US women to host Japan, Colombia and Australia in 10th SheBelieves Cup

FILE - From left; United States’ Naomi Girma, Trinity Rodman, Crystal Dunn, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith listen to the national anthem ahead of a women’s Group B soccer match between Australia and the United States, at the Marseille Stadium during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Marseille, France. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)

CHICAGO (AP) — The U.S. women’s national team will host Australia, Japan and Colombia in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup.

The 10th annual edition of the tournament will be played in Houston, San Diego and Glendale, Arizona, from Feb. 23-26, U.S. Soccer announced Wednesday.

The teams, which all played in the Paris Olympics this summer, will each play three games, one game apiece in each city, with the winner determined by points.

Because of the Olympics, the ninth edition of the SheBelieves Cup was abbreviated, with each team playing two games over two match days.

“All four of these teams were in the last World Cup and Olympics, and all are in the building process to qualify for the next World Cup, so to get three games against talented teams and players in a format that replicates group play at a world championship is valuable in our process,” U.S. coach Emma Hayes said in a statement.

The gold medal-winning United States will open with Colombia in Houston on Feb. 20, following by a match between Japan and Australia. The tournament moves to Glendale on Feb 23, with Colombia facing Japan before the U.S. plays Australia.

The final matches will be played on Feb. 26 in San Diego, with Australia playing Colombia before the U.S. faces Japan.

The matches are the first scheduled for home soil for the United States in 2025.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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