The 2015 World Cup finalists will meet in Philadelphia for the 2019 edition of the SheBelieves Cup as they prepare for France this summer
The U.S. women’s national team will meet Japan on Wednesday evening in the SheBelieves Cup at Talen Energy Stadium in Philadephia. It is the fourth edition of the annual four-team women’s national international tournament, and the USWNT are twice defending champions.
The fixture will also be a repeat of the 2015 World Cup final where the USWNT emerged victorious. Jill Ellis’ side opened their 2019 account with a 3-1 loss to France, followed by a 1-0 win versus Spain, and will be eager to prepare for the road to the 2019 World Cup in France this summer.
Japan’s most recent result was a 4-1 thumping of Norway in a friendly in November, and will no doubt be keen to exact revenge on the USWNT after their World Cup final loss almost four years ago.
| Game | USWNT vs Japan |
| Date | Wednesday, February 27 |
| Time | 12am GMT / 7pm ET |
| Stream (US) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Fox Sports 1 | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will not be livestreamed or broadcast live on television.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | N/A |
| Position | USWNT players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Naeher, Harris, Franch |
| Defenders | Dahlkemper, Davidson, Dunn, O’Hara, Sauerbunn, Sonnett, Short |
| Midfielders | Colaprico, Ertz, Lavelle, Mewis, Sullivan, Zerboni |
| Forwards | Heath, Lloyd, McDonald, Morgan, Press, Pugh, Rapinoe |
Lindsey Horan has been sidelined due to injury, while Kelley O’Hara remains a fitness doubt.
Potential USWNT XI: Naeher; Dunn, Dahlkemper, Sauerbunn, Davidson, Lavelle, Ertz, Mewis; Heath, Morgan, Rapinoe.
| Position | Japan players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Yamane, Takenaka, Saito |
| Defenders | Sameshima, Ariyoshi, Kumagai, Shimizu, Oga, Ichise, Miyagawa, Minami |
| Midfielders | Utsugi, Nakajima, Sakaguchi, Matsubara, Hasegawa, Sugita, Miura |
| Forwards | Yokoyama, Momiki, Ikejiri, Kobayashi, Endo |
Japan skipper Saki Kumagai is expected to lead the line after successful campaigns captaining European champions Lyon.
Potential Japan XI: Yamane; Sameshima, Ariyoshi, Kumagai, Shimizu; Utsugi, Nakajima, Hasegawa, Sakaguchi; Yokoyama, Momiki.
USWNT are priced at odds of winning 1/3 according to bet 365 , while a draw is available at 7/2. A win for Japan is priced at 6/1.
Click here to see all of bet 365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more .
The SheBelieves Cup is a tournament involving four elite teams – the USWNT, Japan, England and Brazil – competing in a round-robin tournament. Points are awarded in the group stage and will follow the formula of three points for a win, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss. A tie in points will be decided by goal difference.
The USWNT, ranked first in the world, are defending champions after coming out top against England, France and Germany in last year’s tournament. They will have the home advantage once again this year and are on track to win their third consecutive SheBelieves title.
With a World Cup tournament on the horizon this summer, Ellis’ side will be busy laying down the framework for a crucial road to France as her side attempt to lift an astonishing fourth World Cup title in a row.
The USWNT got 2019 off on a disappointing foot after losing 3-1 to France in January. History could repeat itself, however, as the USWNT also lost to France at the start of 2015 – but still went on to lift the World Cup later that year.
Japan have gone through a squad restructure since their final loss in 2015, and are rebuilding towards this summer’s competition. World Cup-winning head coach Norio Sasaki was dismissed in 2016 after the side failed to qualify for the Olympics, and head coach Asako Takakura has been attempting to balance a side of experienced veterans with fresh talent.
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Even the newer faces have substantial experience, however, having participated in the 2018 AFC Championship which they narrowly won 1-0 against Australia.