SheBelieves Cup

Twila Kilgore’s time as interim head coach of the United States women’s national team has come to an end following the SheBelieves Cup triumph vs. Canada. 

Current Chelsea boss Emma Hayes will coach the next USWNT game which will be a friendly vs. South Korea on June 1.

Kilgore finishes her eight-month tenure with a Concacaf W Gold Cup title, a SheBelieves Cup title and a national team with renewed hope.

The U.S. women’s national team were crowned the 2024 SheBelieves Cup champions after defeating Canada in Columbus on Tuesday.

After facing off against Canada in the W Gold Cup semifinals last March and  defeating The Maples through penalties, both national teams were to meet once again in hopes of winning a trophy.

The young American has had quite the week in her return to USWNT camp.

Following a more than controversial end of March for the USWNT's Korbin Albert, the 20-year-old midfielder was relegated to the bench and booed by fans as she came onto the pitch as a substitute.

Korbin Albert booed by fans in USWNT-Japan

The United States women’s national team mounted a 2-1 comeback victory vs. Japan in the SheBelieves Cup semifinal on Saturday in front of a record crowd in Atlanta, Georgia.

The 50,644 fans (the most ever for a non-World Cup or Olympic game on U.S. soil) in Mercedes-Benz Stadium sat stunned when Japan figuratively punched the USWNT in the mouth with a goal just 30 seconds into the game.

30 seconds is all it takes for Japan’s Kiko Seike to take the lead vs. USWNT.

Woah

United States women’s national team head coach Twila Kilgore turned heads with her starting XI for the SheBelieves Cup semifinal vs. Japan on Saturday. Korbin Albert will start the game on the bench and Mallory Swanson returns for the first time in a year.

Swanson last started a game with the USWNT on April 8, 2023, when she suffered a severe knee injury. She’s back in the starting XI for the first time since.

USWNT starting XI vs Japan

The XI to get us started in Atlanta

All eyes will be on the United States women’s national team starting XI on Saturday ahead of the SheBelieves Cup semifinal vs. Japan. The elephant in the room is obvious. Will Korbin Albert start the game?

Under normal circumstances Albert starting in the midfield for the USWNT would be a no brainer. She was terrific for the team alongside Sam Coffey during the Concacaf W Gold Cup and broke her way into the starting XI.

The United States women’s national team held a press conference on Wednesday which saw leaders Alex Morgan and Lindsey Horan address the controversial situation involving midfielder Korbin Albert.

The 20-year-old received waves of backlash after fans discovered she’d reposted anti-LGBTQ+ videos on TikTok and was caught liking a post making fun of Megan Rapinoe’s career ending injury.

Mallory Swanson and Catarina Macario will make their long-awaited returns to the United States women’s national team after missing an extended period due to knee injuries.

Swanson’s last USWNT game was April 8, 2023, against the Republic of Ireland. During that game she suffered a gruesome torn patella tendon.

Macario returns after nearly two years with her previous national team appearance being a friendly vs. Uzbekistan on April 12, 2022. She tore her ACL that summer with her previous club Lyon.

The United States women’s national team will be hosting Brazil, Japan and Canada in the 2024 SheBelieves Cup in Atlanta and Columbus.

All four nations competed in last year’s SheBelieves Cup which saw the USWNT win all three games and lift the trophy.

The 2024 edition will have a different format. Rather than having all four teams play each other, the tournament will begin with semifinal games, followed by a championship and third-place game.

SheBelieves Cup 2024 teams