USWNT set to kick-off 2018 SheBelieves Cup vs. Germany on Thursday

USA vs. Germany
MAPRE Stadium; Columbus, Ohio
March 1, 2018
2018 SheBelieves Cup

(Via U.S. Soccer) – A meeting between the top two teams in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings highlights the opening matchday of the 2018 SheBelieves Cup as the USA takes on Germany at MAPFRE Stadium (7 p.m. ET on ESPN2) in the third edition of this tournament.

The action officially starts when England faces France (4 p.m. ET on ESPN3) in the first game. All the U.S. games will be streamed live on ESPN3 and the ESPN App. The most elite four-team women’s international tournament in the world features four of the top six teams in the current FIFA Women’s World Rankings: No. 1 USA, No. 2 Germany, No. 3 England and No. 6 France. Three of the four coaches in the tournament are women: USA’s Jill Ellis, Corinne Diacre of France and Steffi Jones from Germany. The tournament will mark the debut of new England head coach Phil Neville, the former Manchester United and Everton star and England National Team defender.

2018 SheBelieves Cup Schedule

TOURNAMENT FORMAT: The tournament format will be the same as the first two years, with the four teams each participating in three doubleheaders at three different venues from March 1-7. The winner of the tournament will be based on total points (three for a win, one for a draw), with the first tie-breaker being overall goal differential, followed by goals scored, then head-to-head result, and lastly FIFA ranking if necessary. Teams are allowed six substitutes each per game.

WHY SHEBELIEVES: Conceived and developed by U.S. Women’s National Team players, SheBelieves is a movement to inspire young girls and women and encourage them to accomplish their goals and dreams, athletic or otherwise. The campaign was originally launched in the run-up to the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, but has since evolved into a special bond between the team and its fans, taking its powerful message of empowerment into communities across the nation. Through dedication, teamwork, perseverance and success, U.S. WNT players inspire new generations of young girls and women to be better and strive for better; they inspire them to believe.

• More About the SheBelieves Campaign

2018 SHEBELIEVES HERO: The contest aimed to find a girl between the ages of 13-17 that embodies the SheBelieves spirit. A SheBelieves Hero™ is a leader in their community, a confident and passionate individual who empowers others around her and is working to make a difference. A panel of seven former U.S. Women’s National Team players narrowed down the field of submissions and selected the four finalists for the SheBelieves Hero™ contest. These finalists’ videos were then shared via social media and a poll was created for people to vote on who they believe best embodied the SheBelieves spirit. Taking 44 percent of the votes, Hollis Belger was chosen as the 2018 SheBelieves Hero™. As part of the prize, Belger will now travel to Harrison, N.J. to watch the WNT take on France on March 4.

2018 SHEBELIEVES SUMMIT : In conjunction with the tournament, U.S. Soccer is hosting its first SheBelieves Summit in New York City on March 3, 2018. The 2018 SheBelieves Summit is a day-long event to celebrate opportunity, empower attendees and equip young women with the inspiration, tools and connections to pursue and accomplish their goals in life, in school, on fields and in their future careers. The event will feature notable female speakers representing sports, entertainment and business who will share their personal and professional insights for greatness.

STARTING STRONG: The U.S. Women’s National Team began its 34th year of international competition on Jan. 21 with a stellar performance in a 5-1 victory against Denmark at San Diego County Credit Union Stadium. Forward Mallory Pugh scored twice while Julie Ertz, Alex Morgan and Crystal Dunn added single goals. That match, plus the three in the SheBelieves, means the USA will start the year with four consecutive matches against top European teams. The U.S. team trained for a week in Orlando, Fla. before traveling to Columbus for its first match. U.S. WNT head coach Jill Ellis named 26 players to the preliminary roster for the tournament and 25 trained in Orlando as forward Crystal Dunn stayed with her club – Chelsea FC – during training camp before joining the team for the start of the tournament.

2017 SHEBELIEVES CUP REWIND: Francewere the deserved victors of last year’s SheBelieves Cup, defeating England 2-1, drawing with Germany 0-0 and defeating the USA, 3-0. The USA defeated Germany, 1-0, to open the tournament but then fell 1-0 to England on an 89th minute goal that came from a scramble off a set play. In a nod to the parity among these elite teams and difficulty of the games, just nine goals were scored in the tournament (and average of 1.5 a game), exactly same amount as in 2016. Germany has finished second and England third in both tournaments thus far while the USA and France switched between first and fourth from 2016 to 2017.

2016 SHEBELIEVES CUP REWIND: The USA earned 1-0 results against England and France and downed Germany, 2-1, in the de facto championship game to take the inaugural tournament title. Germany finished second, England was third and France was fourth. None of the games were decided by more than one goal with three 1-0 victories, two 2-1 victories and one 0-0 draw.

PLAYING THE BEST TO BE THE BEST: The year after the World Cup-Olympic cycle has at times been a down year in terms of U.S. WNT scheduling. That was not the case in 2017. The USA faced seven of the other top nine teams in the world (only North Korea and the European champion Netherlands are absent from the list), and since September of 2015 the USA will have played half (eight countries) of the teams that competed in the 2017 UEFA Women’s Euros, including Holland. With the USA starting off the year with Denmark, then facing Germany, England and France at the SheBelieves Cup, and with the Tournament of Nations slated for the summer, this year is shaping up to be similarly competitive. The schedule will create an excellent evaluation environment for the coaches and a quality proving ground for the players.

FOCUS SHIFTS: U.S. head coach Jill Ellis used 2017 to learn more about her team, her veterans and new players, while trying several different formations, playing players in various positions and giving call-ups to numerous younger players. Since the end of the 2016 Olympics, Ellis has used more than 30 players in matches and has seen more than 50 in a training camp environment. Of the 22 players who have earned first caps under Ellis, 15 have been since the end of the 2016 Olympics. In 2018, while Ellis and her staff will still be constantly evaluating players in various environments, those numbers are likely to go down. With a solid core that emerged from last year’s tough schedule and heavy evaluation, the current core group will be the one to move forward and receive the most opportunities to earn roster and starting spots.

COUNTDOWN TO CONCACAF QUALIFYING: The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup that will be held from June 7-July 7 in nine cities in France is still on the distant horizon, but the countdown has begun for CONCACAF Qualifying, which will take place this fall. The tournament host and teams have not been finalized, but the USA, Canada and Mexico will earn automatic berths into the final eight-team tournament, while the other five nations will have to go through pre-qualifying in their respective regions. From that eight-team tourney, three teams will qualify directly to France while a fourth will enter a two-leg playoff against the third-place team from South America. As the USA kicks off its 2018 campaign, all the players and coaches will cast a distant eye on the all-important qualifying tournament about eight months from now.

JILL ELLIS FACT FILE : After leading the USA to the Women’s World Cup title, U.S. head coach Jill Ellis was rewarded with a multi-year contract extension on Aug. 5, 2015. She is the third U.S. coach – and first female American coach — to win a Women’s World Cup at the senior level, following Anson Dorrance (1991) and the late Tony DiCicco (1999). Ellis was named the 2015 FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Soccer on Jan. 11, 2016, at the FIFA Awards Gala in Zurich, Switzerland. She was also named the CONCACAF Female Coach of the Year. Ellis, who previously served two stints as interim head coach of the U.S. WNT, is the eighth official head coach in U.S. history. She coached seven games as interim coach in 2012 (5-0-2) and two games (1-0-1) as interim in 2014 before she officially came on board, which gave her a 6-0-3 record before she ever was formally named the head coach in May of 2014. She has gone 65-6-11 since then for an overall record of 71-6-14, earning her 50th career WNT win on July 22, 2016, vs. Costa Rica. With the win against New Zealand on Sept. 15, 2017, Ellis moved past Anson Dorrance and into fourth place on the all-time wins list. Since taking over as head coach, Ellis has won four tournaments: the 2015 Algarve Cup, the 2015 Women’s World Cup, the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship and the 2016 SheBelieves Cup. Jill Ellis Full Bio

FAMILIAR STADIUMS + DEBUT AT ORLANDO CITY : The U.S. Women have played at MAPFRE Stadium (formerly Columbus Crew Stadium) seven times, have played five times at Red Bull Arena and will make their debut appearance at Orlando City Stadium. The first two stadiums have been the sites of some important history for the USA. The WNT first played in Columbus in 1999 in a match after the famous World Cup victory. Most recently in Columbus, the USA said goodbye to legend Heather O’Reilly in a 9-0 victory against Thailand during her farewell game on Sept. 15, 2016. The USA first played at Red Bull Arena on June 5, 2011 in a 1-0 win vs. Mexico, and lost to England, 1-0, last year in the SheBelieves Cup, but the most memorable game was the 5-0 victory against South Korea on Mary 30, 2015, in which Abby Wambach scored four goals, the second and third of which tied, and then broke, Mia Hamm’s all-time international scoring record. While the SheBelieves Cup will mark the first visit to Orlando City Stadium, the venue has already hosted top flight women’s soccer – and featured more than a few goals from Alex Morgan — as the home stadium for the Orlando Pride of the NWSL.

U.S. Women’s National Team 2018 SheBelieves Cup Roster by Position (Caps/Goals):
GOALKEEPERS (3): 18- Jane Campbell (Houston Dash; 2/0), 24- Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 14/0), 1- Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 24/0)

DEFENDERS (7): 7- Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 14/0), 17- Tierna Davidson (Stanford; 1/0), 14- Sofia Huerta (Chicago Red Stars; 3/0), 5- Kelley O’Hara (Utah Royals FC; 105/2), 2- Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 19/0), 22- Taylor Smith (NC Courage; 8/0), 16- Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC; 13/0),

MIDFIELDERS (6): 6- Morgan Brian (Olympique Lyon, FRA; 69/6), 8- Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 58/15), 9- Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 44/4), 10- Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash; 247/98); 20-Allie Long (Portland Thorns FC; 33/6), 3- Andi Sullivan (Stanford; 8/0)

FORWARDS (7): 19- Crystal Dunn (Chelsea FC, ENG; 58/23), 21- Savannah McCaskill (Sky Blue FC; 1/0), 13- Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 135/81); 23- Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars; 97/44), 11- Mallory Pugh (Washington Spirit; 30/8), 15- Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign; 130/34), 12- Lynn Williams (NC Courage; 16/4)

U.S. ROSTER NOTES

TEAM

• U.S. head coach Jill Ellis named three goalkeepers, seven defenders, six midfielders and seven forwards to the roster, which includes Crystal Dunn, who was in England during the pre-tournament camp but joined the U.S. team in Colum bus after traveling from London where she has played for Chelsea FC for the past year.
• Three players on the roster have scored in previous SheBelieves Cup tournaments: Alex Morgan (2), Crystal Dunn and Lynn Williams.
• Fourteen players on the roster have 33 caps or fewer, and on the other end of the spectrum, eight have 58 or more, with just four having 100 or more. The average age of the U.S. roster is 25.8.
• There are two teenagers on the U.S. roster, while four players are in their 30s.
• Eighteen players on the roster are 5-foot-7 or taller.
• The roster has: 21 NWSL players, one player in Europe (Morgan Brian), and one college player in Davidson.
• The USWNT has not allowed more than one goal in any of their last eight games, going 7-0-1 during that run, and has scored at least three goals in seven of those eight games.
• During her tenure as U.S. WNT head coach, Ellis has seen 76 players in a training camp environment. Of those 76, 50 have earned at least one cap and Ellis has given 22 players their first cap. Sofia Huerta was the 19th player to get a first cap under Ellis, earning it on Sept. 15 vs. New Zealand. McCall Zerboni was the 20^th, Tierna Davidson was the 21st and Savannah McCaskill become the 22nd when the latter two debuted on Jan. 21 vs. Denmark in San Diego.

FORWARDS

• After scoring in the opening match of the year against Denmark, Alex Morgan comes into the match with 81 goals in 135 caps and at age 28 and sits in sole possession of seventh place on the USA’s all-time goal scoring list. She has scored eight goals over her last eight WNT matches through the end of 2017 and start of 2018.
• For players with more than 50 goals/assists combined, Morgan has averaged a goal or an assist for every 69.9 minutes on the field in her international career. The only player to have done better is Mia Hamm (68.5). Abby Wambach averaged a goal or assist for every 71.5 minutes and Michelle Akers finished her career at 74.0 minutes per goal or assist. (Credit: Paul Carr).
• Christen Press has 97 caps and 44 career goals, most recently scoring on a brilliant strike from distance against Korea Republic on Oct. 22.
• Press is in 14th place on the all-time WNT goals list and with one more goal will tie Julie Foudy for 13th place. She averages just under a goal every two games (0.45 goals per game) and 0.82 goals per every 90 minutes she’s been on the field.
• The Tournament of Nations last year sparked a quality end of 2017 for Megan Rapinoe, who scored three goals with five assists over the last eight matches of the year. Rapinoe has 34 career goals, pulling her within one of tying April Heinrichs and Sydney Leroux for 15th on the all-time goals list.
• Crystal Dunn scored four goals in 2017, all in back-to-back braces against Russia in April, and got her first of the year on Jan. 21 against Denmark, finishing a rebound off a Christen Press shot.
• In 2017, Dunn played in 23 matches for Chelsea FC: three in the FA Cup (1G, 2A), 11 in league play (3G, 3A), five in the Continental Tyres Cup (2G, 1A) and four in the UFA Champions League (1A). In 2018, Dunn played in five matches for Chelsea.
• On January 16, it was announced Dunn will return to the NWSL and play for the North Carolina Courage during the 2017 season. The Courage acquired her rights from the Washington Spirit for Taylor Smith and Ashley Hatch.
• Mallory Pugh scored in her senior team debut (the 19th U.S. WNT player to score in her first cap) on Jan. 23, 2016, vs. Ireland at 17 years, 8 months and 25 days old, becoming the youngest player to debut for the U.S. in the previous 11 years.
• She turned 18 on April 29, 2016 and is fifth all-time for most U.S. caps before the age of 18 (11). Third for most goals before the age of 18 (2), fourth in most starts before the age of 18 (7) and first for most assists before the age of 18 (5). She now has 30 caps and is the youngest WNT player ever to compile 10 career assists (she currently has 12), surpassing Kristine Lilly.
• She turned 19 on April 29, 2017 and tied with Mia Hamm for third in U.S. history for goals before age of 19 (four), was fourth in caps (20) and second in starts (14).
• She is currently fourth for goals before the age of 20 with eight (behind Cindy Parlow (15), Mia Hamm (14) and Christie Welsh (11)), first in assists with 12, fourth in caps with 30 (tied with Heather O’Reilly while Parlow is next with 32) and second in starts with 22, moving past Hamm (Tiffany Roberts is first with 41).
• Lynn Williams is up to 16 caps with seven starts for the WNT in her career. She scored her fourth international goal on Oct. 22, 2017, and got the start against Canada on Nov. 9, playing in her first away match for the WNT and going 87 minutes before coming out for Allie Long. Last season, she contributed nine goals and five assists for the NWSL Shield winner NC Courage.
• Savannah McCaskill , who was taken second overall in the 2018 NWSL College Draft by the Boston Breakers and then was picked by Sky Blue FC in the Dispersal Draft, is experiencing her second extended training time with the WNT. McCaskill made the game roster for the Jan. 21 match against Denmark and earned her first cap when she came into the game in the 70th minute for Andi Sullivan. She led South Carolina to the NCAA College Cup last season with eight goals and nine assists on the year.

MIDFIELDERS

• Carli Lloyd is a two-time FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year (2015, 2016) and finished second in the voting in 2017. She is the all-time active caps leader with 247 and is sitting on 98 goals, two away from becoming the sixth player to score 100 or more for the USA, and the first since 2009 when Abby Wambach scored her 100th.
• While she played as a withdrawn forward for many of her minutes (since the knockout round of the 2015 Women’s World Cup), she is still the highest scoring midfielder in U.S. history.
• With her start against Brazil on July 30, Lloyd tied Joy Fawcett for sixth place on the all-time caps list and is now three away from becoming the sixth player in U.S. history to earn 250 caps.
• Lloyd is the highest active goal scorer in U.S. history with the players ahead of her – Mia Hamm, Wambach, Kristine Lilly, Tiffeny Milbrett and Michelle Akers – all retired.
• Lloyd scored 36 international goals between the time she debuted six days before her 23rd birthday, and her 30th birthday. Since turning 30, she has scored 62 goals in just over five and a half years.
• Lloyd earned the 50th assist of her career on Julie Ertz’ goal against Brazil on July 30, joining just seven other U.S. players to earn 50 or more assists in their careers. Lloyd is in eighth-place in all-time assists, but with six more, can move into fifth.
• Julie Ertz scored her first goal under her married name against Brazil on July 30, 2017, the dramatic game-winner in the 89th minute while playing defensive midfielder, and then grew into the position the entire year, scoring five more goals and playing so well that she was named 2017 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year.
• She got 2018 off to a great start as well, scoring the game-winner on Jan. 21 vs. Denmark off a first career assist from Tierna Davidson.
• Ertz is the third player to be named both the U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year and Young Female Player of the Year. Lauren Holiday (2014 & 2007) and Tobin Heath (2016 & 2009) are the other two, making the five years between the awards for Ertz the shortest time for any player.
• Just 25 years old, she played her 50th game for the USA against Brazil, becoming the 54th American female player to achieve that milestone and now has 58 caps and 15 goals.
• Lindsey Horan enjoyed a fine 2017, helping the Portland Thorns win the NWSL title while scoring four goals with two assists. She played mostly holding midfielder during the year and scored the game-winning goal in the championship. For the WNT, she came off the bench for six of her first seven appearances of the year, but then finished strong, started four of the last six games, establishing herself in the lineup, while scoring a goal and getting four assists. She played 90 in the last three matches of 2017 and another 90 in the first match of 2018.
• Morgan Brian was hampered by injuries last year and played in just six games, starting two. She last played for the USA on September 15, 2017, coming off the bench to play the final 16 minutes against New Zealand. She is still just 25-years-old and has 69 caps, and has moved past Natasha Kai into 44th place on the all-time caps list.
• Allie Long scored her first three career goals (all on headers) in 2016. She scored her fourth and fifth goals, also off headers, vs. Russia on April 6, 2017. It was the second brace of her career. She finally got a WNT goal with her feet on Oct. 22 against Korea Republic, slotting home a pass from Horan, and now has 33 caps after appearing in 14 games for the USA in 2017.
• Twenty-two-year-old Andi Sullivan, who led Stanford to the NCAA title as a senior and won the Hermann Trophy as the top player in college soccer, is becoming a regular on U.S. rosters. After a year away from the U.S. team while rehabbing a knee injury, Sullivan returned to the U.S. roster for the Oct. 19 against Korea Republic and earned her fifth cap a year to the date after her first. She played the final 16 and 15 minutes against Canada on Nov. 9 and 12, respectively, to earn her sixth and seventh caps. She got the start on Jan. 21 against Denmark for her eighth cap.
• Sullivan was a key player for the USA in both the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. She was taken #1 overall in the 2018 NWSL Draft when she was selected by her home area Washington Spirit on January 18.

DEFENDERS

• Kelley O’Hara started and captained the USA on Sept. 15 against New Zealand to earn her 100th cap, becoming the 36th player in U.S. WNT history to play 100 or more times for her country. O’Hara is the fourth most-capped player on the roster.
• Abby Dahlkemper , a former captain of the U-17 Women’s National Team, took advantage of a big opportunity when she played in both games in Europe in June of 2017, the first one off the bench in which she played the entire second half against Sweden, and then started and playing all 90 minutes against Norway. The Norway match marked her first start for the WNT and the first time she had played 90.
• She then played all 90 minutes at center back in each of the final nine games of the year, establishing herself on the U.S. backline. She ended up starting 10 of the 11 games she appeared in while playing 945 minutes, fifth best on the team. She started the first match of the year against Denmark on Jan. 21 next to debutante Tierna Davidson. She also had a stellar 2017 club season and was named the NWSL Defender of the Year.
• The match against New Zealand on Sept. 15, 2017, marked the first time Casey Short had come off the bench for the USA. She has started 17 of her first 19 games for the USA, playing mostly left back, but also played some outside midfield against Switzerland last year, and played centrally against Sweden on June 8 as well as against Brazil on July 30.
• After gaining her change of national association on Sept. 14, Sofia Huerta was named to the 18-player roster for the Sept. 15 match against New Zealand and entered the game in the 51st minute to earn her first cap. She earned her second on Oct. 19, coming off the bench to play the final 27 minutes vs. Korea. She got her first start and played her first complete 90 minutes in a U.S. uniform on Oct. 22 against Korea in Cary, N.C.
• Huerta played for Mexico at the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and has five caps for the Mexico senior team, including one that came against the USA, making her the first female player in history to play for and against the U.S. Women’s National Team in a senior level international match. She’s also the first player from the state of Idaho to earn a cap for the senior U.S. WNT.
• Taylor Smith made her WNT debut this year in challenging circumstances, starting against Australia and Brazil at the Tournament of Nations to earn her first two caps before coming off the bench against Japan to record two assists. She missed the October friendlies against Korea Republic after suffering a shoulder injury in the NWSL title game. She returned to the field on Nov. 9, played the final 24 minutes of the game in relief of Short to earn her sixth cap and started on Nov. 12 vs. Canada to earn her seventh. She earned her eighth cap on Jan. 21 vs. Denmark, a game in which she got the start.
• Emily Sonnett returns to the roster after finishing her stint in Australia during the NWSL off-season for Sydney FC where she helped lead her team to the Grand Final before falling 2-0 to a Melbourne City side featuring nine NWSL players. Sonnett had an excellent 2017 NWSL season, anchoring the Portland Thorns back line to a championship and scored several key goals, including a header in the 4-1 NWSL Semifinal win against Orlando. She scored four goals during in 2017 (on only six shots on goal), an impressive tally for a center-back.
• Sonnett has 13 caps, with four earned in 2015 and eight in 2016. Before she played on Jan. 21 against Denmark off the bench, her most recent cap came on Oct. 19, 2016 vs Switzerland.
• Defender Tierna Davidson helped lead Stanford to the NCAA Championship this past season as a sophomore and gets her fourth career call-up after training with the team on two occasions in 2017. Her most recent was perhaps her most memorable, as she started and played the entire 90 minutes to earn her first cap in the 5-1 victory against Denmark on Jan. 21. She also got the game-winning assist on Julie Ertz’ goal, heading a long cross from Abby Dahlkemper into the penalty box where Ertz volleyed home.
• Davidson was named to the roster for the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship and departed on Jan. 22 after the Denmark match to join her U-20 teammates in Trinidad & Tobago where she helped them qualify for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

GOALKEEPERS

• Against Denmark on Jan. 21, Alyssa Naeher earned her 24th cap. She has 12 career shutouts and earned 13 caps in 2017. She is the ninth goalkeeper in U.S. history to earn 20 or more caps. She’s allowed 13 goals in her 24 caps, but six came over two games, a 3-0 loss to France at the SheBelieves Cup and vs. Brazil in the 4-3 win at the Tournament of Nations.
• Veteran Ashlyn Harris has 14 caps and Jane Campbell earned her first two last year.
• Harris returned to the roster for the NZL games last September after missing several months with a leg injury. She played the first half on Oct. 22 game vs. Korea to earn her 14th cap in her first action since April 9 against Russia.
• Campbell, who took over the starting spot for the Dash and played very well in her rookie year in the NWSL, earned her first cap against Russia on April 9, 2017, at BBVA Stadium in Houston. She earned her second on Oct. 22 when she played the second half against Korea in relief of Harris.

On ussoccer.com:

• Ellis Blazes Trail for Female Coaches
• Pioneers of the Game – Crabbe and Gordon’s Legacy Continues
• WNT Visits Gatorland || Give Kids the World Village
• Big 2018 Begins for WNT || USA vs. Mexico in April: Jacksonville || Houston
• The Journey, Presented by Motrin: Brian || Pugh || Short || Mewis || Sauerbrunn ||Lavelle

IN FOCUS: GERMANY

Deutscher Fussball-Bund
FIFA World Ranking: 2
UEFA Ranking: 1
World Cup Appearances: 7 (1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015)
Best World Cup Finish: Champions (2003, 2007)
Record vs. USA: 4-21-7
Head Coach: Steffi Jones

Germany Women’s National Team Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Almuth Schult (VfL Wolfsburg), 12-Laura Benkarth (SC Freiburg), 21-Carina Schlüter (SC Sand)

DEFENDERS (8): 2-Johanna Elsig (Turbine Potsdam), 3-Kathrin Hendrich (1. FFC Frankfurt), 4-Leonie Maier (Bayern München), 5-Babett Peter (VfL Wolfsburg), 7-Jacqueline Klasen (SGS Essen), 14-Anna Blässe (VfL Wolfsburg), 15-Sara Doorsoun (SGS Essen), 17-Verena Faißt (Bayern München)

MIDFIELDERS (7): 8-Lena Goeßling (VfL Wolfsburg), 10-Dzsenifer Marozsán (Olympique Lyon, FRA), 13-Sara Däbritz (Bayern München), 16-Linda Dallmann (SGS Essen), 20-Lina Magull (SC Freiburg), 22-Tabea Kemme (Turbine Potsdam), 26-Sharon Beck (1899 Hoffenheim)

FORWARDS (5): 9-Mandy Islacker (Bayern München), 11-Alexandra Popp (VfL Wolfsburg), 19-Svenja Huth (Turbine Potsdam), 23-Hasret Kayikci (SC Freiburg), 27-Lea Schüller (SGS Essen)

GERMANY NOTES

• Germany returns 14 players from its 2017 SheBelieves Cup roster, including forwards Mandy Islacker, Alexandra Popp and Hasret Kayikci, as well as superstar midfielder Dzsenifer Marozsán, who plays with U.S. midfielder Morgan Brian at Olympique Lyon in France.
• Nine players on the Germany roster saw action against the USA at last year’s SBC, including seven starters.
• Since last year’s SheBelieves Cup when Germany lost to the USA, 1-0, tied France 0-0 and beat England, 1-0, the team has gone 8-2-1. Quality wins have come against Canada (2-1), Brazil (3-1) and at the end of 2017, a 4-0 win against France in a friendly played in Bielefeld, Germany.
• Counting the 2017 SheBelieves Cup, Germany is 9-2-1 over their last 12 matches. In their nine wins, they have outscored opponents 32-3. In the three other matches, they have been outscored 5-3.
• Germany had a rare stumble on its road to the Women’s World Cup, falling to Iceland, 3-2, on October 20 of last year, but has won the other three qualifying matches in UEFA Group 5, defeating Slovenia 6-0, Czech Republic 1-0 and Faroe Islands 11-0, and still sits atop the group.
• Svenja Huth, Marozsan, Kathrin Hendrich, Tabea Kemme (2) and Kristin Demann scored against Slovenia. The Czech win came via an own goal, while against the Faroe Islands, Hasret Kayikci scored four times with Popp (2), Kemme (2), Babett Peter, Hendrich and Lina Magull adding goals.
• Even with the retirements of famed goalkeeper Nadine Angerer and prolific striker Célia Šašić after the last World Cup, along veterans Saskia Bartusiak, Annike Krahn and Melanie Behringer after the Olympics, and more recently world class striker Anja Mittag, who won the Bronze Boot with five goals at the 2015 World Cup and scored more than 50 for her country, Germany still brings some highly-experienced players to the tournament.
• Wolfsburg defender Babett Peter is now the veteran in the back with 116 caps and Leone Maier, at age 25, is one of the top right backs in the world, having compiled 60 caps so far with eight goals.
• Almuth Schult has proven to be the first-choice goalkeeper. Germany’s starter on the 2016 Olympic gold medal team has compiled 49 caps so far and should reach the half-center mark during the tournament.
• Germany has some of the most dangerous attacking players in the world, first and foremost attacking midfielder Marozsan, who is still just 25, and is widely considered one of the best players in the world. Thundering forward Popp is 26 (she turns 27 in April) and has scored 40 goals in her 83 caps.
• Popp has six goals in the Frauen-Bundesliga this season, tied for the third most in the league.
• Germany has long been known for its ability to continue to develop young talent and despite the retirement of some legends, like the USA, it’s seen an infusion of young and new talent. Sixteen players on the roster were born in or after 1991 and show that Germany’s pipeline of young players has continued.
• Popp and Marozsán were two of the stars on Germany’s team that won the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup at home. Popp won the Golden Boot in that tournament, scoring 10 goals, and was the tournament MVP.
• The twenty-three-year-old Sara Däbritz was part of the German team at the 2015 Women’s World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. She scored two goals at the World Cup and three goals at the Olympics, one in Germany’s opening game against Zimbabwe, one in its second game against Australia, and one in Germany’s 2-0 semifinal win against Canada. Overall, she has 48 caps with Germany and has scored eight international goals, five coming at major tournaments.
• Only one player on Germany’s roster plays outside of her home country, and that is Marozsán for Olympique Lyonnais in France. The rest of the players are spread over eight German Bundesliga clubs, several of which are among some of the top women’s professional club teams in the world.
• After winning group B at the 2017 UEFA Women’s Euros, Germany was upset by eventual finalist Denmark, 2-1, in the quarterfinals. Up until that point, Germany had dominated the continental championship, winning six consecutive European titles. The last time Germany wasn’t reigning European champion was in 1994.
• In Group play, Germany tied Sweden 0-0 to open the tournament, beat Italy 2-1 on goals from Josephine Henning and Peter, and then beat Russia 2-0 on goals from Peter and Marozsán.
• Marozsán created 15 chances at the European Championships, the most of any player in the tournament.
• Germany had an interesting 2016 Olympic Games, beating Zimbabwe 6-1 in its first match before tying Australia 2-2 and then losing to Canada, 2-1. Germany then put it all together in the knockout rounds, defeating China PR 1-0 in the quarterfinal, Canada 2-0 in the semifinal and Sweden 2-1 in the championship game to claim its first Olympic gold medal.
• In the Olympics Sara Däbritz scored three times while Melanie Leupolz, Marozsán, Popp and Saskia Bartusiak scored one goal each. Germany benefited from two own goals in the tournament.
• At the end of 2016, Steffi Jones, a legendary international player and 2003 Women’s World Cup champion, replaced Silvia Neid – also a legend as a player and a coach – as the head coach of the Germany Women’s National Team. Neid, who took the positon in 2005, finished her highly successful 11-year tenure by winning the gold medal at the 2016 Olympics. She also won the 2007 Women’s World Cup and the 2008 Olympic bronze medal. She was named the FIFA Women’s World Coach of the Year in 2010, 2013 and 2016. Neid has transitioned into a player development position with the DFB.
• Jones received much praise for her work as president of the organizing committee for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany. It was a ground-breaking event for women’s soccer and especially women’s soccer in Europe. As a player, Jones played most her career for her hometown FFC Frankfurt team, but also played in the USA with the Washington Freedom in 2002-03, helping the club to the championship in 2003. Jones is a dual German and American citizen as she is the daughter of a German mother and an American father.

USA VS. GERMANY SERIES

• The USA and Germany have won 10 out of the 13 world championships in women’s soccer history. The USA has won three Women’s World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals while Germany has two Women’s World Cup titles and one Olympic gold medal.
• This will be the 33rd all-time meeting between the USA and Germany. The USA is 21-4-7 all-time in the previous 32 matches. The USA also defeated West Germany twice, in 1988 and 1990.
• This will be the 16th match the two teams play on U.S. soil. In the previous 15 games, the USA is 10-2-3. The USA has won three of their last six home games against Germany, dating back to the 3-0 loss to Germany in the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup, but won the last two meetings at SheBelieves Cup tournaments, 2-1 in 2016 as Alex Morgan scored a magnificent goal and Samantha Mewis tallied the game-winner, and 1-0 in 2017, as Lynn Williams bagged the game-winner.
• This will be the second time the two teams meet in Ohio. The USA defeated Germany 4-0 on March 22, 2010 in Cleveland in a match that featured the 130th and final international goal for Kristine Lilly.
• Four of Alex Morgan’s 81 goals has come against Germany. Two of Carli Lloyd’s 98 have been against the Germans, including the famous penalty kick in the 2015 Women’s World Cup semifinal.
• The meeting in the 2015 Women’s World Cup semifinal was one of the most watched Women’s World Cup matches in history as nearly 8.4 million Americans tuned to see Germany fall to the USA 2-0 in Montreal.
• The USA-Germany series between the world’s two most successful women’s soccer nations dates to 1991. The second meeting came in the semifinal of the 1991 World Cup in China, a 5-2 upset victory for the United States.
• The last seven matches since 2012 have featured four wins for the USA and three ties, including a wild 3-3 draw in Offenbach in April 5, 2013, which was the last meeting between the sides in Germany.
• The USA and Germany have met on four occasions in World Cup play: a 5-2 USA semifinal win on Nov. 27, 1991 in China; a 3-2 USA quarterfinal win on July 1, 1999 in Maryland; a 3-0 Germany semifinal win on Oct. 5, 2003 in Portland, Oregon; and the most recent 2-0 USA win on July 2, 2015 in the semifinal in Canada. The winner of each of those matches went on to win the World Cup on each respective year.
• Since that loss in 2003, the USA has gone 9-0-5 against Germany.
• Eleven players on the 2018 U.S. SheBelieves Cup roster played against Germany at last year’s tournament, including eight starters
• Of those eight players, only one – GK Alyssa Naeher – started the USA’s first game of the 2018 against Denmark.

LAST TIME…

On the field for the USA:
Jan. 21, 2018 – San Diego County Credit Union Stadium; San Diego, Calif.
International Friendly

USA 5 Morgan 17; Ertz 19; Pugh 47, 65; Dunn 81
DEN 1 Nadim 14

Lineups:
USA: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 22-Taylor Smith (16-Emily Sonnett, 54), 14-Abby Dahlkemper (10-Carli Lloyd, 54), 17-Tierna Davidson, 5-Kelley O’Hara; 8-Julie Ertz, 9-Lindsey Horan, 6-Andi Sullivan (26-Savannah McCaskill, 70); 11-Mallory Pugh (12-Lynn Williams, 70), 13-Alex Morgan (capt.) (23-Christen Press, 70), 15-Megan Rapinoe (19-Crystal Dunn, 70)
Substitutes not used : 24-Ashlyn Harris
Head coach: Jill Ellis

DEN: 1-Stina Lykke Petersen; 8-Theresa Nielsen, 12-Stine Larsen, 3-Janni Arnth, 11-Katrine Veje; 13-Sofie Junge Pedersen (14-Nicoline Sørensen, 75), 4-Maja Kildemoes (6-Nanna Christiansen, 46), 15-Frederikke Thøgersen (18-Mie Leth Jans, 84), 7-Sanne Troelsgaard; 10-Pernille Harder, 9-Nadia Nadim Substitutes not used: 22-Line Johansen, 17-Signe Bruun, 19-Cecilie Sandvej, 20-Stine Ballisager Pedersen, 21-Sarah Dyrehauge, 23-Caroline Moeller
Head coach: Lars Søndergaard

LAST TIME…

On the field for the USA vs Germany:
March 1, 2017 – Talen Energy Stadium; Chester, Pa.
2017 SheBelieves Cup

USA 1 Williams 56
GER 0

Lineups:
USA: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 20-Allie Long, 7-Casey Short; 19-Crystal Dunn (2-Mallory Pugh, 58), 6-Morgan Brian, 3-Samantha Mewis, 17-Tobin Heath 10-Carli Lloyd (capt.); 12-Lynn Williams (13-Alex Morgan, 79), 23-Christen Press (9-Lindsey Horan, 79)
Subs not used: 5-Kelley O’Hara, 8-Julie Johnston, 11-Ali Krieger, 14-Jessica McDonald, 15-Emily Sonnett, 16-Rose Lavelle, 18-Jane Campbell, 22-Brianna Pinto, 24-Ashlyn Harris
Head coach: Jill Ellis

GER: 1-Almuth Schult, 2-Josephine Henning, 4-Leonie Maier, 5-Babett Peter, 9-Alexandra Popp, 10-Dzsenifer Marozsan, 11-Anja Mittag (15-Mandy Islacker, 74), 13-Sara Däbritz, 14-Anna Blässe (7-Pauline Bremer, 69), 17-Isabel Kerschowski (29-Felicitas Rauch, 74), 18-Lena Petermann (23-Verena Faißt, 45)
Subs not used: 3-Kathrin Hendrich, 12-Laura Benkarth, 20-Lina Magull, 21-Lisa Weiß, 24-Kristin Demann, 26-Hasret Kayikci, 27-Sara Doorsoun, 31-Linda Dallman
Head coach: Steffi Jones