Crystal Dunn playing England in the SheBelieves Cup, March 4, 2017.
For the third consecutive year the SheBelieves Cup will take place, hosted by the USA. This is an invitational women’s soccer tournament that England, Germany, France and the US have participated in since 2016.
The official description of this tournament given by US Soccer states, “The SheBelieves is a movement conceived and developed by the U.S. Women’s National Team players, that was launched to inspire young girls and women and encourage them to accomplish their goals and dreams, athletic or otherwise.”
This tournament is one of the most competitive annual women’s soccer events along with the Algarve Cup, which takes place in Portugal. According to FIFA the teams that participate in the tournament are ranked top 6 in the World, which creates high expectations for the quality of soccer fans can enjoy in every match.
For the 2018 edition, the cities of Columbus (OH), Harrisburg (NY), and Orlando (FL) will host the round robin competition, where the team with the most points at the end will be crowned champion.
The USWNT won the first edition of the tournament, however, the Americans suffered the next year where they finished last. The 2017 Cup was taken by France, which surprised many that year. And even though Germany and England have performed well in tournament, they have always finish second and third, respectively.
This year the tournament will be doubly interesting since the USA will be looking to bounce back from what happened last march. France, which is the only team outside of the FIFA’s top 5, wants to demonstrate what happened a year ago was not luck. Germany is coming to this tournament after a very disappointing Euro Cup last summer, whereas England, who had a good European Cup achieving semifinals, wants to keep the good form showed last summer.
With the Cup kicking off tomorrow, everything is set for an exciting international cup to warm up fans right before the NWSL season starts in a few weeks.
Schedule for SheBelieves Cup 2018:
Date: Thursday, March 1, 2018
Location: MAPFRE Stadium; Columbus, Ohio
Doubleheader Schedule:
England vs. France at 4 p.m. ET
USA vs. Germany at 7 p.m. ET
Date: Sunday, March 4, 2018
Location: Red Bull Arena; Harrison, N.J.
Doubleheader Schedule:
USA vs. France at 12 p.m. ET
Germany vs. England at 3 p.m. ET
Date: Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Location: Orlando City Stadium; Orlando, Fla.
Doubleheader Schedule:
France vs. Germany at 4 p.m. ET
USA vs. England at 7 p.m. ET
*Games can be seen on ESPN2, ESPN3 and through WatchESPN.
International Women's Soccer
