The U.S. women’s national team begins their 2023 SheBelieves Cup campaign on Thursday evening, with high-profile matchups against Canada, Brazil and Japan that will replicate the patterns of group stage play against top World Cup-level competition.

Each of the four teams have a shot at walking away with the SBC title, but for the U.S. as hosts and reigning World Cup champions, expectations for wins at home will follow the team through all three matches. Canada will play the U.S. at their own game, Brazil’s attacking quality remains elite with a rising defense, and Japan brings an element of youthful vibrancy to their rebuild.

Fans will expect the U.S. to lift the trophy at the end of next week regardless.

Some of those expectations are increasingly unreasonable considering the level of competition, but in short, it’s also possible the USWNT really just needs a win.

Why the U.S. needs a SheBelieves win

Pre-World Cup USWNT friendly losses are basically woven into the recent history of the team. The U.S. lost their opening game to kick off the World Cup calendar years in both 2015 and 2019, and they didn’t win the 2019 SheBelieves Cup either (that honor went to England, though the USWNT did avoid dropping a game).

This year, the USWNT enters the SheBelieves Cup having lost three games in a row for the first time since 1993, before staging a not-quite-convincing bounce-back against Germany to close out 2022. Those results have to be considered part of the learning process, but at some point, confidence is more important than working out the kinks.

The USWNT’s prowess on the international stage has long been a common belief and a global reputation to bend games even when they are technically outplayed. This current team has been somewhat unfairly held to that standard as they find their own identity in the most competitive global field the sport has ever seen.

With the World Cup now only a few months away, the U.S. needs to start shaping the narrative of a group that is young and untested. Expectations can be crushing, and players who feel that responsibility most keenly don’t always seem to be the newest faces to the team.

Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle are World Cup champions, but since they’ve been tasked with leading the team’s midfield without Julie Ertz and Sam Mewis, they have had difficulty finding each other at times, causing too many turnovers. The defense, likewise, has made mental mistakes in crucial moments, and the attack has been frustrated by a lack of touches on the ball.

“[The team’s identity] has evolved, but I don’t think it has changed, and I truly believe in the competitiveness,” Vlatko Andonovski told the media on Wednesday. “I truly believe in the relentlessness and in the fearless mindset that these players have.”

Winning can cure mental blocks, and belief is something that has to be earned. A strong record at the SheBelieves Cup would give the team the most positive momentum it’s had since the Tokyo Olympics. It also would indicate that Andonovski’s preferred style of play is beginning to take hold, a development U.S. fans have long awaited.

Why the process is more important

There’s nothing wrong with being a little underrated going into a major tournament. Plus, the U.S. has things to work out on the field that could still benefit from being exposed. In a perfect world, the USWNT would be able to tweak their strategy and take three points, but their SheBelieves opponents will make that difficult and they’ve shown in recent months that they are not infallible to mistakes.

The U.S. is also dealing with personnel limitations going into their first game against Canada on Thursday night. Sophia Smith, the team’s leading scorer in 2022, is still working her way back from an offseason injury, and midfield engine Rose Lavelle will miss at least the first game with what Andonovski described as a “knock.” Injuries are going to be a reality for every team going into the World Cup. The U.S. has a chance to test their depth in February, altering their ceiling in the upcoming games.

“We have young players that are learning the identity of, or trying to fit in the identity of, the U.S. national team,” Andonovski said. “But to some degree, maybe it is better that some things feel like that and that we still haven’t shown our cards.”

If roster evaluation is still one of the primary purposes of a tournament of this level, there is some value in poor performances as there is in successful execution. The U.S. has a number of players still working their way back from injury, and time to make detailed evaluations has not been on Andonovski’s side.

Fear of a dropped result can’t get in the way of a commitment to figuring out how exactly Taylor Kornieck can best be used as a dual No. 6 or a hybrid No. 8, or whether attacking-minded fullbacks can successfully track back to absorb counterattacks. Andonovski has sculpted his team into a 4-3-3 (with the ability to turn into a 4-2-3-1) that plays in a pressing style, and if that style is still stifling creativity and causing defensive gaps, stopgap wins will not help the team in the long term.

Ultimately, if the U.S. can’t hang with the excellent squads competing in this year’s SheBelieves Cup, it’s better to know that now. U.S. Soccer has committed to Andonovski’s roster refresh project, but going in with false confidence led to the team being exposed in the last Olympics with no real Plan B in sight.

The U.S. comes into this tournament as the favorites on paper, with greater challenges on the horizon. They are best off absorbing expectations and executing, but this week will be a learning experience no matter who raises the trophy.

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

Watch more of Kelley on the Street:

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

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For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

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"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.