USWNT continues SheBelieves Cup vs. France on Sunday

USA vs. France
2016 SheBelieves Cup
Nissan Stadium; Nashville, Tenn.
March 6, 2016

(Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. Women’s National Team opened play at the 2016 SheBelieves Cup on March 3 in Tampa, Fla. with a 1-0 victory against England as second half substitute Crystal Dunn scored a spectacular goal in the 72nd minute, just six minutes after entering the game.

The USA is tied with Germany atop the standings with three points after Germany defeated France, 1-0, in the first match of the evening. The tournament is serving as excellent Olympic preparation for the USA, Germany and France, and with four of the top five ranked teams in the world, three of which made the final four at the Women’s World Cup last summer, all competing in the United States, this is the best four-team women’s international event in the world this year.

The competition is being played in a doubleheader format and will continue on March 6 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee (Germany vs. England and USA vs. France) and finish March 9 at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida (France vs. England and USA vs. Germany).

+Read: USWNT defeats England 1-0 in SheBelieves Cup opener

2016 SheBelieves Cup Schedule & Standings

Date Matches Stadium City Kickoff TV
Mar. 6 USA vs. France Nissan Stadium Nashville, Tenn. 2 p.m. CT ESPN3
Mar. 6 England vs. Germany Nissan Stadium Nashville, Tenn. 4:30 p.m. CT
Mar. 9 France vs. England FAU Stadium Boca Raton, Fla. 5 p.m. ET
Mar. 9 USA vs. Germany FAU Stadium Boca Raton, Fla. 7:30 p.m. ET ESPN3

About #USAvFRA:

• Despite first playing France in 1988, the U.S. Women do not have an extensive history against France, having played just 18 times and only six games since 2006.
• The most recent meeting came in the championship game of the 2015 Algarve Cup, a 2-0 U.S. win that gave the USA its 10th Algarve title and flipped the result of about a month earlier when the USA fell 2-0 in Lorient, France, on Feb. 8. In Faro, Portugal, Julie Johnston opened the scoring early with her first international goal and Christen Press added a second goal off a brilliant dribble and finish.
• The match in Lorient was the first match of 2015 for both teams and it was France’s first win in the series history.
• France scored twice in a two-minute span in the second half on a header from Eugénie Le Sommer and a miss-hit cross from the right wing by Jessica Houara that flew over U.S. goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris, hit the far post, and bounced in. In the meeting in Lorient, Abby Wambach saw her penalty kick saved by Sarah Bouhaddi late in the game and in the meeting in Portugal, Hope Solo saved a France PK from Amandine Henry late in the match.
• The USA and France also faced each other twice in June 2014, a 1-0 U.S. victory in Tampa, Florida, on a goal from Sydney Leroux and a 2-2 draw in East Hartford, Connecticut, as Alex Morgan scored both goals, equalizing twice to cancel out scores from Louisa Necib (on a penalty kick) and Amandine Henry.
• Before those matches, there came an epic pair of matches in world championships. The USA defeated France 3-1 on July 13, 2011, in the FIFA Women’s World Cup semifinal in Monchengladbach, Germany. The U.S. also won the Olympic curtain raiser 4-2 on July 25, 2012, in Glasgow, Scotland, as Alex Morgan scored twice, while Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd contributed a goal each. The USA is 15-1-2 all-time against France. Seven of those meetings took place from 1991-97.
• The USA has scored 50 goals against France while allowing 15.
• Before the 2-2 draw in 2014, the first tie between the teams came at the Four Nations Tournament in Guangzhou, China, in 2006, a 0-0 draw.
• U.S. midfielders Tobin Heath and Lindsey Horan played with and against almost all the French players while playing with women’s club power Paris Saint-Germain.

In Focus: U.S. Women’s National Team:

• The USA is 7-0-0 in 2016, having scored 29 goals while allowing none with four consecutive games coming up against teams that made excellent runs at the 2015 Women’s World Cup.
• Nine different players have scored for the WNT so far in 2016. Carli Lloyd and Crystal Dunn lead the team with seven goals apiece, followed by Alex Morgan with six. Additionally, Tobin Heath and Christen Press have scored two each, while Lindsey Horan, Samantha Mewis, Kelley O’Hara and Mallory Pugh singles goals.
• Dunn, who was among the final 25 players vying for Women’s World Cup spots before the roster was trimmed to the 23 that represented the USA in Canada, returned to the team for the final seven games of the 2015 Victory Tour and started them all, scoring four goals with three assists. Since returning to the team on the Victory Tour, Dunn has started 11 games and has scored 11 goals with three assists, in addition to earning a penalty kick against Costa Rica on Feb. 10. The 11 goals of course include her five-goal game on Feb. 15 against Puerto Rico that tied a U.S. record for goals in a match.
• Before the match against Puerto Rico, Dunn had scored five goals for the U.S. WNT. She doubled that total vs. Puerto Rico, notching five goals to tie a U.S. record for most goals scored in a match. She became the seventh player to achieve that feat. The other six were: Brandi Chastain, Michelle Akers, Tiffeny Milbrett, Abby Wambach, Amy Rodriguez and Sydney Leroux. It was Dunn’s first multi-goal game for the WNT.
• After earning two caps at the 2013 Algarve Cup, 21-year-old Horan got the first three starts of her career at the end of last year, switching positions to holding midfielder where she excelled in the Olympic Qualifying tournament. Horan, who was the first American female player to skip college and head overseas to play professionally, left for Europe in July of 2012 after she graduated from high school and spent more than three years in France with Paris Saint-Germain. She scored her first WNT goal against T&T at the end of last year and scored her second to break open a tight match against Canada in the championship of Olympic Qualifying.
• The 23-year old Mewis made her debut at the 2014 Algarve Cup, played in one match last year and already has three caps this year while scoring her first WNT goal during Olympic Qualifying.
• Jaelene Hinkle, 22, earned her first cap on Oct. 21, 2015 against Brazil, coming on at left back and playing well in the last 20 minutes. She has since earned seven more, including four this year, while making one start.
• Emily Sonnett, 22, earned her first cap on Oct. 25 against Brazil, playing on 90 minutes in the center of the defense, and has since earned seven more caps including four this year with three starts.
• Press became the 18th player to score 30 or more goals for the U.S. WNT when she tallied against Costa Rica on Feb. 10. She now has 31 in 62 games giving her an average of scoring a goal for every two games she plays (0.50 goals per game).
• OnJan. 23, Morgan became the 34th female player in U.S. history to play 100 times for her country, and she scored her 57th goal. Morgan debuted for the USA on Oct. 2, 2010, vs. China. Morgan has an even better average that Press scoring 0.58 goals per game in her international career.
• Morgan’s goal 12 seconds into the match against Costa Rica on Feb. 10 was the earliest in U.S. WNT history. She also scored the latest goal in U.S. history, tallying after 122 and 22 seconds against Canada in the semifinal of the 2012 Olympics. It was also the quickest in CONCACAF qualifying history, besting Abby Wambach (35 seconds vs. Dominican Republic on Jan. 20, 2012).
• Morgan scored three goals in the Olympic Qualifying semifinal match against Trinidad & Tobago on Feb. 19. It was her third career hat trick and the first since Nov. 28, 2012 against Ireland. With her game-winning goal against England on Feb. 13, Morgan became the 10th player in U.S. history to score 50 or more goals. She now has 62 and is in eighth place on the USA’s all-time goal scoring list. Next up for Morgan is Cindy Parlow’s 75 career goals.
• Lloyd and Morgan have combined for five goals in 2016 with one providing the assist and the other the goal.
• Heath’s two goals in the Olympic Qualifying tournament were her first since the Women’s World Cup Final and were remarkably similar, both coming off spinning left-footed blasts after making runs into the box from the right side. Both were also off excellent and similar passes from Pugh who had made dynamic runs down the left side. Heath now has 14 international goals.
• Six players on the roster have played 100 times or more for the USA, led by Heather O’Reilly’s 228 caps. Lloyd has 218, Hope Solo has 191 followed by Heath’s 112, Morgan with 106 and Becky Sauerbrunn with 101.
• Five players scored their first WNT goals in 2015: Julie Johnston (who got five, including her first against France in the Algarve Cup Final), Kelley O’Hara (on June 30, 2015 against Germany in the Semifinal match of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup), Horan (on Dec. 10 against T&T), Dunn (on Sept. 17 vs. Haiti) and Stephanie McCaffrey, who scored against Brazil in her debut on Oct. 25. All of Johnston’s goals came off set pieces, with the first three assisted by the now-retired Lauren Holiday and one each by Megan Rapinoe and O’Hara.
• Two players have scored their first WNT goals in 2016: Against Puerto Rico in Olympic Qualifying, Mewis scored her first goal at the senior international level to become the second player to score her first goal in 2016, notching the 10th and final goal in stoppage time. Her older sister Kristie also has one international goal for the USA. Pugh became the first player to score her first goal in 2016 for the WNT when she scored in her debut on Jan. 23 vs. Ireland.
• Of the 22 field players on the SheBelieves Cup roster, four players do not have an international goal, all defenders: Emily Sonnett, Sauerbrunn, Jaelene Hinkle and uncapped Lauren Barnes.
• Lloyd has scored 23 goals in the USA’s last 20 matches starting with the Round of 16 game at the WWC, 22 of them coming while playing in a withdrawn forward position. She is in eighth place on the USA’s all-time caps with 218 and in sixth place on the U.S. WNT’s all-time goal scoring list. Lloyd has 86 goals. She scored from the penalty spot while playing center-midfield against Puerto Rico on Feb. 15.
• Hope Solo earned her 96th shutout against England on March 3 and is four away from becoming the first goalkeeper in U.S. history to hit 100. She also earned her 191st cap and is the leader for caps by a goalkeeper in U.S. history and is nine away from becoming the first goalkeeper in U.S. and world history to hit 200 caps. Briana Scurry earned 173 caps in her career (1994-2008).
• Solo has the most starts by a WNT goalkeeper with 184. Solo is also in 9th place on the WNT’s all-time starts list behind Lloyd, who has moved into seventh place, passing Kate Markgraf, with 188.
• Solo has 145 goalkeeper wins and is the all-time leader in wins for a goalkeeper in U.S. history. Brian Scurry had 133 during her career (1994-2008).

In Focus: France

• France was a bit unfortunate to lose its first match of the SheBelieves Cup, falling 1-0 to Germany in a game that saw them have a lot of the play and several good scoring chances.
• France is missing a few of its top players, including towering center-back Wendie Renard and defensive midfielder Amandine Henry, but still has tremendous talent at every position.
• France has excellent experience with eight players holding 98 or more caps, led by veteran defender Laura Georges (167 caps/6 goals) and midfielders Camille Abily (159/3) and Elise Bussaglia (151/27). Louisa Necib (136/34) is widely considered one of the best attacking midfielders in the world, while forward Eugenie Le Sommer piled up 52 goals in 117 caps including three scores at the Women’s World Cup.
• Griedge Mbock Bathy and Kadidiatou Diani were major parts of the France team that won the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. Diani scored four times in the tournament and Mbock Bathy once.
• France goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi, who saved Abby Wambach’s penalty kick on January of 2015 in Lorient, is a long-time starter who has 101 caps.
• France was drawn into Group F at the 2015 Women’s World Cup with England, Colombia and Mexico, and started its tournament well, defeating England 1-0 through a 29th-minute strike by Le Sommer. France was then shocked by Colombia, falling behind in the 19th minute. France dominated the rest of the match, but Colombia substitute Catalina Usme scored against the run of play in second half stoppage time for the 2-0 win. The loss sparked France and it dominated Mexico 5-0. French forward Marie-Laure Delie scored in the first minute of the match, followed by an own goal from Jennifer Ruiz minutes later. Le Sommer tallied two goals in the first half and Amandine Henry finished off a goal in the 80th minute, sending the team to the top of the group. France handily defeated South Korea 3-0 in the Round of 16, but it fell to penalty kicks in the quarterfinal match to Germany, and finished in fifth place.
• France qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games through its finish at the Women’s World Cup as one of the top two UEFA teams. At the 2012 London Olympic Games, France qualified for the first time and was drawn into a group with the USA, Korea DPR and Colombia. France jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the USA in the first 15 minutes, but the Americans roared back to win 4-2. France defeated North Korea 5-0 and then squeezed by Colombia with Élodie Thomis’ fifth-minute goal as the only scored of the match. France finished second in the group behind the USA and defeated Sweden (2-1) in the quarterfinals, but lost to Japan (2-1) in the semifinals and played Canada in the third-place match. France dominated the match, but lost 1-0 on a second half stoppage-time goal to finish fourth in their first Olympic Games.
• France have been among the world’s leading sides since first reaching fifth place in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking back in March 2005. Les Bleues’ greatest success to date was their fourth-place finish at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany, a result that also sealed their qualification for the Olympic Football
• France booked their ticket to the 2016 Olympic Games thanks to their 3-0 Round of 16 victory against Korea Republic at last summer’s Women’s World Cup in Canada. With England, who do not participate in the Olympics as an individual association, beating Norway at the same stage of the competition and Switzerland, Sweden and the Netherlands also crashing out in the last 16, the French were guaranteed one of Europe’s three berths for the best placed UEFA teams at Canada 2015.
• Head coach Philippe Bergeroo succeeded Bruno Bini as France coach in 2013. This is the former international goalkeeper and UEFA EURO 1984 winner’s first stint in charge of a women’s side, having previously coached Paris Saint-Germain, Rennes and the men’s U-17 national team. Bergeroo was also part of Aime Jacquet’s coaching staff during Les Bleus’ 1998 FIFA World Cup triumph.

STORYLINES TO FOLLOW:

U.S. Roster Breakdown: Of the 22 players named to the roster for the SheBelieves Cup, 19 were on the squad that earned a spot in the 2016 Olympics. U.S. head coach Jill Ellis recalled 2015 Women’s World Cup champions Whitney Engen and Heather O’Reilly, who with 228 caps is the most experienced player on the U.S. roster. Ellis also gave Seattle Reign defender Lauren Barnes her first WNT call-up. Barnes played every minute of all 20 matches she played for the Reign last season, helping the club to the regular season title and a berth in the NWSL title game. Fifteen players on the roster were a part of the 2015 Women’s World Cup Team while seven players – most of whom have carved out consistent rosters spots in the past six months – make up the remainder of the roster.

Becky’s 100: U.S. co-captain Becky Sauerbrunn became the 35th U.S. female player to hit 100 caps when she took the field against Canada on Feb. 21 in Houston at the title match of the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Champioship. Sauerbrunn will be honored for the achievement before the USA’s match against France in Nashville. She will also wear the captain’s armband.

Nine In; Three To Go: Nine nations have already qualified for the 12-team Olympic Football Tournament: The USA and Canada from CONCACAF, Brazil and Colombia from South America, South Africa and Zimbabwe from Africa, New Zealand from Oceania and France and Germany from Europe by virtue of their finish at the 2015 Women’s World Cup. Two more teams will qualify from Asia and Europe during tournaments held almost concurrently to the #SheBelieves Cup. Two teams will qualify from Asia during qualifying being held from February 29 – March 9 in Osaka, Japan, and one more will qualify from Europe after a mini-tournament from March 2-9 in the Netherlands featuring Sweden, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. Long-time African power Nigeria, which gave the USA a difficult match in the Women’s World Cup, fell in the third round of African qualifying to Equatorial Guinea, which in turn fell to South Africa, which earned its second straight Olympic berth.

At Nissan Stadium: The U.S. WNT has played in Nashville twice, defeating Canada 1-0 in 2004 when the stadium was called The Coliseum and then again in 2013, a 3-1 victory against Scotland in Tom Sermanni’s second match when the stadium was called LP Field.The USA has played three other matches in Tennessee, all in Chattanooga.

U.S. Women’s National Team SheBelieves Cup Roster by Position:

GOALKEEPERS (3): 18-Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride), 21-Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars), 1-Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC)

DEFENDERS (9): 20-Lauren Barnes (Seattle Reign FC), 6-Whitney Engen (Boston Breakers), 19-Jaelene Hinkle (Western NY Flash), 8-Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), 7-Meghan Klingenberg(Portland Thorns FC), 11-Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), 5- Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), 4- Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), 6- Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC)

MIDFIELDERS (6): 14-Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), 17-Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), 22-Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), 10-Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), 3-Samantha Mewis (Western NY Flash), 9- Heather O’Reilly (FC Kansas City)

FORWARDS (4): 16-Crystal Dunn (Washington Spirit), 13-Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), 12-Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars); 2- Mallory Pugh (Real Colorado)

France Women’s National Team Roster By Position:

GOALKEEPERS (3): 16-Sarah Bouhaddi (Olympique Lyonnais), 21-Méline Gerard (Olympique Lyonnais), 1-Laëtitia Philippe (Montpellier HSC)

DEFENDERS (7): 5-Sabrina Delannoy (Paris Saint-Germain), 2-Kelly Gadea (Montpellier HSC), 4-Laura Georges (Paris Saint-Germain), 8-Jessica Houara D’Hommeaux (Paris Saint-Germain), 22-Amel Majri (Olympique Lyonnais), 19-Griedge Mbock Bathy (Olympique Lyonnais), 3-Marion Torrent (Montpellier HSC)

MIDFIELDERS (9): 10-Camille Abily (Olympique Lyonnais), 6-Viviane Asseyi (Montpellier HSC), 7-Charlotte Bilbault (FCF Juvisy), 15-Elise Bussaglia (Vfl Wolfsburg), 20-Kadidiatou Diani (FCF Juvisy), 23-Kheira Hamraoui (Paris Saint-Germain), 17-Aurélie Kaci (Olympique Lyonnais), 13-Marie-Charlotte Leger (Montpellier HSC), 12-Elodie Thomis (Olympique Lyonnais)

FORWARDS (4): 18-Marie-Laure Delie (Paris Saint-Germain FC), 11-Claire Lavogez (Olympique Lyonnais), 9-Eugénie Le Sommer (Olympique Lyonnais), 14-Louisa Necib (Olympique Lyonnais)