The U.S. Women’s National Team is looking for a fourth straight title at the 2023 SheBelieves Cup, where Brazil, Canada and Japan join the U.S. women in the four-team international tournament set for Feb. 16-22. This year’s tournament returns to its original three-venue format, with matches being played at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida, GEODIS Park in Nashville, Tennessee, and Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
The 2023 SheBelieves Cup will mark the first games on home soil in 2023 for the No. 1-ranked USWNT. All four nations in this year’s tournament will also be participating in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup this summer, and all four are ranked in the top 11 in the world with Canada at No. 6, Brazil at No. 9 and Japan at No. 11.
This year marks the eighth edition of the SheBelieves Cup, which began in 2016 as part of U.S. Soccer’s SheBelieves initiative, aiming to inspire and empower women and girls in sport and beyond. The USWNT, five-time winners of the event, won the inaugural tournament and repeated the feat in 2018. The U.S. women again lifted the trophy in 2020, marking a first for head coach Vlatko Andonovski and kicking off a streak of three straight wins by the host team. The only other two countries to capture SheBelieves Cup titles are France (in 2017) and England (in 2019).
How to watch, fixtures for 2023 SheBelieves Cup
| DATE | TIME (all times ET) | MATCH | VENUE | NETWORK/STREAMING |
| Thursday, Feb. 16 | 4 p.m. ET | Japan vs. Brazil | Exploria Stadium (Orlando, Fla.) | HBO Max, Peacock (in Spanish) |
| Thursday, Feb. 16 | 7 p.m. ET | USWNT vs. Canada | Exploria Stadium (Orlando, Fla.) | HBO Max, Peacock (in Spanish), Universo, fuboTV, DirecTV Stream |
| Sunday, Feb. 19 | 3:30 p.m. ET | USWNT vs. Japan | GEODIS Park (Nashville, Tenn.) | HBO Max, Peacock (in Spanish), Universo, fuboTV, DirecTV Stream, TNT |
| Sunday, Feb. 19 | 6:30 p.m. ET | Brazil vs. Canada | GEODIS Park (Nashville, Tenn.) | HBO Max, Peacock (in Spanish) |
| Wednesday, Feb. 22 | 4 p.m. ET | Canada vs. Japan | Toyota Stadium (Frisco, Tex.) | HBO Max, Peacock (in Spanish) |
| Wednesday, Feb. 22 | 7 p.m. ET | USWNT vs. Brazil | Toyota Stadium (Frisco, Tex.) | HBO Max, Peacock (in Spanish), Universo, fuboTV, DirecTV Stream, TNT |
Top storylines: USWNT aims for third straight title, Canada back in the fold, Marta’s long-awaited return
USWNT outlook: The No. 1-ranked USWNT has won the last three SheBelieves Cups and five of seven overall, and the Americans head into the 2023 edition on the heels of two victories over New Zealand last month. The U.S. won by a combined nine goals at matches at Eden Park in Auckland and Sky Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand — both of which are venues for the upcoming 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, where the four-time champion USWNT has its sights set on a historic three-peat. The U.S. women could become the first team in either the women’s or men’s game to win three successive World Cups.
RELATED: Breaking down the USWNT roster, who’s playing — and who isn’t — in the 2023 SheBelieves Cup
Team Canada outlook: The sixth-ranked Canadian women will make their second appearance in the SheBelieves Cup, where they debuted in 2021 and finished third. Head coach Bev Priestman didn’t officially list her 23-player roster until shortly before the tournament and instead named an 18-player squad for a pre-tournament camp held Feb. 8-12. The camp featured players predominantly from leagues not currently in season, namely the NWSL and Sweden’s Damallsvenskan.
Team Brazil outlook: This year marks ninth-ranked Brazil’s third appearance in the SheBelieves Cup, where they finished second in 2021 and fourth in 2019. Brazilian soccer star Marta could make her return to action during the tournament after being away for 11 months following an ACL tear last March. Head coach Pia Sundhage listed Marta on the 23-player roster along with Kansas City Current midfielder Debinha, who played all three games in each of Brazil’s previous SheBelieves Cup appearances and scored a goal in 2019 and two in 2021. Last July, Brazil went undefeated en route to an eighth Copa America title.
Team Japan outlook: Japan, ranked No. 11, returns for its third appearance in the SheBelieves Cup and its first since 2020. The Japanese women finished third in 2019 and fourth in 2020. Head coach Futoshi Ikeda revealed his 23-player roster last week, which includes Mana Iwabuchi, who made headlines earlier this year when she left Women’s Super League (WSL) club Arsenal to join Tottenham Hotspur on loan.
Who’s playing for Team USA in the 2023 SheBelieves Cup
Headlining the 23-player American squad are a trio of star USWNT veterans in San Diego Wave forward Alex Morgan, OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe and Portland Thorns defender Becky Sauerbrunn. Twenty-two of the players were with the USWNT last month for its successful trip to New Zealand. Rapinoe, who has recovered from a recent ankle injury, is the lone new addition to the roster from January. She enters the tournament with 197 caps and has a chance to hit 200 during the tournament.
Additional fun facts about the USWNT ahead of the 2023 SheBelieves Cup:
- Alex Morgan, who comes into the tournament with 201 matches played for the USWNT, will be honored before the USWNT’s opening match for earning her historic 200th cap last November.
- Should Megan Rapinoe appear in all three SheBelieves Cup matches, she’ll become the 14th player in USWNT history to reach the 200-cap milestone.
- Five players on the USWNT roster have 100 caps or more: defender Sauerbrunn (212), Morgan (201), Rapinoe (197), Crystal Dunn (128) and Lindsey Horan (123).
- The U.S. roster features 11 players with 27 or fewer caps, but only one with single-digit caps: Taylor Kornieck (9).
- Sixteen players on the U.S. squad were on the roster for the 2022 SheBelieves Cup.
Format for the 2023 SheBelieves Cup
The four-team tournament uses a round-robin format, with each team playing each other once (three matches total for each team). The winner of the tournament will be determined by total points, with three (3) points awarded for a win and one point for a tie. In the event of a tie, the first tiebreaker is the overall goal differential, followed by most total goals scored, then head-to-head result, and lastly, Fair Play Ranking if necessary.
SheBelieves Cup rewind: A look back at past tournaments
2016: The USWNT defeated England and France by 1-0 scores before beating Germany, 2-1, in the de facto championship game to take the inaugural SheBelieves Cup title. Germany finished second, England third and France fourth.
2017: USA defeated Germany 1-0 in the opening match but fell to England 1-0 and France 3-0 to finish fourth. France won the 2017 tournament, with Germany finishing second and England third.
2018: The Americans took back the SheBelieves Cup title after they defeated Germany 1-0, tied France 1-1 and beat England 1-0. England finished second, France was third and Germany fourth.
2019: USA recorded back-to-back draws in the 2019 tournament, finishing 2-2 vs. Japan and 2-2 vs. England, before beating Brazil, 1-0, to finish second in the event. England won the event while Japan was third. Brazil failed to win a game and finished fourth.
2020: The U.S. women won the title by sweeping all three of its games, winning 2-0 vs. England, 1-0 vs. Spain and 3-1 vs. Japan. Spain finished second, England third and Japan fourth. Spain’s Alexia Putellas, who scored twice in the tournament, was named the first-ever SheBelieves Cup MVP.
2021: The USWNT clinched its fourth SheBelieves Cup title overall and became the first back-to-back champion in tournament history after wins over Canada (1-0), Brazil (2-0) and Argentina (6-0). The Americans’ performance also marked the first time a team did not allow a single goal in the competition, which was played in its entirety in Orlando due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Brazil was second, Canada third and Argentina fourth. USA’s Rose Lavelle was named SheBelieves Cup MVP.
2022: The USA opened with a surprising 0-0 draw vs. Czech Republic, but they routed subsequent opponents New Zealand and Iceland by 5-0 scores to win the tournament. Iceland finished second, with Czech Republic third and New Zealand fourth. USA’s Mallory Pugh scored three times in the tournament, but teammate Catarina Macario was named MVP following her two goals in the finale vs. Iceland.
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