U.S. women start defense of
PARIS — The U.S. women’s national team is the favorite to win the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, but the Americans know they have little room for error.
This will be the largest and most competitive Women’s World Cup ever in terms of competition, prize money, marketing, sponsorships and projected attendance. And attention is on the No. 1 ranked USWNT, which will play for a second consecutive World Cup title and a fourth overall, having also won in 1991, 1999 and 2015.
“Going into 2015, I said, ‘This will be the hardest World Cup to win — it’s more teams, more countries,’” U.S. coach Jill Ellis said during a Wednesday press conference at Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre in North London. “And now four years on, I’m going to say the same thing: This will be the hardest World Cup.”
The Women’s World Cup began Friday when host France beat South Korea at Le Parc des Princes stadium in Paris.
A total of 24 teams, drawn into six groups of four, are in the eighth edition of the tournament. Teams in a group play each other once, and the two teams with the most points in each group automatically advance to the knockout phase. The top four third-place finishers also will advance. The World Cup final will be played July 7 in Lyon.
The USWNT arrived in France Thursday, following a week-long training camp in England and begins training Saturday in Reims leading to its opening Group F match Tuesday at 3 p.m. against Thailand. Fox will broadcast all U.S. group-stage games.
Women’s soccer has seen unprecedented growth since the last World Cup, domestically and internationally, and multiple countries pose a