The U.S. women’s national team announced its 23-player roster Wednesday for the 2023 SheBelieves Cup, which kicks off on Feb. 16 in Orlando.
Star forward Megan Rapinoe (ankle) and Sophia Smith (foot) missed the January camp with nagging injuries. Rapinoe will return for the February camp, but Smith remains out of the lineup.
The round-robin tournament features four of the top 11 teams in the FIFA women’s world ranking. Canada (No. 6), Brazil (No. 9) and Japan (No. 11) join the USWNT, which maintained its hold on the No. 1 spot in the final ranking of 2022 despite losing three straight games for the first time since 1993.
Canada features in the tournament for the second time after first appearing in 2021. Both Brazil and Japan have played in the tournament twice, with Japan’s last appearance coming in 2020 and Brazil’s in 2021.
In last year’s SheBelieves Cup, the USWNT won for the third straight time, beating out the Czech Republic, Iceland and New Zealand.
The 2023 round-robin tournament will be held in Orlando, Nashville and Frisco, Texas, as the USWNT prepares to make a run at a third consecutive World Cup title starting in July.
