Four of the Top Five Ranked Teams in the World Come to the Northeast as the USA Hosts Germany, France and England in Three Doubleheaders; Two U.S. Games on FS1, Match vs. England on FOX

CHICAGO (Jan. 11, 2017) – U.S. Soccer will host the SheBelieves Cup for the second year in a row as four of the world’s top five ranked women’s national teams meet in three doubleheaders from March 1-7 at three venues in the northeast.

Germany, France and England will once again join the USA in the most elite four-team women’s international tournament of the year. The USA is currently ranked first in the world, defending Olympic champion Germany is second, France is third and England is fifth.

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“It’s fantastic to play these three teams in the first three games of the year,” U.S. head coach Jill Ellis said. “As I’ve said many times, one of our main goals is to play the best teams in the world as often as possible and we have tremendous respect for France, Germany and England, which all feature world class players at multiple positions. To hold this tournament at home is great for our fans and TV partners, but especially for our players and our coaching staff as these are the kinds of games where we get tested and can really learn a lot about ourselves.”

In last year’s SheBelieves Cup, the USA defeated England and France by 1-0 scores and downed Germany, 2-1, in the de facto championship game to take the inaugural tournament title. Germany finished second, England was third and France was fourth. None of the games were decided by more than one goal with three 1-0 victories, two 2-1 victories and one 0-0 draw.

Conceived and developed by the U.S. WNT players, #SheBelieves is a movement to inspire young girls and encourage them to accomplish their goals and dreams, athletic or otherwise. The campaign launched in the run-up to the 2015 Women’s World Cup but has since grown into a special bond between the team and its fans, taking its powerful message of empowerment and just believing in yourself into communities across the nation. The SheBelieves Cup adds a showcase event to the campaign, which will continue to spread its positive message and brings together the world’s most elite female soccer players to compete in the U.S., providing a stage to shine the spotlight on positive female role models (athletes and non-athletes alike) and showcase their accomplishments both on the field and in culture at large.

During the U.S. WNT’s Victory Tour in 2015, players met with several women in various professions across the country to chat about being leaders, advocates, game-changers and role-models. Ranging from entrepreneurs to firefighters, and chefs to park rangers, these women showed that despite all being so different, the common denominator of hard work and discipline led them all to be successful in their own fields.

The tournament format will be the same as last year as the four teams will each participate in three doubleheader events at three different venues over a seven-day period. The match days will see England open against France on Wednesday, March 1 at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pa. (4 p.m. ET), followed by the USA against Germany (7 p.m. ET on FS1). All the teams will then travel to New Jersey where France will face Germany on Saturday, March 4 (2:15 p.m. ET) followed by the USA taking on England (5 p.m. ET on FOX) at Red Bull Arena in Harrison. The tournament will finish on Tuesday, March 7, at the historic RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. as Germany takes on England (4 p.m. ET) and the USA faces France (7 p.m. ET on FS1).

2017 SheBelieves Cup Schedule

Date Matches Stadium City Kickoff TV

Mar. 1 England vs. France Talen Energy Stadium Chester, Pa. 4 p.m. ET

Mar. 1 USA vs. Germany Talen Energy Stadium Chester, Pa. 7 p.m. ET FS1

Mar. 4 France vs. Germany Red Bull Arena Harrison, N.J. 2:15 p.m. ET

Mar. 4 USA vs. England Red Bull Arena Harrison, N.J. 5 p.m. ET FOX

Mar. 7 Germany vs. England RFK Stadium Washington, D.C. 4 p.m. ET

Mar. 7 USA vs. France RFK Stadium Washington, D.C. 7 p.m. ET FS1

The winner of the tournament will be based on total points (three for a win, one for a tie), with the first tie-breaker being overall goal difference, followed by most total tournament goals scored, then head-to-head result and lastly, FIFA Ranking if necessary.

Additional notes: