The USWNT are set to enter the 11th edition of the SheBelieves Cup against Argentina, Canada and Colombia from Nashville, Columbus and Harrison respectively. These three teams can be split up into different tiers. Argentina is a proud soccer federation but simply haven’t given their women nearly enough support as they have for the men. As a result the Argentinians aren’t anywhere close to the same level as the United States but they will surely play as physical as possible and try to make the game ugly.
Colombia are in the middle-tier of international teams, where they play just as physical as Argentina, but have match-winning players like Leicy Santos who plays for the Washington Spirit. The Colombians will be a very tough challenge for the USWNT.
However, the toughest matchup is against Canada, an elite international program that always wants to beat the United States. You’d have to think Canada wants some revenge after watching the Women’s Hockey Team beat Canada in the Gold Medal Game. That’s the matchup I want to take a closer look at, here’s a preview of the USWNT vs. Canada in the second SheBelieves Cup match.
USWNT vs. Canada, Wednesday, March 4th, 6:45pm EST/3:45pm PST, TNT
Here are the rosters to compare with each other:
USA
GOALKEEPERS (3): Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign FC; 7), Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals; 5), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United, ENG; 4)
DEFENDERS (9): Jordyn Bugg (Seattle Reign FC; 6/0), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG; 71/1), Naomi Girma (Chelsea FC, ENG; 50/2), Lilly Reale (Gotham FC; 6/0), Tara Rudd (Washington Spirit; 10/0), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC; 113/2), Gisele Thompson (Angel City FC; 5/0), Kennedy Wesley (San Diego Wave FC; 3/0), Kate Wiesner (Washington Spirit; 3/0)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Sam Coffey (Manchester City, ENG; 42/5), Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 170/38), Claire Hutton (Bay FC; 13/1), Riley Jackson (North Carolina Courage; 1/0), Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC; 116/27), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC; 13/5), Jaedyn Shaw (Gotham FC; 31/9), Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 13/1)
FORWARDS (6): Maddie Dahlien (Seattle Reign FC; 2/0), Jameese Joseph (Chicago Stars FC; 2/1), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit; 49/13), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville FC; 14/6), Ally Sentnor (Kansas City Current; 15/6), Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea FC, ENG; 26/3)
Canada
Goalkeepers: Kailen Sheridan (North Carolina Courage), Emily Burns (Nantes), Melissa Dagenais (Ottawa Rapid)
Defenders: Jade Rose (Manchester City), Vanessa Gilles (Bayern Munich), Sydney Collins (Bay FC), Marie Levasseur (Montpellier), Gabrielle Carle (Washington Spirit), Brooklyn Courtnall (Bay FC), Megan Reid (Denver Summit)
Midfielders: Julia Grosso (Chicago Stars), Simi Awujo (Manchester United), Jessie Fleming (Portland Thorns), Emma Regan (Denver Summit), Marie-Yasmine Alidou (Portland Thorns), Kaylee Hunter (AFC Toronto)
Forwards: Jordyn Huitema (Seattle Reign), Evelyne Viens (Roma), Nichelle Prince (Boston Legacy), Janine Sonis (Denver Summit), Holly Ward (Vancouver Rise), Delaney Pridham (Ottawa Rapid), Annabelle Chukwu (Notre Dame), Cloé Lacasse (Utah Royals)
Casey Stoney seems to be taking a page from Emma Hayes’ playbook and has also picked a roster with both youth and experience. There’s quite a few players who are getting an opportunity to show what they can do similar to the USWNT.
Emma Hayes called Riley Jackson, Kate Wiesner, Kennedy Wesley, Maddie Dahlien, and Jameese Joseph back into this camp to get one last look before moving to the World Cup.
Casey Stoney called in multiple fringe players who have made appearances for Canada before but now have a chance to really break into the side and become a reliable roster choice for Stoney moving forward. Those players include Sydney Collins, Marie Levasseur Brooklyn Courtnall, Emma Regan, Marie-Yasmine Alidou, Kaylee Hunter, Holly Ward, Delaney Pridham and Annabelle Chukwu. This feels like uncharted territory for Canada considering they had a few players from their golden generation either age or retire like Christine Sinclair, Desiree Scott, Allysha Chapman. Casey Stoney has a great crop of young talent to work with. Their defense and midfield don’t have the depth but their starters will be strong. Canada’s attacking depth is something that can pose problems for the USWNT. Between Jordyn Huitema, Evelyn Viens, Nichelle Prince, Janine Sonis and Cloé Lacasse, the Canadians will have few issues with chance creation. It’s about taking the chances when they come against a team like the USWNT.
Recent results suggest Canada have been able to do this which has led to two 2-2 draws in the last three matchups against the United States with the last matchup being a 3-0 loss. While Canada has a strong attack, this game will be won in the midfield. Jessie Fleming, Julia Grosso and Simi Awujo is a solid midfield but it’s not better than Rose Lavelle, Lindsey Heaps and Sam Coffey. Plus the USWNT can bring in young stars like Jaedyn Shaw, Lily Yohannes, Claire Hutton and Olivia Moultrie to replace them.
Based on the roster composition for both teams, Emma Hayes and Casey Stoney likely have an idea of what they want most of their roster to look like but are still deciding the last few spots. The SheBelieves Cup is a big stage with real stakes and a trophy, it’s by far the closest simulation these players will get to a World Cup game compared to what a normal friendly game would be like. This should be the best game of the cup and one you’re not going to want to miss.