Women's World Football

The United States' women's national team will continue their preparations for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup on Sunday, when they host Belgium in Los Angeles.

The Red Flames narrowly missed out on a ticket to the World Cup and should provide the Stars and Stripes with a solid test. The hosts are still clear favourites, however, courtesy of their superior depth and the all-around talent in the squad.

ESPN 2 will broadcast the match, which is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET. Live-stream options can be found here.

Belgium's women's national team may not have scaled the heights of their male counterparts yet, but the Red Flames have steadily improved in the past few years and have traveled to the United States high on confidence.

They are unbeaten in 2019, with their most recent loss coming all the way back in April of last year. They nearly qualified for the World Cup for the first time, losing out to Switzerland on away goals in the play-offs.

The squad includes several strong international players, most notably Tessa Wullaert, who leads the current selection in scoring and plays her club football for Manchester City.

The USWNT have already played a friendly during this international break, a spectacular 5-3 win against Australia. It was a back-and-forth affair that included several great goals, including this effort from Mallory Pugh that put the final score on the board:

Manager Jill Ellis spoke to the press after the contest:

For Sunday's hosts, preparations for the 2019 World Cup have not gone as planned. They have won just three of their six outings this year and have been hamstrung by the lack of a clear top choice in goal.

The Matildas took full advantage, putting three goals past Alyssa Naeher. The stopper was hardly aided by her defence, which usually plays at a high level but made several key errors against Australia.

Fortunately for the Stars and Stripes, Belgium's attack should be less potent than that of Australia. The Matildas came into their friendly against the United States with a perfect record in 2019 and have been regulars at the World Cup for years.

The Belgians shouldn't be underestimated, but they don't carry the same scoring threat as the Matildas. As long as the Stars and Stripes can keep Wullaert at bay, they should be able to record a third clean sheet of the year.

Prediction: USA 3-0 Belgium

England women's manager Phil Neville has revealed his team want to become a dominant force like New Zealand's All Blacks have in rugby union.

The Lionesses are gearing up for the FIFA Women's World Cup this summer, and Neville spoke about their aims.

Per BBC Sport, he said in the next decade they want to become "one of the greatest teams in the world" and "to be talked about like the All Blacks, leave legacies that the young kids of today will always remember."

"[We were] talking about objectives," he added. "I wanted them to say 'win the World Cup' but they went bigger. I was like, 'wow, they're thinking bigger than I thought they were.' I had to readjust my own objectives."

As far as sports teams go, few would be better to emulate than the All Blacks.

New Zealand lifted the Rugby World Cup in 1987, 2011 and 2015 and have won 449 of their 586 matches since they began competing in 1903, a staggering success rate of 79 per cent.

The Lionesses finished third at the World Cup in 2015 and reached the semi-finals of the 2017 UEFA Women's Championship two years later.

Ahead of this year's World Cup, England warmed up for the tournament by winning the 2019 SheBelieves Cup.

The Lionesses beat Brazil 2-1, drew 2-2 with world champions USA and then beat Japan 3-0 to seal the trophy:

Alex Scott, who earned 140 caps for England before her international retirement in 2017, is hoping the team can build on that success:

So too is Neville, who told the Daily Mail's Dominic King: 

"We have to capitalise on this boom before, during and after the World Cup. If we don't it will be an absolute disgrace. We can take women's football up to a level nobody ever dreamed—it's that big a movement. I took the job because I thought it could be like this."

As a result of their success, England will be one of the teams to beat in France this summer:

There's a long way to go before they're a dominant force, though.

The United States can lay claim to that status, having reached the final in four of the seven Women's World Cups and won three times, as well as finishing third on every occasion they did not make it there.

It's an ambitious aim from the Lionesses, and if they can match it with a winning mentality from their recent success and put in another excellent showing at the World Cup, they'll have a strong platform to continue building on in the coming years.  

The No. 1 U.S. women's national team took to the Dick's Sporting Goods Park pitch against No. 6 Australia on Thursday night and left Commerce City, Colorado, with a 5-3 victory. 

The match was the U.S. women's final contest against a top-10 opponent prior to the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, which kicks off June 7 in France. 

The U.S. debuted their World Cup away kits, and forward Alex Morgan broke hers in the best way possible with her 100th career international goal in the 14th minute. Morgan weaved her way down the left side before striking the ball in the center of the box. 

The 29-year-old star became just the seventh U.S. soccer player to eclipse 100 goals and did so in 159 appearances. 

Australia midfielder Lisa De Vanna silenced the celebration in the 29th minute with the equalizer as the U.S. defense left her alone in the box. The Matildas capitalized on sloppy U.S. play quickly after halftime with a goal from forward Caitlin Foord in the 47th minute to give Australia a 2-1 lead.

Frustration boiled over into a yellow card for the U.S.'s Megan Rapinoe in the 49th, but Tobin Heath tied the contest back up in the 53rd minute when she headed a cross into the back of the net. Heath had been the one predominantly creating chances for the U.S. in the first half.

Rapinoe then redeemed her earlier card in the 61st minute, scoring from the top of the box to give the U.S. a 3-2 lead.

The 33-year-old exited in the 66th minute when hometown prodigy Mallory Pugh subbed on for her. Just 38 seconds later, 20-year-old Pugh made her presence known by capitalizing on cheeky passing in the box to extend the lead to 4-2. She chipped in her second of the night to seal it in the 95th minute.

The U.S. came away with the win but struggled to close it out as Australia forward Samantha Kerr cut the U.S. lead to 4-3 in the 81st minute. The Matildas had several chances afterward to leave Colorado with a tie, but the U.S. defense did just enough to hold.

Tepid Defensive Showing a Reminder U.S. Can't Take Favorite Status for Granted

Australia's three goals marked the fourth time since the start of 2019 that the U.S. has conceded multiple goals, which is a stark regression from the team shutting out eight of nine opponents to end 2018. 

The Americans are heading to the World Cup favored to defend their 2015 title, but the defense has a lot to tighten up between now and June. All three of Australia's goals Thursday night were products of poor form in the back third. 

To start, De Vanna was left wide open to streak down the left side of the box, allowing her to square up and zip the ball into the top left corner past U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher.

The American attack snapped into form in the second half and finished the game with 17 shots (11 on goal), but the same was not true of the defense.

Just two minutes into the second half, central midfielder Julie Ertz played a poor ball into the middle of the field intended for Morgan. It was intercepted instead, and Foord carved through six defenders to give her side a 2-1 lead.

"Can't win a World Cup if you're letting in goals like that right now," Fox Sports 1 analyst Alexi Lalas said after the match. "You want to go with [head coach] Jill Ellis, you wanna go to the World Cup this summer and just try to out-gun and outscore teams, you're gonna come up against somebody who can score more goals than you or you're gonna come up against somebody that's better [at] defending than you. 

"It's a problem. They cannot be letting in these types of goals."

During their World Cup run in 2015, the U.S. gave up just three goals total and shut out five opponents. The back four then was Ali Krieger, Meghan Klingenberg, Julie Ertz and Becky Sauerbrunn. 

On Thursday night, Ertz started at central midfielder while Sauerbrunn was the only remaining defensive piece from 2015. Alongside her were Crystal Dunn, Abby Dahlkemper and Emily Sonnett. Krieger, meanwhile, sat on the bench, did not play and hasn't seen minutes since April 2017. 

Dunn, Dahlkemper and Sonnett were not on the 2015 World Cup roster, while Dunn is transitioning from forward to defense.

Ellis, per the FS1 broadcast, aims to have her World Cup roster finalized prior to the team's next friendly on May 12. The back four will undoubtedly be the unit at which she looks the hardest. 

What's Next? 

The U.S. women will next face off with Belgium on April 7 at 9 p.m. EST from Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles. View the U.S.'s full Countdown to the Cup schedule at the official website.

Australia's first World Cup game will be against Italy in Group C play on June 9. 

After being stuck on 99 the past two games, Alex Morgan made history with her 100th international goal during the United States women's national team's friendly against Australia on Thursday night.

It was a goal in the 14th minute that not only put the U.S. on top but also earned her a spot in the record books:

Not a bad way to break in the new kits.

Morgan becomes the seventh American woman to reach the century mark:

USWNT legend Mia Hamm took to social media to congratulate Baby Horse:

Her next goal would break a tie with Tiffeny Milbrett, and she sits just five goals back of teammate Carli Lloyd for fifth. Abby Wambach, one of Morgan's former teammates, is the all-time leading scorer in women's soccer history with 184 career international goals.

Paul Carr of TruMedia Networks provided some interesting statistics on Morgan's prolific scoring abilities:

In honor of the latest accomplishment by one of its stars, Nike will be selling a special boot, per Heidi Burgett:

Now that this milestone is out of the way, Morgan can turn her full attention toward this summer's Women's World Cup.

The United States women's national team finished 2018 with 10 victories on the bounce.

Five games into 2019, Jill Ellis' side have two wins, two draws and a defeat on the record.

With the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup looming, they have tested themselves against some of the best in the world this year.

The defeat came against France in January, before 1-0 wins against Spain and Brazil came either side of back-to-back draws with Japan and England in the SheBelieves Cup.

Things don't get any easier on Thursday when the U.S. take on Australia at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Denver in a friendly.

Date: Thursday, April 4

Time: 9 p.m. ET, 2 a.m. BST (Friday)

TV Info: Fox Sports 1 (U.S.)

Live Stream: Fox Sports Go

The Matildas are the sixth-ranked side in the world and have proved tough opponents for the USWNT recently.

On their way to winning the 2015 FIFA World Cup, the U.S. beat Australia 3-1 in Group D.

In 2017, though, the Aussies got their revenge with a 1-0 win at the Tournament of Nations before the two sides shared the spoils with a 1-1 draw at the same tournament a year later.

It would be a surprise if Thursday's meeting between the two sides wasn't another close encounter.

Australia are in fine form, having won four games on the bounce, most recently downing Argentina 3-0 to capture the inaugural Cup of Nations on March 6.

Every player on the pitch will be looking to impress as they aim to be included in the respective squads that will travel to France for the World Cup.

As the top-ranked team in the world and defending champions, the USWNT are the favourites for that tournament.

However, it is becoming increasingly clear they will face major challenges from the likes of France, England, Germany and Japan. And Ante Milicic's Australia side will want to lay down a marker in Colorado by beating the USWNT in their own back yard.

The U.S. have five more matches to play before the World Cup, with the Australia match being followed by games against Belgium, South Africa, New Zealand and Mexico:

Thursday could be a landmark day for Megan Rapinoe if she gets on the field, as it will mark her 150th cap at the age of 33.

Meanwhile, Alex Morgan, 29, is just one goal away from reaching her century at senior international level.  

The United States will be aiming to secure their first win of the 2019 SheBelieves Cup on Saturday against England after beginning the defence of their title with a 2-2 draw against Japan.

The result left the holders second in the table after the first round of matches. England, who came from 1-0 down to beat Brazil 2-1 in their opening match, are the leaders.

The hosts will still be considered favourites despite their shaky start. They have only lost to the Lionesses once on home soil, back in the 2017 edition of the tournament.

Date: Saturday, March 2

Time: 9:30 p.m. GMT, 4:30 p.m. ET

TV Info: BBC Two (UK), Fox Sports 1 (U.S.)

Live Stream: BBC Sport Live (UK), Fox Sports Go (U.S.)

Preview

The United States know they will need to improve if they are to beat England after mistakes cost them against Japan.

Alex Morgan opened her account for the tournament with the United States' second goal and is aware of the challenge against Phil Neville's team in Nashville, Tennessee.

"Having this disappointing tie right now, all eyes are on England," she said, per the Associated Press (h/t the Guardian). "They're a good team defensively. They're very organized. So it will be a tough challenge for us."

The 29-year-old's strike against Japan was her 99th international goal and means she could hit a landmark if she nets against the Lionesses:

Manager Jill Ellis is without two key players in Lindsey Horan and Becky Sauerbrunn for this tournament because of injury, and the duo were missed against Japan.

Mallory Pugh came into the team as a replacement for Horan but could not provide the same link between defence and attack, and it was substitute Christen Press who once again impressed:

Ellis will need to get her team selection right against England, who will be confident after making a strong start to the tournament.

Goals from Ellen White and Beth Mead saw them recover from going behind to Andressa Alves' early penalty:

Yet England were sloppy throughout the match and left Neville angry at half-time, per Molly Hudson at The Times.

"We were not playing how we should have played," he said. "I was probably a little bit harsh on them at half-time because my frustration and anger boiled over a little bit, but in the second half, they showed what I wanted them to be with spirit, togetherness and enjoyment."

While England showed great spirit to come back and secure the win, they will need to sharpen up if they are to pick up a rare win over the world champions.