England are starting their defense of the SheBelieves Cup this week, the invitational tournament starting Thursday evening.
Phil Neville’s Lionesses won the cup in 2019, with victories over Japan and Brazil and a draw against the United States, who would become world champions later that year.
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Can England keep the SheBelieves Cup this year?
This year, they begin their campaign against the host country, the United States, at midnight Thursday. England will also face Japan and Spain next Sunday and Wednesday respectively.
England have not been in the best shape since losing in the 2019 Women’s World Cup semi-finals, winning just two games in seven.
Their preparation for the tournament was not entirely ideal either, with controversy over how they traveled to America. The Lionesses flew economy class rather than taking a charter flight like senior men and those under the age of 21 would.
As long as England is there, they can win it, but what are their chances?
talkSPORT.com consulted with women’s football expert and host of talkSPORT’s weekly women’s football show, Faye Carruthers, for an overview of the SheBelieves Cup…
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talkSPORT consulted Carruthers (left) for a preview of the upcoming SheBelieves Cup
What do you think of England’s chances?
I think England have a decent chance, but we will see fairly quickly if there has been any progress with the first game against the United States.
It will be interesting to see how they will behave against the world champions in Orlando, keeping in mind that their last meeting was in the World Cup semifinals.
England’s performances have been far from convincing since then and Phil Neville has not had a training camp with his team since the friendly matches in November.
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Phil Neville has struggled to get a player look since last summer’s World Cup
Do you think that the history of England flying in a higher economy class instead of a charter flight will affect their preparation?
I don’t think it will affect their preparation – I spoke to reporters who were in the air with the team and said they were relaxed and happy.
Obviously arriving at a busy airport with fans waiting for your autograph and selfies is not ideal after a nine hour flight, but the team was happy to pose with their supporters. This could have been avoided, however, if an aircraft had been chartered as the senior men’s and under 21 team.
By all accounts, there was an option for part of the team to steal business and other premium economics, but they decided they all preferred to sit together. Hopefully, this flight was sufficiently restful not to affect their preparations too much since they will have had four to five days to recover.
Which player should we look for?
Megan Rapinoe of course! The Ballon d’Or winner, named FIFA Best, and she won the Golden Boot and the Ballon d’or at the 2019 World Cup.
She hasn’t played much football since, but even at 34, don’t strike her off. She has the ability to turn any game on her head.
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Will we see Rapinoe’s iconic celebration at the tournament?
Who do you think will be the top scorer?
Beth England! She is in great shape for Chelsea – she scored twice in the Continental Cup victory against Arsenal on Saturday, including a spectacular late winner.
She is the top joint scorer in the Women’s Super League with 14 goals this season and I warn her to make a real mark on the international stage.
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England (right) has 19 goals in all competitions for Chelsea this season
Who do you think will win the SheBelieves Cup?
I don’t think you can look any further than the United States because they are world champions. They also have an additional incentive to do their wage discrimination case against US Soccer well while awaiting trial.
They are in great form under new coach Vlatko Andonovski, winning all seven games under his leadership, scoring 34 goals and conceding only two.
Don’t write off Japan, however; they are a young team in transition and under construction towards the Tokyo Olympics, so they will want to prove themselves against the best.
