5 biggest threats to the USWNT’s World Cup crown

The USWNT are the favorite heading into France in 2019. Here’s a look at a few teams that have a chance at knocking them off this tournament.

Heading into the 2019 World Cup in France, the United States women’s national team are the favorite to win the title. As the defending champions and the No. 1-ranked team in the world, it’s no shock the Americans are favored to win their fourth World Cup this summer. But there are 23 other teams vying for that top spot and a handful of contenders right up there with the United States.

The five biggest threats to the USWNT repeating as champions really shouldn’t be a shock to those who follow the women’s game. The top three biggest threats right now are the hosts, France, Germany and Australia. Rounding out the group is England and Japan. Brazil and Canada are two other teams to keep an eye on, but right now they fall just outside the top five.

France

Outside of the U.S., the team with the most buzz around them is the host nation. The French are looking to hold both the men’s and women’s World Cup trophies by the end of the tournament and there’s no better place for them to try and accomplish that goal but on home soil. France have one of the more experienced sides in this tournament and will be looking to capitalize off that. The French team have never reached the final of this tournament, let alone won, so there’s plenty of pressure.

They have seven players from the club team Lyon, who are coming off a 4-1 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League final. That championship experience will serve them well come June and July. Amandine Henry and Eugenie Le Sommer are two attacking players to keep an eye on for France. It will be a tough test to win on home soil, but it’s a challenge that the French team will gladly take on.

Germany

Germany are an interesting team to watch out for. Obviously they’re one of the top programs in the history of women’s soccer, with two World Cup titles to their name. But this isn’t the Germany of old and that can be a little bit concerning. They’re still the No. 2 team in the world and are coming off a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

After winning six straight European Championships, and eight out of the last nine, the Germans made it to just the quarterfinals in 2017. They’ll have an uphill climb in 2019, but should have no problem getting out of their group this tournament. Leading the way for them this time around will be their captain, Dzsenifer Marozsan. Marozsan also plays for Lyon, so she’s very familiar with the French. In 2019, she finished in third place for the first ever Ballon d’Or Feminin.

Australia

Australia are probably the least likely of these three teams to cause an upset. After changing coaches in early 2019, it’s still unclear what this team will look like in this year’s tournament. The Aussies are the best team coming out of Europe and have one of the best players in the world on their team in Sam Kerr. This is also a team that have many players playing in the U.S. so they’re familiar with the Americans and know the system pretty well. If they’re going to have a chance in this tournament, they’re going to need to play well defensively and not just rely on the offense to take them through.

Kerr is definitely the player to watch on the team for Australia. Through six NWSL games this season, Kerr has six goals and one assist to lead the league. She’s playing at the top of her game and that’s exactly where this Australia team needs her if they’re going to have a chance at pulling this thing off.

England

England are one of two teams just outside this top tier of challengers to the U.S. After reaching the semifinals of the European Championship and finishing third in the 2015 World Cup, the England women’s national team continue to prove they belong near the top. But it will be interesting to see if they can get over that last hurdle and make it to the final. They will rely heavily on a group of seven players from the FA Women’s Super League champions Manchester City.

Nikita Parris is a player to keep an eye on for the English. She’s the Football Writers’ Association’s Women’s Footballer of the Year and an important piece to the front line for the Lionesses. Will England be able to bring football home in 2019? It will be a full team effort for England if they want to leave France with a trophy.

Japan

Japan are one of those teams that will always be around and tough to deal with. They’ll be matched up in the same group as England so that will definitely present a challenge for both squads. But if this team taught us anything in 2011, it’s that Japan should never be underestimated. After finishing in second place in the 2015 World Cup and missing out on the 2016 Olympics, the team underwent some serious changes. This will definitely be a different looking squad in 2019.

Outside looking in

Brazil and Canada are two teams that are just on the bubble in 2019. Both teams have some major question marks heading into the tournament. For Brazil, it’s still unclear how healthy Marta will be come tournament time and that could make or break the team. Without her, the team could be so different, not to mention seriously lacking in the leadership department. As for Canada, they haven’t scored many goals as of late and that’s a big concern. While they also haven’t been giving up a ton of goals, it still is not a situation you want to find yourself in come tournament time.