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Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondent
The United States women’s national team will host Japan, Australia and Colombia in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup, the U.S. Soccer Federation said on Wednesday.
The USWNT, currently ranked first in FIFA’s women’s soccer rankings, will open the competition on Feb. 20 against 21st-ranked Colombia at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, Texas.
That will be followed three days later with a match against 15th-ranked Australia at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. Feb. 26. The final day of the competition will see the U.S. face seventh-ranked Japan at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Calif.
This is the 10th edition of the tournament.
“This will be my first SheBelieves Cup, but I’ve followed the tournament, and it always produces close games between top teams,” U.S. head coach Emma Hayes said. “All four of these teams were in the last World Cup and Olympics, and all are in the building process to qualify for the next World Cup, so to get three games against talented teams and players in a format that replicates group play at a world championship is valuable in our process. All the games will be great tests for the teams and fun for all the fans.”
The USWNT has never been beaten by Las Cafeteras, holding an all-time record of 11-0-2. The two teams last met at the W Gold Cup, with the USWNT prevailing 3-0.
The United States women have played the Matildas 35 times, with the USWNT holding a record of 28W-1L-5D. Australia is managed by former U.S. head coach Tom Sermanni. The U.S. and Australia met in the final group match of this summer’s Olympics, a 2-1 U.S. victory that knocked the Matildas out of the tournament.
The U.S.-Japan rivalry dates back to 1986. Starting in 2011, the teams met in three straight world finals, with Japan winning the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup on penalties, while the U.S. won the London 2012 Olympic Games and the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The USWNT holds a 32W-1L-8D all-time record against the Nadeshiko. The most recent meeting between the two teams took place at last summer’s Olympic Games, as the Americans claimed a 1-0 victory in the quarterfinals.
Australia and Colombia will make their first appearances in the SheBelieves Cup, while Japan returns to the field for the third consecutive year and the fifth time overall. The USA has won the last five SheBelieves Cups and has seven titles overall, while France won in 2017, and England took top honors in 2019.
The SheBelieves Cup will be the second event for the USWNT in 2025 as the team will start the new year with a training camp in Los Angeles that will run from Jan. 14-21.
No official matches are associated with that camp, but it will run concurrently with the “Futures Camp” that will feature up-and-coming USWNT prospects.
Rosters for both camps will be announced early next year.
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