USWNT to Face Japan in Opening Match of 2024 SheBelieves Cup

After opening the year by winning the Concacaf W Gold Cup, the U.S. Women’s National Team returns to action on Saturday, April 6, taking on Japan in the opening match of the 2024 SheBelieves Cup, presented by Visa. The USA and Japan will square off at 12:30 p.m. ET (TNT, truTV, Telemundo, Universo, Max and Peacock) in the first of two semifinal matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Following USA-Japan, Brazil and Canada will face off at 3:30 p.m. ET (Universo, Max and Peacock) with the winners advancing to the Championship Game on April 9 at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio. The losing teams will meet in a Third-Place Match, also being held at Lower.com Field.

• USA vs. Japan: Starting XI
• Match Hub: Live Score & Goals

Fans can follow all the action from the W Gold Cup via X (formerly Twitter - @USWNT), Instagram (@USWNT), Facebook and the official U.S. Soccer App.

U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB)  - 2024 SHEBELIEVES CUP

GOALKEEPERS (3): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)

DEFENDERS (8): Abby Dahlkemper (San Diego Wave FC), Crystal Dunn (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Tierna Davidson (NY/NJ Gotham FC), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG), Eva Gaetino (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC), Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit), Jenna Nighswonger (NY/NJ Gotham FC)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC), Emily Sonnett (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Lily Yohannes (AFC Ajax, NED)

FORWARDS (6): Catarina Macario (Chelsea FC, ENG), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave FC), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC), Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars)

Nineteen of the 23 players on this squad for the 2024 SheBelieves Cup were a part of the U.S. roster that won the Concacaf W Gold Cup, defeating Brazil 1-0 in the championship game on March 10. Headlining the group are the USA’s two individual award winners from the Gold Cup: goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who took home the Golden Glove following three stellar performances in the knockout rounds, and forward Jaedyn Shaw, who at just 19 years of age was awarded the Golden Ball as the top player at the tournament and led the USA in scoring with four goals.

Forwards Mallory Swanson and Catarina Macario both return to the U.S. roster for their first games following long absences due to injury. Swanson, the 2023 Visa SheBelieves Cup MVP, last played for the U.S. on April 8, 2023 before suffering a serious knee injury that kept her out of contention for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Macario, the 2022 Visa SheBelieves Cup MVP, last played for the U.S. in April of 2022 before tearing her ACL shortly after helping Olympique Lyon win the 2021-22 UEFA Women’s Champions League.

Rounding out the roster are two players currently plying their trades in Europe in 21-year-old Paris Saint-Germain defender Eva Gaetino and 16-year-old Ajax midfielder Lily Yohannes, both of whom get their first call-ups to the senior national team.

SHEBELIEVES CUP ENTERS YEAR NINE

The SheBelieves Cup, presented by Visa, is just one part of U.S. Soccer’s SheBelieves initiative to inspire and empower women and girls to achieve their goals in sport and beyond. The tournament, which will feature a slightly altered format for 2024, was first played in 2016. The USA won the inaugural edition, France took top honors in 2017, the USA won again in 2018, England finished first in 2019 and the USA returned to the top of the podium in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Due to an adjustment in the FIFA calendar, which resulted in the Concacaf W Gold Cup taking place in February and March, the format of the SheBelieves Cup has also changed for 2024. Instead of the usual six games over three match days, there will only be four games over two match days with the first serving as semifinal matches and the second featuring the Third-Place Match and the Championship Game. 

WELCOME TO ATLANTA

Saturday’s game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of Atlanta United from MLS and the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, will be played in front of a record crowd for a SheBelieves Cup match as more than 47,000 fans are expected at the be in attendance. It is also approaching the record for the largest crowd on home soil for a non-World Cup and non-Olympic match in USWNT history. That record currently stands at 49,504 and was set at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Aug. 29, 2019, in the USA’s first game on home soil after winning the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The USWNT also drew a crowd of 44,028 in Pittsburgh on Aug. 16, 2015, which was the team’s first home match after winning the 2015 World Cup.

Saturday’s match will be the first USWNT game in Atlanta since it was announced as the new home for the U.S. Soccer Federation, which will break ground on a state-of-the-art National Training Center in Fayette County on April 8.

The game also marks a homecoming for two Georgia-natives on this USWNT roster. Goalkeeper Jane Campbell hails from Kennesaw, Georgia, and grew up playing for the Concord Fire and North Atlanta Soccer Association before going off to stardom at Stanford. Defender Emily Sonnett hails from Marietta, Georgia, home to the Atlanta United Training Center, and also played for NASA, before heading off to a stellar career at the University of Virginia.

FAMILIAR TEAMS, QUALITY FOES

While a new format, Brazil, Canada and Japan return for the SheBelieves Cup for the second consecutive year and represent a formidable four-team field. All four participants in the 2024 SheBelieves Cup are ranked in the top 10 in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings, with the USA at #4, Japan at #7, Canada at #9 and Brazil ranked #10. All four teams have also qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics, meaning the SheBelieves Cup represents one-third of the Olympic Field.

INSIDE THE SERIES: USA vs. JAPAN

Saturday’s matchup in Atlanta will be the 40^th meeting all-time between the USA and Japan and the fourth SheBelieves Cup meeting between the teams, making it the second-most common matchup in SheBelieves Cup history behind only USA-England (five meetings).

The most recent matchup between the USA and Japan came on February 19 at the 2023 SheBelieves Cup. The USA won that match, played at GEODIS Park in Nashville, 1-0 behind a goal from Mallory Swanson in the 45^th minute. Swanson, who went on to win MVP honors, scored just before the stroke of halftime as she tracked down a ball played over the top by Alex Morgan and blazed past the defense to net the game’s only goal.

Overall, the USA leads the all-time series against Japan with a record of 30W-1L-8D, with its lone loss in the series came during the 2012 Algarve Cup. Since then, the USA is unbeaten in the last 12 meetings between the teams, with eight wins and four draws in that span, including a 2-1 win in the 2012 Olympic Final and a 5-2 victory in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final.

Morgan has 12 goals and three assists in 15 career appearances against Japan, the most goals she has scored against any one opponent in her international career and the most goals scored against Japan by any player in USWNT history. One of those goals came in the 2011 World Cup Final, as Morgan opened the scoring in the 69^th minute. Tied 2-2 at the end of regulation and following extra time, Japan eventually prevailed on penalty kicks, 3-1, to claim the World Cup title.

VISA SHEBELIEVES CUP MVP

For the fifth year in a row, Visa, the presenting sponsor of the SheBelieves Cup, will award the MVP trophy to the most outstanding player of the tournament. The award will be announced following the conclusion of the final match on April 9 and with the input of a selection committee comprised of representatives from all four competing nations.

For the fourth year in a row, fans will also get the opportunity to vote for the Visa SheBelieves Cup MVP award using an online ballot to select among a list of finalists chosen by the committee. The fan vote will be incorporated into the overall determination of the 2024 Visa SheBelieves Cup MVP.

In an exciting new enhancement this year, U.S. Soccer will award $25,000 to women-owned small businesses from the same country as the National Team represented by the Visa SheBelieves Cup MVP, thanks to Visa’s continuing commitment to supporting women on and off the field.

Spain attacker Alexia Putellas won the inaugural award in 2020 while the USA’s Rose Lavelle collected the honors in 2021. USWNT forward Catarina Macario took home top honors in 2022 followed by Mallory Swanson in 2023.

USWNT LEARNS OLYMPIC PATH

On March 20, the Final Draw for the 2024 Olympic Women’s Soccer tournament was held in Paris as all 12 participants learned their groups and path to gold. The 2024 Olympic Women’s Soccer Tournament is taking place from July 25-Aug. 10 in seven cities and at seven venues throughout France.

The U.S. will open Group B play on July 25 – one day before the Olympic Opening Ceremonies – against the winner of the CAF Olympic Qualifying playoff between Morocco or Zambia (9 p.m. local / 3 p.m. ET) at Stade de Nice in Nice. The Americans will then travel to Marseille to their second match at Stade de Marseille and will face Germany on July 28 (9 p.m. local / 3 p.m. ET). The USA will finish group play against Australia on July 31 (7 p.m. local / 1 p.m. ET) at Stade de Marseille. Located in the south for France, Nice is nearly 600 miles from Paris near France’s border with Monaco and Italy. Marseille, located 125 miles west of Nice, is the second-largest city in France.

Canada was drawn into Group A, where it will face host France, Colombia and New Zealand. Japan and Brazil were both drawn into Group C, along with the winner of the Nigeria-South Africa playoff and Spain.

HAYES TO THE HELM IN MAY

After a worldwide search process led U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker, Emma Hayes was officially announced as the 10^th head coach in U.S. Women’s National Team history on November 14, 2023. The long-time head coach for English powerhouse Chelsea FC, Hayes started her coaching career in the United States in the early 2000s and more than two decades later will take the helm of the USWNT. Due to her contact with Chelsea, Hayes will finish the 2023-24 Women’s Super League season in England and then join the U.S. team officially two months prior to the start of the Olympics. U.S. Soccer has put a comprehensive plan and process in place to maximize the productivity in all aspects of moving the USWNT forward leading into the Olympics, a key part of which is interim head coach Twila Kilgore continuing in her role and then joining Hayes’ staff full-time as an assistant coach in late May.

The SheBelieves Cup will be Kilgore’s last matches as interim head coach as Hayes will coach her first two matches in early June will be against the Korea Republic. The USA will take on the Taegeuk Ladies in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park (3 p.m. MT / 5 p.m. ET on TNT, Universo, Max and Peacock) before moving on to St. Paul, Minnesota for a June 4 match at Allianz Field, which will be presented by Allstate (7 p.m. CT / 8 p.m. ET on truTV, Universo, Max and Peacock). Both matches will take place at the home stadiums of Major League Soccer clubs, the Colorado Rapids and Minnesota United FC, respectively. The USA’s most recent match against Korea Republic was also at Allianz Field, in October of 2021, a 6-0 win for the USA.

SHEBELIEVES MOVEMENT CONTINUES TO GROW

Inspired by the U.S. WNT players, SheBelieves is an initiative led by U.S. Soccer to inspire and encourage women and girls. The campaign launched in the run-up to the 2015 Women’s World Cup and has since grown into a powerful message of empowerment and believing in oneself. The SheBelieves Cup represents a showcase event for the campaign, which also features efforts such as the SheBelieves Summit Presented by Deloitte.

The 2024 SheBelieves Summit, presented by Deloitte, will take place on April 27 and 28 at Venue SIX10 in Chicago, Illinois. With the goal of inspiring the next generation, U.S. Soccer and Deloitte will provide college students and young professionals with the opportunity to learn from and network with industry professionals. Participants will hear from a diverse range of women in leadership who are driving progress in sports, business, and entertainment, headlined by two-time Olympic gold medalist gymnast and advocate Aly Raisman.

The theme of the Summit this year is HER Future, which seeks to equip attendees with the skills to confidently define and pave their unique paths forward. In addition to panels, breakout sessions led by Deloitte and other U.S. Soccer partners will focus on professional skills, financial literacy, and mental health and wellbeing. Registration for the event is now open.

USA TEAM & ROSTER NOTES

• This will be the USWNT’s 10^th match all-time in the state of Georgia and first since September 18, 2016 when the USA defeated the Netherlands 3-1 in a friendly at the Atlanta Dome. The U.S. has won all nine of its previous matches in the Peach state by a combined score of 35-4.
• The U.S. has won each of its last five matches in SheBelieves Cup play and is unbeaten in its last 18 matches in the competition, with its last SheBelieves Cup defeat coming to France in 2017.
• Eight players on this roster have more than 50 caps, including four – Alex Morgan (221), Lindsey Horan (144), Crystal Dunn (143) and Alyssa Naeher (102) – with more 100+ international appearances.
• Seven players on this roster have 10 caps or fewer, including two uncapped players in 21-year-old defender Eva Gaetino and 16-year-old midfielder Lily Yohannes.
• Yohannes is one of three teenagers on this roster along with 18-year-old Olivia Moultrie and 19-year-old Jaedyn Shaw. Moultrie and Shaw played at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica along with now 20-year-old Korbin Albert.
• Fourteen players on this roster were born after the 1996 Summer Olympics, which was the first Olympics to feature women’s soccer and marked the first gold medal won by the USWNT. The 1996 Summer Games were hosted in Atlanta.
• Morgan is the top scorer on this roster with 123 career international goals, followed by Horan with 33 goals, Mallory Swanson with 32, Dunn with 24 and Sophia Smith with 16.
• Seven different players have scored so far for the USWNT in 2024 – led by four goals from Shaw, three goals each from Horan, two goals each from Morgan, Moultrie and Jenna Nighswonger and one each from Smith and Lynn Williams.
• Midge Purce and Rose Lavelle lead the U.S. with two assists each in 2024 while Smith, Horan, Morgan, Trinity Rodman, Emily Fox and Casey Krueger all have one assist.
• Overall, 12 different players have been directly involved in a goal for the USA in 2024, led by four goal involvements each from Shaw (4 goals) and Horan (3 goals, 1 assist).
• Naeher leads the USWNT with 480 total minutes played so far in 2024, followed by Horan (473 minutes), Fox (445) and Sam Coffey (436).
• Seven players – Albert, Coffey, Gaetino, Moultrie, Nighswonger, Shaw and Yohannes – have been named to their first SheBelieves Cup roster while 10 players on this roster were on the USWNT roster for the 2023 SheBelieves Cup. The remaining six players on this roster have previous SheBelieves Cup experience.
• Naeher and Emily Sonnett have won the SheBelieves Cup six times, the only players in USWNT history to do so.
• Ten players called up for this camp were on the USA’s roster at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and eight – Dahlkemper, Davidson, Dunn, Horan, Morgan, Naeher, Sonnett and Swanson – were on the roster for the 2019 Women’s World Cup champions.
• Twelve clubs – including seven different NWSL clubs – are represented on this roster. NWSL champions NJ/NY Gotham FC and San Diego Wave FC lead the way with four players each while Portland Thorns FC have three. Paris Saint-Germain, the Washington Spirit and Chicago Red Stars also have multiple players on this SheBelieves Cup roster.

IN FOCUS: JAPAN | FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

FIFA World Ranking: 7
AFC Ranking: 1
Olympic Appearances: 6^th (1996, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2020, 2024)
Best Olympic Result: Silver Medal (2012)
Record vs. USA: 1W-8D-30L (GF: 30, GA: 110)
Last Meeting vs. USA: Feb. 19, 2023 (1-0 win for USA in Nashville, Tenn.)
Head Coach: Futoshi Ikeda (JPN)

JAPAN WOMEN’S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB)

GOALKEEPERS (3): Ayaka Yamashita (INAC Lobe Leonessa), Chika Hirao (Albirex Niigata Ladies), Shu Ohba (University of Mississippi, USA)

DEFENDERS (7): Saki Kumagai (AS Roma, ITA), Risa Shimizu (West Ham United FC, ENG), Miyabi Moriya (INAC Kobe Leonessa), Hikaru Kitagawa (INAC Kobe Leonessa), Moeka Minami (AS Roma, ITA), Rion Ishikawa (Urawa Reds Ladies), Toko Koga (Feyenoord Rotterdam, NED）

MIDFIELDERS (5): Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City FC, ENG), Hina Sugita (Portland Thorns FC, USA), Honoka Hayashi (West Ham United FC, ENG), Fuka Nagano (Liverpool FC, ENG), Momoko Tanikawa (FC Rosengård, SWE）              

FORWARDS (7): Mina Tanaka (INAC Kobe Leonessa), Kiko Seike (Urawa Reds Ladies), Mami Ueno (Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina), Riko Ueki (West Ham United FC, ENG), Hinata Miyazawa (Manchester City FC, ENG), Aoba Fujino (Tokyo Verdy Neleza), Maika Hamano (Chelsea FC, ENG）   

JAPAN TEAM NOTES

• Japan has 14 players on its roster from last year’s SheBelieves Cup squad. The USA’s has only 10 players on its roster for the 2024 SheBelieves Cup from last year’s SheBelieves Cup roster.
• Japan’s head coach, Futoshi Ikeda, took over from Asako Takakura, who is one of the pioneers of Japan women’s soccer and was the first female coach of Japan’s senior Women’s National Team who coached the Nadeshiko from 2016–2021.
• Ikeda, a former professional player for Urawa Reds, is a former head coach of Japan U-20 Women's National Team. He led Japan to the championship at the 2017 AFC U-19 Championship and qualified for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, which Japan won. He also a former coach for the Japan U-17 Women’s National Team, making him very familiar with Japan’s young talent and their pathway to the senior side.
• Ikeda has called in a youthful 23-player squad for the 2023 SheBelieves Cup, with just one player – 33-year-old defender Saki Kumagai – over the age of 30. Japan, which seems to always be in the middle of a youth movement based on its success at the youth international level, features twelve players are under the age of 25, including three teenagers in defender Rion Ishikawa, midfielder Aoba Fujino and forward Maika Hamano.
• Kumagai is by far the most experienced player on this roster with 149 caps and has represented Japan at the last four FIFA Women’s World Cups, including scoring the winning penalty against the USA in the penalty kick shootout during the 2011 FIFA World Cup Final. No other Japanese players has more than 80 caps.
• Forward Mina Tanaka is the leading scorer on the roster for 34 career international goals. Forward Mami Ueno has 20.
• Kumagai, who currently plays in Italy for AS Roma, has had a distinguished career in Europe, playing two seasons for Bayern Munich in Germany and eight for Olympique Lyon, who she left after the 2020-21 season following eight seasons with the French powerhouse in which she won five UEFA Women’s Champions League titles and at different times played with Americans Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Morgan Gautrat and Catarina Macario.
• In a testament to the growth of Japanese women’s soccer, 12 of the 22 players on the roster play professionally outside of Japan with back-up goalkeeper Shu Ohba playing college soccer at the University of Mississippi. She previously played at East Tennessee State. She was the starting goalkeeper for Japan during its meeting with the USA during group play at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica, a 3-1 Japan win.
• One of those players playing professionally abroad is Hina Sugita of the Portland Thorns, who is the only NWSL player on Japan’s roster. Jun Endo likely would have been included, but suffered a season-ending injury for Angel City FC in preseason.
• There are six players playing in England – two for top of the table (behind Chelsea on goal difference) Manchester City, one for Chelsea and three who turn out for West Ham.
• The other nine players on this roster all play their club soccer domestically in Japan’s WE League, which is currently top by the Urawa Reds, who have two players on this roster.
• Japan qualified for the 2024 Olympics via the 2024 AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament, a difficult competition that Japan entered in the Second Round. In Group C of the Second Round, Japan won all three games by an 11-0 aggregate, toping Uzbekistan (2-0), Vietnam (2-0) and India (7-0). That earned Japan a spot in the Third Round where it defeated North Korea 2-1 on aggregate to earn its Olympic berth. Japan tied the first leg 0-0 in a match played in Saudi Arabia before winning the returning leg 2-1 on goals from Hana Takahashi and Aoba Fuino in front of 45,787 fans at Japan’s National Stadium in Tokyo.
• Japan is one of seven nations, along with the USA, Brazil, Germany, Nigeria, Norway and Sweden, to have qualified for every edition of FIFA Women’s World Cup.
• At the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Japan rolled through the group stage, defeating Zambia, 5-0, Costa Rica, 2-0, and in one of the most amazing games in World Cup history, downed eventual winners Spain, 4-0. Japan had eight shots and scored on 50% of them. Japan beat Norway, 3-1, in the Round of 16, but fell to Sweden, 2-1, in the Quarterfinals.
• Japan’s best performance at the World Cup came during its title run in 2011, in which it became the first Asian nation to win a Women’s World Cup. Japan returned to the World Cup final again in 2015 but fell to the USA in the final 5-2 behind a hat trick from Carli Lloyd. Japan also finished runner-up to the U.S. at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, with a Lloyd brace in the final once again proving to be the difference.
• While Japan’s Senior National Team has not reached a world championship final since 2015, its Women’s Youth National Teams – particularly the Under-20s - have had a great run of recent success. Japan won the 2018 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup and finished runner-up at the 2022 FIFA U-20 World Cup contested in Costa Rica.
• Eighteen-year-old Maika Hamano won the Golden Ball as the top player at the 2022 FIFA U-20 World Cup and also took home the Silver Boot after finishing the tournament with four goals. She was on Japan’s roster for the 2023 SheBelieves Cup.
• Japan fell to eventual champions Spain 2-1 in the quarterfinal of the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in a thrilling match that saw three goals scored in the final 24 minutes of the game. They were also eliminated in the quarterfinals of the U-17 World Cup in 2018, falling to New Zealand on penalties.