The U.S. rolled through the last Women’s World Cup as one of the greatest teams of all time. But they crashed out of their last major tourney — the 2016 Olympics — with the worst showing in their history.

That’s the backdrop as they head into this Women’s World Cup in France, the top seed and defending champ with more talent than any team on the planet but more question marks than they are used to.

Despite questions in the back, a youngish team and an early group-stage test against the familiar Swedes who sent them packing in Rio de Janeiro, the U.S. is still the favorite — and considers themselves such.

“Have to,” coach Jill Ellis said. “Have to. I think this is confidence. So much of it is a mindset and an approach.

“I think there are a lot of good teams, and we’re all aware of that, but we want to be the team to beat in terms of that. I think that’s our approach. I don’t think you would ever see anything different from this team even 10 years from now in terms of how this program has built itself to be at that point.”

The U.S. has an embarrassment of attacking riches. They have switched to a 4-3-3 formation to shoehorn tricky Tobin Heath, prolific Alex Morgan and savvy Megan Rapinoe into soccer’s best strike force, and former midfield star Carli Lloyd into a supersub role as a backup No. 9.

“It’s getting real now, so it’s exciting,” said Lloyd, a two-time FIFA Player of the Year and the hero of the U.S. championship four years ago with a hat trick in the finals.

“It’s crazy. If you would’ve told me this when I was a little girl at age 5 starting to play that I’d be a part of four World Cups and three Olympics, it’s extremely an honor and I never take anything for granted. I just put my head down, grind away every single day and I want to give it my all for my teammates and I want to come away with this trophy this summer.”

At 36, Lloyd can’t run like she used to, or cover enough ground for a three-player midfield led by converted centerback Julie Ertz. But the New Jersey product and Rutgers grad can still win aerial duels, score and bring big-game panache to a younger-than-usual U.S. team.

“We have players that can play multiple positions. We’ve got a lot of quality players coming off the bench. We have it all,” Lloyd said. “It’s really ultimately going to be up to us to go over there and get it done. … With some of the younger players, we have some veteran players who can help them along. But it’s exciting to put all this together.”

If they put together a defense to go with that all-world attack, they could hoist a fourth Women’s World Cup trophy — and maybe even get another parade down the Canyon of Heroes.

Much like the U.S. men’s assembly line of great keepers, this will be the first time since 1991 the women head into a World Cup without either Hope Solo or Brianna Scurry in goal. That leaves 31-year-old Alyssa Naeher, still untested in major tournaments, with some huge cleats to fill.

Fullbacks Crystal Dunn (an attacker in the NWSL) and Kelley O’Hara (oft-injured) are both question marks with little behind them.

They won’t have to wait long for a tough test, with old enemy Sweden looming. They have been in the same group as the Americans in five straight World Cups, with the two foes playing to a scoreless draw in the 2015 World Cup and Sweden knocking the U.S. out of the 2016 Olympics in the quarterfinals — their worst-ever tourney finish.

With Solo and Abby Wambach gone, the U.S. may be the defending champs, but it’ll be a different team trying to win this title.

“It’s different in the sense of obviously age. We have a lot of younger players. We have some players who’ve never been to a World Cup before,” Lloyd said. “It’s a different era, a different World Cup, a different storyline. We’ll see how that storyline ends up.”

Three keys to a U.S. repeat

1. Can they beat 10 in front of goal?

Sweden beat the U.S. in the Olympic quarterfinals by sticking 10 players in front of the goal. Former goalkeeper Hope Solo got into her feelings after such cynical play, but the game plan worked and others will copy it. Can the U.S. find a way to break it down this time?

2. Can the defense hold up?

Yes, the U.S. women left the shores on a nine-game unbeaten run with four straight clean sheets, but the back end poses more questions than the attack. Left back Crystal Dunn is more of an attacker, while keeper Alyssa Naeher is unproven.

3. Can the youngsters step up?

Five players are gone from the 14 who played in the final four years ago, and the U.S. has 11 World Cup debutantes. The U.S. has veteran stars, but some of the youngsters are going to have to come through on the big stage for them to win.

U.S. group stage schedule

vs. Thailand

June 11 in Reims (3 p.m., Fox)

It would take a major upset for the Thais to get a result against the U.S. They had never reached a Women’s World Cup until four years ago, and got blanked twice in three games. After Thailand outscored their foes 37-5 in winning the 2018 ASEAN Football Federation tourney — and fell in PKs in the 2018 AFC Women’s Cup semis — are they improved enough to give the defending champs a game?

vs. Chile

June 16 in Paris (Noon, Fox)

Don’t sleep on 39th-ranked Chile. Sure, they’re green debutantes — with no player holding even two dozen caps, and no World Cup experience — and got a terrible start this year. But last year they finished second in Copa America Femenina behind 27-year-old keeper Christiane Endler, who played at PSG with U.S. midfielder Lindsey Horan.

vs. Sweden

June 20 in Le Havre (3 p.m., Fox)

Group F will come down to these familiar foes. They’re two of only seven teams to make every Women’s World Cup, and have faced each other in five straight group stages (six overall). The U.S. is 3-1-1, but the Swedes knocked them out of the 2016 Olympics and won UEFA qualifying Group 4 behind Caroline Seger and Nilla Fischer.