Megan Rapinoe Named To 23-Player Roster for 2019 SheBelieves Cup

U.S. WNT head coach Jill Ellis has named the 23-player roster for the 2019 SheBelieves Cup, which features the top-ranked Americans, No. 4 England, No. 8 Japan and No. 10 Brazil. All four teams will be participating in this summer’s 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France. Brazil, Japan and the USA are three of the seven teams that have participated in each of the seven previous Women’s World Cup tournaments.

Reign FC forward Megan Rapinoe and U.S. WNT co-captain will return to the team to play in the SheBelieves Cup. Rapinoe will face off against some familiar faces during the tournament: Reign FC teammate Jodie Taylor is expected to represent England, while Rumi Utsugi is expected to suit up for Japan.

Additionally, Reign FC midfielder Allie Long has been called into the USA’s pre-tournament training camp that will be held in Tampa, Fla.

U.S. WNT 2019 SheBelieves Cup Roster (Caps/Goals)

 GOALKEEPERS (3): Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC; 0/0), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 19/0), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 40/0)

DEFENDERS (7): Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 32/0), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars; 14/1), Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 77/24), Kelley O’Hara (Utah Royals FC; 112/2), Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC; 151/0), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 27/0), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC; 28/0)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Danielle Colaprico (Chicago Red Stars; 2/0), Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 74/18), Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit; 21/6), Samantha Mewis (NC Courage; 43/8), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit 11/0), McCall Zerboni (NC Courage; 8/0)

FORWARDS (7): Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC; 143/25), Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC; 266/105), Jessica McDonald (NC Courage; 5/1), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 155/98), Christen Press (Utah Royals FC; 108/47), Mallory Pugh (Washington Spirit; 45/13), Megan Rapinoe (Reign FC; 146/41)

All 23 players on the U.S. roster were with the WNT for its first two games of the year that were played in France and Spain in January. Fifteen of the players named were on last year’s SheBelieves Cup roster and nine players will be participating in their fourth SheBelieves Cup.

“The SheBelieves Cup is a positive event in many ways, but it’s extremely valuable to get three challenging games against World Cup-bound teams in a short time span that can simulate navigating through group play,” said Ellis. “These are all teams that can go deep in the tournament this summer and provide the kind of tests we need as we continue to work to crystalize our lineup and our final roster for the World Cup.”

The U.S. team begins its schedule at the fourth annual edition of the world’s most elite four-team women’s tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 27 against Japan at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pa. (7 p.m. ET on FS1). England will kick off the competition against Brazil (4 p.m. ET on ussoccer.com) in the early game that day.

Date	Match-Up	Kickoff	Venue	TV
Feb. 27	England vs. Brazil	4 p.m. ET	Talen Energy Stadium; Chester, Pa.	ussoccer.com
Feb. 27	USA vs. Japan	7 p.m. ET	Talen Energy Stadium; Chester, Pa.	FS1
March 2	Brazil vs. Japan	1 p.m. CT	Nissan Stadium; Nashville, Tenn.	ussoccer.com
March 2	USA vs. England	3:30 p.m. CT	Nissan Stadium; Nashville, Tenn.	FOX
March 5	Japan vs. England	5:15 p.m. ET	Raymond James Stadium; Tampa, Fla.	ussoccer.com
March 5	USA vs. Brazil	8 p.m. ET	Raymond James Stadium; Tampa, Fla.	FS1

All the teams will then travel to Nashville, Tenn. and Nissan Stadium where the USA will play England on Saturday, March 2 (3:30 p.m. CT on FOX), which will be preceded by Brazil vs. Japan (1 p.m. CT on ussoccer.com). The tournament will finish on Tuesday, March 5, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. as Japan takes on England (5:15 p.m. ET on ussoccer.com) followed by the tournament finale, featuring the USA against Brazil (8 p.m. ET on FS1).

“We are excited about the upcoming tournament and excited about the selection of players that we will have on the SheBelieves roster,” Ellis added. “Aside from injuries, we are building consistency in the group and testing ourselves against other high caliber teams. These remaining eight matches narrow our focus and we will use these games as fantastic opportunities to continue to come together as a team on and off the field.”