What to watch at SheBelieves Cup

The ninth annual SheBelieves Cup will begin on Saturday, April 6, with the United States Women’s National Team taking up Brazil, Canada and Japan. Interim head coach Twila Kilgore announced her 23-person squad participate in a two-game series that begins in Atlanta and ends in Columbus, Ohio. This competition can be one other trophy for the team to win before the Olympic Games and can mark a breakthrough for future manager Emma Hayes.

Here’s what’s value watching in the course of the tournament:

Displaying information

All time Eastern

Saturday, April 6
USWNT vs. Japan, 12:30 (TNT, max)
Brazil vs. Canada, 15:30 (max)

Tuesday, April 9
Japan vs. to be determined, 16:00 (TNT, max.)
USWNT vs. to be determined, 19:00 (to be determined, max.)

Note: The USWNT can still play in Tuesday’s second game even when it loses on Saturday.

Additional Olympic assessment

The Olympics are only just a few months away, starting on July 25, and athletes are being evaluated ahead of the event. The SheBelieves Cup comes only a month after the Concacaf W Gold Cup – where the USWNT defeated Brazil to win the inaugural tournament – and welcomes the return of Mallory Swanson and Catarina Macario to the squad after lengthy absences due to injury.

Narrowing down the Olympic squad is already difficult and involves reducing the 23-person World Cup squad to 18. Team captain Lindsey Horan emphasized in the course of the Gold Cup that everybody was being evaluated, no matter whether or not they were latest to national team camps or veterans with experience. The resources of some players are currently higher than others, which is reflected in our latest projection of the Olympic squad.

The return of Swanson and Macario and the addition of Eva Gaetino and Lily Yohannes signal that everyone seems to be indeed still being evaluated, although the Olympics are only 4 months away.

Why will the USWNT only play two games?

The tournament has a condensed formula compared to previous editions. Instead of a round-robin competition, the 2024 SheBelieves Cup will consist of only 4 matches between two rounds.

The event will begin with all 4 teams within the semifinals on Saturday, then the winners will compete for the SheBelieves Cup on Tuesday, while the semifinal runners-up will compete within the third-place match. The USWNT competition can be the fundamental event at 7:00 PM EST, whether competing for the championship or third place.

With 4 teams, which means the U.S. will only play two of the three invited guests. Perhaps to make sure that the USWNT plays as many alternative teams as possible before the Olympics, they’ll face Japan within the semifinals and either Brazil or Canada within the second round. The U.S. faced Brazil within the Gold Cup final and Canada within the Gold Cup semifinal.

Temperature control in relation to team culture

Shortly after the SheBelieves Cup squad was relegated, 20-year-old midfielder Korbin Albert’s latest activity appeared on social media. There were several of them anti-LGBTQ posts that received a whole lot of backlash.

In a now-deleted Instagram post, Albert’s likes included a meme that read: “God takes a break from performing miracles so Megan Rapinoe sprains her ankle in her last game ever.” The Paris Saint-Germain player liked a video wherein he wished harm to the legendary player, but now it seems that the post has been deleted and only exists amongst screenshots on the Internet.

Albert’s social media activity sparked a backlash from Rapinoe, who posted a critical Instagram post that was shared by quite a few current and former USWNT teammates, including Becky Sauerbrunn, Lindsey Horan and Abby Dahlkemper, amongst others. Rapinoe later confirmed to The Athletic that the post was in response to Albert’s recent anti-transgender actions on social media.

After the quarter-final of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, wherein Albert scored for PSG, she apologized for the response she received.

“Liking and sharing posts that are offensive, insensitive and hurtful was immature and disrespectful, which was never my intention. “I am truly disappointed in myself and I am very sorry for the hurt I have caused to my teammates, other players, fans, friends and anyone else who was offended,” she wrote. “I truly believe that everyone should feel safe and respected everywhere and on all playing fields.”

As the SheBelieves Cup approaches, the variety of comments and reactions continues unabated and can likely proceed because the tournament begins. Recently retired Sam Mewis invited current national teammate Lynn Williams on her show “The Women’s Game” to further discuss the problems surrounding Albert’s decision to engage in anti-LGBTQ social media.

Both Mewis and Williams were once members of the national team and NWSL club Jaeline Daniels (Nee Hinkle), a player who once opted out of USWNT friendlies when she learned the team could be wearing rainbow numbers for Pride Month. She was later called up to national team camps, but ultimately faded away as multiple players competed for the surface back role, amongst them Kelley O’Hara, Crystal Dunn, Taylor Smith, Sofia Huerta and Casey Krueger.

“At that point we didn’t know the way to approach the situation and we put football first. “If I feel like I’ve learned anything, there are some things that are just more important than football,” Williams said on the podcast.

While U.S. Soccer has yet to comment on the most recent developments, there may be a possibility that discussions about Albert and the team’s culture can be a subject of debate at press conferences and in mixed areas. With the Olympics approaching, team cohesion and culture can be a difficulty that affects not only one athlete, but something that fans and audiences can be being attentive to in the course of the SheBelieves Cup.