The United States Soccer Federation announced details of the 2023 SheBelieves Cup, with Brazil, Canada and Japan joining the US women’s national team in the competition.
All three of the US’ opponents are ranked 11th or higher, with Canada at No. 7, Brazil at No, 9 and Japan at No 11. All three teams have qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup which is being held in Australia and New Zealand next summer.
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“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,” US manager Vlatko 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 held at three different venues, with the US facing Canada at Orlando’s Exploria Stadium on Feb. 16, then taking on Japan at Nashville’s GEODIS Park three days later, followed by Brazil at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas on Feb. 22.
Over eight editions of the tournament, the US has won five times, including the last three.
Andonovski added that the first five games of the 2023 schedule will all be against teams playing in the World Cup and that he expects the USSF to confirm a few more matches against top opponents before heading to New Zealand next summer.
The winner of the tournament will be determined by total points with the first tiebreaker being overall goal difference, followed by most total goals scored, then head-to-head result and lastly, fair play ranking if necessary.
The SheBelieves Cup is part of US soccer’s SheBelieves initiative to inspire and empower women and girls to achieve their goals in sport and beyond.