PREVIEW: USA and France Clash as 2018 SheBelieves Cup Continues | Noon ET | ESPN2

The only two champions of previous SheBelieves Cups will meet on Sunday, March 4 (12 p.m. ET; ESPN2) at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

The third edition the most elite four-team women’s international tournament in the world features four of the top-six teams in the current FIFA Women’s World Rankings: No. 1 USA, No. 2 Germany, No. 3 England and No. 6 France.

Follow all the #USWNT action on Twitter using #SheBelievesCup, #SheBelieves and #USAvFRA on @ussoccer_wnt and @ussoccer_esp, and also on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat (ussoccer_wnt).

U.S. Women’s National Team 2018 SheBelieves Cup Roster by Position (Caps/Goals):
GOALKEEPERS (3): 18- Jane Campbell (Houston Dash; 2/0), 24-  Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 14/0), 1- Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 25/0)
DEFENDERS (7): 7- Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 15/0), 17- Tierna Davidson (Stanford; 2/0), 14- Sofia Huerta (Chicago Red Stars; 3/0), 5- Kelley O'Hara (Utah Royals FC; 106/2), 2- Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 20/0), 22-  Taylor Smith (NC Courage; 9/0), 16- Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC; 14/0),
MIDFIELDERS (6): 6-  Morgan Brian (Olympique Lyon, FRA; 70/6), 8- Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 59/15), 9- Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 45/4), 10- Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash; 248/98); 20-Allie Long (Portland Thorns FC; 34/6), 3- Andi Sullivan (Stanford; 8/0)
FORWARDS (7): 19- Crystal Dunn (Chelsea FC, ENG; 58/23), 21- Savannah McCaskill (Sky Blue FC; 2/0), 13- Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 136/81); 23- Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars; 97/44), 11- Mallory Pugh (Washington Spirit; 31/8), 15- Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign; 131/35), 12- Lynn Williams (NC Courage; 17/4)

2018 SheBelieves Cup Schedule

Date	Matches	Stadium	City	Kickoff / ET	Broadcast
Mar. 4	USA vs. France	Red Bull Arena	Harrison, N.J.	12 pm	ESPN2
Mar. 4	Germany vs. England	Red Bull Arena	Harrison, N.J.	3 pm	ESPN3
Mar. 7	Germany vs. France	Orlando City Stadium	Orlando, Fla.	4 pm	ESPN3
Mar. 7	USA vs. England	Orlando City Stadium	Orlando, Fla.	7 pm	ESPNews

2018 SheBelieves Cup Standings

Team	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts.
England	1	1	0	0	4	1	+3	3
USA	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	3
Germany	1	0	1	0	0	1	-1	0
France	1	0	1	0	1	4	-3	0

STORYLINES

What to Know About France: France got off to a difficult start to this tournament, falling 4-1 to England in its first game of the 2018 SheBelieves Cup. It was just the second loss for France against England since 1974. The first came at last summer’s UEFA Women’s Euros when England knocked France out of the tournament with a 1-0 victory. France outshot England 12-10, but the The Lionesses had six shots on goal to France’s one.

With a new head coach and some younger players, France only returns 12 players from last year’s SheBelieves Cup team, but most of those are the bedrocks of the squad. France has some highly-experienced players with five having 70 or more caps, led by veteran central defender Laura Georges (187 caps/7 goals) who could become one of the rare international players to play more than 200 times for their country. Veteran midfielder Gaetane Thiney, who plays for Paris FC and dynamic forward Eugenie Le Sommer of Olympique Lyon are France’s main scoring threats, having combined for 121 international goals, 64 in 151 games for Le Sommer and 57 in 142 for Thiney.

2017 SheBelieves Cup Champion – France: After finishing last in the first edition of this tournament, France flipped the script and won it in 2017 after beating England (2-1) and the USA (3-0), and tying Germany (0-0). The USA is 17-2-2 all-time against France, with the first loss coming on Feb. 8, 2015, a 2-0 setback in Lorient, France that kicked off the 2015 schedule for both teams, and the second coming at last year’s SheBelieves Cup. Thirteen players on the USA’s 2018 SheBelieves Cup roster played against France last year in this tournament, with seven starting. France has eight players on its roster who played against the USA last year, but only six who started.

Smells Like Teen Spirit: Against Germany on March 1, there were two teenagers in the USA’s starting XI in 19-year-olds Mallory Pugh and Tierna Davidson, both of whom are age-eligible for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. The pair also started together in the USA’s first game of the year on Jan. 21 in San Diego, where they combined for two goals and two assists. Before that match in San Diego, the last time two teenagers were in the U.S. WNT starting lineup was June 30, 2001 against Canada in Toronto. Aleisha Cramer (18) and Cat Whitehill (19) both played the entire game.

Closing in on 100: Carli Lloyd is currently sitting at 98 goals and with two more could become the sixth player in WNT history to reach 100 for her country.

Women in Charge: Three of the four coaches in the tournament are women: the USA’s Jill Ellis, Corinne Diacre of France and Steffi Jones from Germany. These are the first matches in charge for England’s new head coach Phil Neville, a former Manchester United and Everton star and England National Team defender. Watch: Ellis Blazes Trail for Female Coaches

At Red Bull Arena: The U.S. Women have played five times at Red Bull Arena. The USA first played at Red Bull Arena on June 5, 2011 in a 1-0 win vs. Mexico, and lost to England, 1-0, last year in the SheBelieves Cup, but the most memorable game was the 5-0 victory against South Korea on Mary 30, 2015, in which Abby Wambach scored four goals, the second and third of which tied, and then broke, Mia Hamm’s all-time international scoring record.

2018 SheBelieves Hero: The contest aimed to find a girl between the ages of 13-17 that embodies the SheBelieves spirit. A SheBelieves Hero™ is a leader in their community, a confident and passionate individual who empowers others around her and is working to make a difference. A panel of seven former U.S. Women’s National Team players narrowed down the field of submissions and selected the four finalists for the SheBelieves Hero™ contest. These finalists’ videos were then shared via social media and a poll was created for people to vote on who they believe best embodied the SheBelieves spirit. Taking 44 percent of the votes, Hollis Belger was chosen as the 2018 SheBelieves Hero™. As part of the prize, Belger will now travel to Harrison, New Jersey to watch the WNT take on France on March 4.