U.S. Soccer to Play Canada, Brazil and Japan in 2023 SheBelieves Cup
The February 16–22 event will be held in Florida, Tennessee and Texas
Posted On: December 9, 2022 By :U.S. Soccer will host the eighth annual SheBelieves Cup from February 16–22 as Brazil, Canada and Japan join the USA for the four-team international tournament with games in Orlando, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; and Frisco, Texas.
All four nations will participate in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup next summer and all four are ranked in the top 11 in the world with the USA at No. 1, reigning Olympic gold medalist Canada at No. 6, Brazil at No. 9 and Japan at No. 11. The teams will use the tournament, which was first played in 2016, as World Cup preparation five months before the competition kicks off in Australia and New Zealand.
“The first five games of the 2023 schedule will all be against teams playing in the World Cup and we expect to confirm a few more matches against top opponents before we go to New Zealand during the summer,” said U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski.
Matches will be played at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida; GEODIS Park in Nashville, Tennessee, and Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. Due to COVID-19 protocols, the 2021 SheBelieves Cup was held entirely in Orlando and the 2022 tournament was staged in Frisco as well as Carson, California.
“We love the SheBelieves Cup for the world class competition it brings, the format that helps replicate group play at a World Cup and the overall meaning that it has for our team and women’s sports,” Andonovski said. “Obviously, you get more rest days in a World Cup, but managing a roster with three games over seven days against teams with three very different styles of play is really good preparation for us as we continue to grow as a team towards next summer.”
The SheBelieves Cup will be the first domestic games of the World Cup year for the USWNT, which will play two games in and against New Zealand in January. Canada makes its second appearance in the SheBelieves Cup after finishing third in 2021. Brazil makes its third appearance in the tournament after participating in 2021 (second place) and 2019 (fourth place). Japan will be participating in the SBC for the third time after coming to the USA in 2020 (fourth place) and 2019 (third place). The U.S. has played against Canada 63 times previously and has played both Japan and Brazil 38 times previously.
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