CHICAGO (May 16, 2018) – After hosting the 2018 SheBelieves Cup in early
March, a tournament won by the USA, U.S. Soccer will stage its second elite
four-team women’s international tournament of the year as Children’s Mercy
Park in Kansas City, Kan., Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field
in East Hartford, Conn., and Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill., play host to
the USA, Australia, Brazil and Japan for the 2018 Tournament of Nations.
The competition format is the same as the SheBelieves Cup and last year’s
Tournament of Nations with the four teams each participating in three
doubleheader events at three different venues over an eight-day period.
The match days will see Brazil open against Australia on Thursday, July 26,
at Children’s Mercy Park (3:15 p.m. CT), followed by the USA against Japan
(6 p.m. CT on FS1). All the teams will then travel to East Hartford where
Japan will face Brazil on Sunday, July 29 (4:15 p.m. ET) followed by the
USA taking on Australia (7 p.m. ET on FS1) at Pratt & Whitney Stadium
at Rentschler Field. The tournament will finish on Thursday, Aug. 2, at
Toyota Park as Australia faces Japan (4:45 p.m. CT) and the USA tackles
Brazil (7:30 p.m. CT on 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.
FOX Sports, home of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, will present live
coverage of the USA’s Tournament of Nations matches on FS1. Games will also
be available via FOXSports.com and through the FOX Now and FOX Sports GO
apps on iOS and Android, as well as internet-connected devices, including
Apple TV, Android TV, FireTV, Roku, Chromecast and Xbox One.
2018 TOURNAMENT OF NATIONS SCHEDULE
|
Date
|
Matches
|
Stadium
|
City
|
Kickoff (Local / ET)
|
TV
|
|
July 26
|
Brazil vs. Australia
|
Children’s Mercy Park
|
Kansas City, Kan.
|
3:15 p.m. / 4:15 p.m.
|
|
|
July 26
|
USA vs. Japan
|
Children’s Mercy Park
|
Kansas City, Kan.
|
6 p.m. / 7 p.m.
|
FS1
|
|
July 29
|
Japan vs. Brazil
|
Pratt & Whitney Stadium
|
East Hartford, Conn.
|
4:15 p.m. / 4:15 p.m.
|
|
|
July 29
|
USA vs. Australia
|
Pratt & Whitney Stadium
|
East Hartford, Conn.
|
7 p.m. / 7 p.m.
|
FS1
|
|
Aug. 2
|
Australia vs. Japan
|
Toyota Park
|
Bridgeview, Ill.
|
4:45 p.m. / 5:45 p.m.
|
|
|
Aug. 2
|
USA vs. Brazil
|
Toyota Park
|
Bridgeview, Ill.
|
7:30 p.m. / 8:30 p.m.
|
FS1
|
Australia, Brazil and Japan have all recently qualified for the 2019 FIFA
Women’s World Cup in France through their Confederation tournaments that
were staged in April. The USA will play for its World Cup berth when it
hosts the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship in October. The U.S. is
currently ranked first in the world, Australia is sixth, Brazil is eighth
and Japan is eleventh. The next set of FIFA rankings comes out in June.
SAID U.S. HEAD COACH JILL ELLIS:
“Hosting world class teams in both the SheBelieves Cup and the Tournament
of Nations is exactly what we need to test ourselves and to compete to get
on the top of a podium. Friendlies are important, but there’s nothing like
the competitive format these tournaments provide us. Australia, Brazil and
Japan are three very different teams that challenge us with their
respective styles and personnel and it will be another fantastic tournament
for our fans to watch.”
BUY TICKETS
Tickets for all three doubleheaders go on sale to the public Friday, June 1
at 10 a.m. local time through ussoccer.com. For
the games in Kansas City and Chicago, tickets are also available via phone
at 1-800-745-3000. For the game in Hartford, tickets are available via
phone at 1-877-522-8499 (8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET only) and at the XL Center
ticket office starting Monday, June 4 (open Monday-Friday, 12 p.m. to 5
p.m.). [Note: Tickets are not sold at any of the three stadium ticket
offices except on the day of the event.] Groups of 20 or more can order at ussoccer.com.
Tournament of Nations VIP Packages (special packages that include a premium
ticket, tournament t-shirt and scarf, access to the field before the game,
and other unique benefits) are also available exclusively through ussoccer.com.
Coaches Circle and Presidents Circle members who support the
U.S. Soccer Development Fund
can receive individual customer support and concierge services for their
ticketing needs. Contact circles@ussoccer.orgfor more information.
GIRLS FANTASY CAMP
U.S. Soccer will offer a four-day Girls Fantasy Camp around the matches in
Kansas City, running from July 24-27. The camp is open to girls born in
2004, 2005 and 2006. This exclusive opportunity includes training sessions
with former Women’s National Team stars Lindsay Tarpley and Lori Lindsey at
U.S. Soccer's National Development Center, VIP match tickets,
behind-the-scenes access, field-level access to watch warm-ups,
personalized U.S. Soccer jersey and training apparel, hotel accommodations
and all meals, ground transportation and more. The Fantasy Camp is a
fundraiser to support the U.S. Soccer Development Fund and includes a
special tax-deductible donation. Space is very limited for the camp and
filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more information and to
register, visit
ussoccer.com/fantasycamp
.
DID YOU KNOW…
This will be the second edition of the Tournament of Nations after last
year’s competition, which featured the same four teams and was won by
Australia. The USA finished second, Japan was third and Brazil fourth.
By bringing these three elite women’s soccer nations to the United States,
the tournament continues to shine a spotlight on the growing competitive
stature of the women’s game and its ability to create connections across
geography and culture. This tournament will celebrate some of the world’s
premier women’s soccer players, many of whom compete in the National
Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). There are currently 10 Australian players, seven Brazilian players
and four Japanese players in the NWSL.
 Marta (Orlando Pride / Brazil) |
 Rumi Utsugi (Seattle Reign / Japan) |
 Sam Kerr (Chicago Red Stars / Australia) |
Most of these players will be on the world stage next summer in France.
Australia and Japan qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup by
finishing first and second, respectively, in Group B at the 2018 AFC Asian
Cup in Jordan. The two countries tied 1-1 in group play and both teams won
their semifinal matches, Australia over Thailand in penalty kicks after a
2-2 tie in regulation and Japan over China, 3-1, setting up a rematch in
the championship game. Japan came out victorious, 1-0, on an 84th minute strike from Kumi Yokoyama.
Brazil qualified by finishing in first place in the final stage of the 2018
Copa América Femenina in Chile. Brazil won all four of its opening-round
games by a 22-1 goal margin to advance to the four-team final stage where
it beat Chile (3-1), Argentina (3-0) and Colombia (3-0). In front of large
home crowds, Chile finished second in the final stage group to also qualify
for France, while Argentina finished third and will face the fourth-place
finisher from the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship in a two-game playoff
for a final World Cup berth.
U.S. Soccer plans to host the Tournament of Nations every summer during
years that do not feature a World Cup or Olympic Games, meaning the next
edition would be staged in 2021.
