Five Things to Know About #ToN2018

After winning the 2018 SheBelieves Cup on March 7, the U.S. Women’s National Team will aim to add another trophy to its large collection when it competes against Australia, Brazil and Japan at the 2018 Tournament of Nations this summer.

Australia won the inaugural tournament last year, defeating the USA in the opening game on July 27, which was the USA’s most recent loss. The Americans are unbeaten since defeating Brazil in this tournament on July 30, 2017 so the matchups between several of the world’s top teams promise to make this a can’t-miss-event. Here are five things you should know ahead of this summer’s Tournament of Nations:

#ToN2018: WATCH IT ON FS1
From July 26-Aug. 2, U.S. Soccer is set host its second four-team elite international tournament of the year as Australia, Brazil and Japan come to the USA for the 2018 Tournament of Nations.

The round-robin tournament will feature three doubleheaders and will take place in three venues: Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City; Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Connecticut; and at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois.

The USA is currently ranked first in the world, Japan is sixth, Brazil is seventh and Australia eighth. The next set of FIFA rankings comes out in June. U.S. Soccer is planning to host this tournament every summer during the years that do not feature a World Cup or Olympic Games meaning that after this summer’s event, the third edition will take place in 2021, with the Women’s World Cup (2019) and the Olympic Games (2020) taking place in between.

Schedule

Date	Matches	Stadium	City	Kickoff (Local/ET)	TV
July 26	Brazil vs. Australia	Children’s Mercy Park	Kansas City, Kan.	3:15 p.m. / 4:15 p.m.
July 26	USA vs. Japan	Children’s Mercy Park	Kansas City, Kan.	6 p.m. / 7 p.m.	FS1
July 29	Japan vs. Brazil	Pratt & Whitney Stadium	East Hartford, Conn.	4:15 p.m.
July 29	USA vs. Australia	Pratt & Whitney Stadium	East Hartford, Conn.	7 p.m.	FS1
Aug. 2	Australia vs. Japan	Toyota Park	Bridgeview, Ill.	4:45 p.m. / 5:45 p.m.
Aug. 2	USA vs. Brazil	Toyota Park	Bridgeview, Ill.	7:30 p.m. / 8:30 p.m.	FS1

All three USA games will be broadcast on FS1. Matches can also be live-streamed via FOX Sports GO at FOXSports.com, FOX Now and through the FOX Sports and FOX Sports GO apps on iOS and Android, and on connected devices, including Apple TV, Android TV, FireTV, Roku, Chromecast and Xbox One. Broadcast information for the non-USA games will be announced later.

You can follow along all six games on Twitter@ussoccerand @ussoccer_wnt, and on Instagram @ussoccer_wnt .

TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The tournament format will be the same as the SheBelieves Cup. The winner of the round-robin competition will be based on total points (three for a win, one for a tie), with the first tie-breaker being overall goal difference, followed by most total goals scored, then the head-to-head result and lastly, FIFA Ranking if necessary.

USA VS. AUSTRALIA, BRAZIL AND JAPAN
The USA is 25-1-2 all-time against the Matildas. More recently, the USA played Australia in a tightly-contested match at last year’s Tournament of Nations, losing 1-0 to the fast-rising Australians. Despite a furious second-half push, the U.S. WNT could not create an equalizer. It was the Australia’s first win against the USA in its history. Australia made it to the quarterfinal of the 2015 Women’s World Cup before falling 1-0 to Japan, and then made it to the quarterfinal of the 2016 Olympic tournament the following year, but fell to Brazil in a penalty kick shootout that went eight players deep.

Against Brazil, the USA is 27-3-5 all-time in a series that has featured some epic matches, with the latest installment coming during the Tournament of Nations last year. On July 30, 2017, the USA was down 3-1 in the 79th minute against Brazil and looking at a possible second consecutive loss in the tournament. Instead, the USA did something its done time-and-time again, it fought back, and pulled off one of the most exhilarating comebacks in WNT history while scoring three goals in nine minutes to earn the victory and start an unbeaten streak that has continued well into 2018.

Other epic USA vs. Brazil games includes the gold medal games of the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, both U.S. wins in overtime, a semifinal loss for the USA at the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup and a penalty kick win during the quarterfinal at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup that featured Abby Wambach’s last gasp header in overtime, one of the most famous goals in U.S. history.

The USA and Japan have played 34 times, and the USA leads the series with a 27-1-7 record. The two teams have met in plenty of thrilling women’s international soccer matches, including three of the last four world championship finals. At last year’s Tournament of Nations, the USA came into the game invigorated following its epic win against Brazil, and shutout Japan, 3-0, in front of a sellout crowd in Carson, California.

QUALIFIED FOR FRANCE: AUSTRALIA, BRAZIL AND JAPAN ARE WORLD CUP BOUND
Australia, Brazil and Japan have all now booked their tickets to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.

Australia and Japan qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup by finishing first and second respectively in Group B at the 2018 AFC Asian Cup in Jordan. The two countries tied 1-1 in group play and both teams won their semifinal matches, Australia against Thailand in penalty kicks after a 2-2 tie in regulation, and Japan against China, 3-1, setting up a rematch in the championship game. Japan came out victorious, 1-0, on an 84th minute strike from Kumi Yokoyama.

Brazil qualified by finishing in first place in the final stage of the 2018 Copa América Femenina in Chile. Brazil won all four of its opening-round games by a 22-1 margin to advance to the four-team final stage where it beat Chile (3-1), Argentina (3-0) and Colombia (3-0). In front of huge home crowds, Chile finished second in the final stage group to also qualify for France while Argentina finished third and will face the fourth-place finisher from the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship in a two-game playoff for a final World Cup berth.

The USA will be playing for its World Cup berth when it hosts the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship in October.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TOURNAMENT OF NATIONS
Following in the footsteps of the SheBelieves Cup, the Tournament of Nations brings together some of the best women’s soccer players and teams in the world while celebrating the increasingly competitive nature of the women’s game worldwide.

While the SheBelieves Cup emphasizes the U.S. WNT’s campaign to inspire young girls and women to believe in their dreams – themes that are at the forefront whenever the USA plays a match, the Tournament of Nations focuses on the ability of international soccer to create connections across geography and culture. The Tournament of Nations is a competition that speaks to the diversity of our fans and their respect for the game world-wide, which facilitates global connections both on and off the field.

This tournament will celebrate some of the world’s best soccer players, many of whom compete in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). There are currently 10 Australian players, seven Brazilian players and four Japanese players in the NWSL.