp scored against Zimbabwe in the opening match of the tournament and Maroszán scored a crucial goal in the gold-medal game against Sweden, helping Germany take the title with the 2-1 win.

The Americans open the tournament against potentially the toughest of the three opponents in Germany, FIFA’s No. The USWNT is 21-4-7 all-time against Germany and 2-0-0 vs. The last time the USWNT played in the venue, it won 9-0 over Thailand in September of 2016. The tournament will be decided the same way as in years past. The team with the most total points will claim the SheBelieves Cup.

Three fantastic teams are coming to our country for our fans to see and it’s obviously a great opportunity to vet ourselves.” That’s what United States Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis had to say ahead of her side’s first game in the third annual SheBelieves Cup. And Ellis is absolutely correct about the last point— SheBelieves is an opportunity for the USA to check themselves. Germany are arguably the best equipped to take on the US at the moment, and Matchday One at SheBelieves offers a tantalizing chance to send a message— to their rivals, and to the rest of the world. The USA may be #1 in the world, but they need to conclusively demonstrate that they belong there. USA Lineup: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 22-Taylor Smith, 17-Tierna Davidson, 7-Abby Dahlkemper, 5-Kelley O’Hara; 8-Julie Ertz, 9-Lindsey Horan, 10-Carli Lloyd (capt.); 11-Mallory Pugh, 13-Alex Morgan, 15-Megan Rapinoe Time for the main event .

The present and the future are what matter most. 1 in the world rankings, is poised to take on No. Thursday at Mapfre Stadium in the first round of the SheBelieves Cup. in the first stop of a round-robin tournament over the next week that will take the teams to Harrison, New Jersey, for round two, and Orlando, Florida, for round three. The game with Germany, Rapinoe said, is about getting on with the serious run toward World Cup qualifying later this year and onward.

They finished last in the 2017 SheBelieves Cup that featured the same four teams as the upcoming competition, and they finished second to Australia in the four-team 2017 Tournament of Nations. I know she's had the opportunity to do some experimentation, more so last year, but I know for a fact that there's some folks inside that team that are really concerned about the direction of the U.S. She led the U.S. They had the two defeats back to back to England and France at the very beginning of 2017 and they lost to Australia over the summer. This is basically the same equivalent tournament as the Algarve Cup was for Tom Sermanni.

The USA women's national soccer team leads Germany 1-0 in the SheBelieves Cup at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Megan Rapinoe beats her defender to the ball and scores. USA 1, Germany 0. The U.S. Women's National Team will play three games in the SheBelieves Cup.