TWO-TIME defending Women’s World Cup champion United States will play host to Japan, Brazil and Canada in the 2023 SheBelieves Cup, a tuneup for next year’s global women’s football showdown.

The US Soccer Federation announced the event yesterday, with matches to be played February 16-22, 2023, in Orlando, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; and Frisco, Texas.

Americans will seek a fourth consecutive title and sixth overall in the eighth edition of the annual event, this one a tuneup for all four nations for the Women’s World Cup to be staged in New Zealand and Australia next July and August.

US women top the world rankings with reigning Olympic champion Canada in sixth, Brazil ninth and Japan 11th.

The Covid-19 pandemic kept last year’s event to Orlando and this year’s tournament to two venues.

The Americans will play two matches at New Zealand in January and the SheBelieves Cup will mark their first US home matches of 2023.

“We love the SheBelieves Cup for the world class competition it brings, the format that helps replicate group play at a World Cup and the overall meaning that it has for our team and women’s sports,” US coach Vlatko Andonovski said.

“Obviously, you get more rest days in a World Cup, but managing a roster with three games over seven days against teams with three very different styles of play is really good preparation for us as we continue to grow as a team towards next summer.”

The event kicks off in Orlando on February 16 with Japan facing Brazil and the US women facing Canada.

Three days later in Nashville, the Americans play Japan and Brazil meets Canada.

The Cup concludes on February 22 in Texas with Canada playing Japan and the Brazilians facing the hosts. – AFP, December 10, 2022.