U.S. WNT concludes SheBelieves Cup tonight vs. Brazil

(Via U.S. Soccer) – The USA opened the 2019 SheBelieves Cup with a 2-2 draw with Japan on Feb. 27 in Chester, Pa. followed by a 2-2 draw with England on March 2 in Nashville, Tenn.

Now the USA will need a victory against Brazil on Tuesday, March 5 in Tampa, Fla. (8 p.m. ET on FS1) combined with a draw between England and Japan in the first game of the night (5:15 p.m. ET on ussoccer.com) in order to win the tournament.

2019 SheBelieves Cup Standings

2019 Game Lineups || 2019 Statistics

U.S. WNT ROSTER BY POSITION: 2019 SHEBELIEVES CUP (CAPS/GOALS)

GOALKEEPERS (3): 21- Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC; 1/0), 24- Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 19/0), 1- Alyssa Naeher(Chicago Red Stars; 41/0)

DEFENDERS (8): 7- Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 34/0), 12- Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars; 16/1); 19- Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 79/24), 22-Emily Fox (UNC; 3/0), 5- Kelley O’Hara (Utah Royals FC; 114/2); 4- Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC; 152/0), 14- Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 27/0), 2- Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC; 29/0)

MIDFIELDERS (5): 8- Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 76/18); 16- Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit; 23/6), 3- Samantha Mewis (NC Courage; 44/8), 6- Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit; 11/0), 25- McCall Zerboni (NC Courage; 8/0)

FORWARDS (7): 17- Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC; 145/26); 10- Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC; 268/105), 20- Jessica McDonald (NC Courage; 5/1), 13- Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 157/99), 23- Christen Press (Utah Royals FC; 110/47), 11- Mallory Pugh(Washington Spirit; 47/13), 15- Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC; 148/43)

STORYLINES

SheBelieves Cup Format: The SheBelieves Cup tournament format is the same as the first three years. The winner will be based on total points (three for a win, one for a draw), with the first tie-breaker being overall goal difference, followed by goals scored, then head-to-head result. If teams are still tied, the next tie-breaker will be the Fair Play ranking. Each Team is allowed six substitutes per game.

Championship Scenarios: Here are the championship scenarios heading into the final SheBelieves Cup matchday on Tuesday, March 5 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.

• If there is a winner in the England-Japan match, that team will win the tournament title.
• If Japan draws with England and the USA fails to beat Brazil, Japan will win the tournament.
• If England and Japan draw, the USA could take the tournament title IF it defeats Brazil AND comes out ahead of Japan on goal differential.

– If England and Japan draw, 0-0, the USA would need to defeat Brazil 2-0, which would tie the USA in goal difference with Japan but put the USA head on the second tie- breaker, goals scored.
– If England and Japan draw, 1-1, the USA would need to win 3-0 to take the title, tying Japan on goal difference, but moving ahead on the second tie-breaker, goals scored.
– If England and Japan draw, 2-2, the USA would need to win 4-0 to take the title, trying Japan on goal difference, but moving ahead on the second tie-breaker, goals scored.

USA vs. Brazil: The USA and Brazil have a long history dating back to 1986 when the teams met in just the eighth match played by the U.S. Women, a 2-1 U.S victory in Italy. The USA has played Brazil eight times since the start of 2012 and has a record of 5-1-2 over that span. The most recent meeting was at last summer’s Tournament of Nations where the USA needed a two-goal win to take the tournament title but fell behind 1-0 on a Tierna Davidson own goal. The USA roared back to scored four unanswered goals in front of a packed house in Bridgeview, Ill., with Rose Lavelle getting the equalizer and Julie Ertz putting the USA ahead off a brilliant assist from Tobin Heath. Heath then got the goal that would eventually win the tournament and Alex Morgan bagged a clincher.

100 Goals Watch: After scoring against Japan on Feb. 27 in Chester, Pa., Alex Morgan – the 2018 U.S. Soccer Player of the Year, now has 99 goals and at age 29 sits in sole possession of seventh place on the USA’s all-time goal scoring list. She has scored 26 goals over her last 30 WNT matches through the end of 2017 and 2018 and into 2019. With her hat trick against Japan on July 26, 2018, the fourth of her career, Morgan is now tied with Michelle Akers in third place all-time in multi-goal games (26) behind Abby Wambach (45) and Mia Hamm (38). She has 22 career two-goal games. Morgan has scored against 28 different countries and in 11 different countries. Since the start of 2014, Alex Morgan has scored eight goals against Japan, tied for the most goals any WNT player has against any opponent in that time.

USA Wears Inspirational Names on Backs of Jerseys : In celebration of the SheBelieves spirit, the U.S. Women’s National Team will honor powerful, influential, iconic and inspirational women during the SheBelieves Cup match on March 2 vs. England in Nashville, Tennessee. Each member of the U.S. WNT selected the name of a woman who has inspired them and will wear that name on the back of their jersey. The choices ranged from activists to Nobel Prize winners, to artists, athletes and trailblazers, from historic to contemporary, and features women who hail from diverse backgrounds and champion a variety of causes. We asked each WNT player on the SheBelieves Cup roster why they chose their specific woman and compiled their answers HERE .

Countdown to the Cup: The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cupwill be the eighth consecutive World Cup appearance for the USA, which has appeared in each of the previous seven tournaments that have been contested and won in 1991, 1999 and 2015. The USA is one of six countries to qualify for all eight Women’s World Cups along with Brazil, Germany, Japan, Norway, Sweden and Nigeria. The tournament will be held from June 7-July 7 in nine cities in France. The USA’s Draw and placement in Group F gave the USA venues that are all within a two-hour drive of each other, with the opening game taking place in Reims, followed by Paris and then Le Havre. The “Countdown to the Cup” will take the WNT to all four times zones in the continental United States, giving fans across the country a chance to cheer the team on to France.

USA Poised for 30th Match in Florida: The U.S. WNT will play its 30th all-time match in Florida – the most of any state besides California – when it faces Brazil at Raymond James Stadium on March 5 to wrap up the SheBelieves Cup. The USA has played at 13 different venues in Florida and Tuesday’s game will be the fifth at Raymond James Stadium where the USA has previously won four one-goal games, most recently a 1-0 victory against England at the 2016 SheBelieves Cup.

New Rules Get Test Run at SheBelieves Cup: In preparation for the 2019 SheBelieves Cup and the road to the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, U.S. Soccer requested and received approval from the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to implement three changes to the Laws of the Game during the tournament.

The 133rd AGM of The IFAB will be held in Aberdeen, Scotland on March 2, 2019. At this event it is very likely that the following changes (as well as additional changes that are being proposed for ratification) will be approved to the Laws of the Game for 2019/20 and be ratified:

• A player being substituted must leave the field of play at the nearest point on the boundary line.
• Yellow and red cards for misconduct can be issued to team officials.
• On a goal kick and a free kick for the defending team in their own penalty area, the ball is in play as soon as the kick is taken so a player – or opponent as long as they started outside the penalty or were not given the proper time to exit the penalty – can play the ball before it leaves the penalty area.

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