A rematch of the 2019 World Cup semi-final will open the slate of matches for the USWNT at the SheBelieves Cup. Here are three things to watch for.
The 2020 SheBelieves Cup will offer the United States Women’s National Team the perfect opportunity to prepare for the upcoming Summer Olympics. Over the course of a week, the defending World champions will face three countries, the first of which is England, who perhaps pose the biggest challenge.
A closely contested World Cup semi-final last summer saw the USWNT win 2-1 to advance to the final. England have a chance here to avenge their loss and build confidence heading into the Olympics. These are two of the elite teams in world football, and they will battle it out once again.
Here are three things to watch for.
3. Can the clean sheets continue?
The USWNT did not allow a single goal during their CONCACAF Olympic qualifying campaign. Even against rivals Canada, the backline was largely untroubled and pitched a shutout. The USWNT have now not conceded a goal in all of 2020. It is not a bad record.
England will be a great test to see if they can continue this impressive run of form. England last failed to score in a match versus New Zealand in June 2019. They were able to score against the U.S. at the World Cup and they’ll be looking to do so again at the SheBelieves Cup.
The Lionesses scored seven goals at this competition last year to lead all teams and put two past the Americans in a 2-2 draw. Will they be the first team to give the USWNT backline headaches in 2020?