England Women will travel to America at the weekend to compete in the annual, star-studded SheBelieves Cup.
The SheBelieves Cup is an extension of the US Soccer’s #SheBelieves campaign, a movement established by the US Women’s team to inspire young girls and women and encourage them to accomplish their goals and dreams, within sport or otherwise.
The Lionesses have been involved in the four-team, round-robin tournament ever since its inception in 2016.
The first three editions brought together the top four teams in the FIFA rankings; World Cup holders and No1-ranked USA, Germany, France and England. This year, Germany and France make way for Brazil and 2011 World Cup winners Japan.
England open their campaign against Brazil in Philadelphia on Wednesday 27 February, followed by a meeting with USA in Nashville three days later and then Japan in Tampa on Tuesday 5 March.
And here are some key stats ahead of the Lionesses’ latest trip across the pond:
- England’s biggest win in the competition was the 4-1 defeat of France in 2018
- England’s 1-0 win over USA in the 2017 edition was the Lionesses’ first-ever victory over the world champions on American soil
- Only two players have played in all nine of England’s SheBelieves Cup matches: Demi Stokes and Jill Scott
- Ellen White is England’s top scorer in the competition with three goals (1 v USA in 2017 and 2 v Germany in 2018)
- Six players have scored for England at the SheBelieves Cup: Toni Duggan, Jordan Nobbs, Ellen White, Fran Kirby, Jodie Taylor and Jill Scott.
England finished second in last season’s SheBelieves Cup after easing to a 4-1 win over France, Phil Neville’s first match as head coach, and drawing 2-2 with Germany before slipping to a 1-0 defeat by USA.
Neville named his 23-player SheBelieves Cup squad on Tuesday:
Goalkeepers: Karen Bardsley (Manchester City), Mary Earps (Wolfsburg), Carly Telford (Chelsea)
Defenders: Gemma Bonner (Manchester City), Lucy Bronze (Lyon), Rachel Daly (Houston Dash), Alex Greenwood (Manchester United), Steph Houghton (Manchester City), Abbie McManus (Manchester City), Demi Stokes (Manchester City), Leah Williamson (Arsenal)
Midfielders: Karen Carney (Chelsea), Isobel Christiansen (Lyon), Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Jill Scott (Manchester City), Lucy Staniforth (Birmingham City), Georgia Stanway (Manchester City), Keira Walsh (Manchester City)
Forwards: Toni Duggan (Barcelona), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Nikita Parris (Manchester City), Jodie Taylor (Seattle Reign), Ellen White (Birmingham City).
When England return from the States, they will continue their build-up for the 2019 World Cup with the 'Road to France Series' which comprises two games in early April, against Canada at the Academy Stadium (Friday 5 April) and Spain at the County Ground (Tuesday 9 April), and then matches against Denmark at Banks’s Stadium (Saturday 25 May) before the visit of New Zealand (Saturday 1 June) to the Amex Stadium in Brighton just before the tournament begins.
TICKETS: ROAD TO FRANCE SERIES
Tickets for all four home matches are on sale now, priced £10 for adults (£7.50 for ‘early bird’ offer) and £1 for children.
