With World Cup closing in, SheBelieves Cup takes on added importance for USWNT

The U.S. will have a chance to replicate the knockout phase of this summer’s tournament in France in its upcoming three matches

The U.S. women’s national team shouldn’t have much trouble getting out of their group at this summer’s World Cup in France.

Thailand, Sweden and Chile will be the opponents in Group F. The top-ranked Americans are expected to breeze through and reach the tournament’s last 16, where the stakes and the competition will be raised considerably.

For Jill Ellis’ team, the SheBelieves Cup, which kicks off Wednesday against Japan in Chester, Pa., won’t be the last test before the World Cup, but it will be the biggest and the most reminiscent of the tournament’s knockout stage.

And that’s why the SheBelieves Cup will take on added importance this time around in comparison to recent years, when it served more as three glorified friendlies.

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After taking on Japan, the U.S. will travel to Nashville to face England on Saturday before heading to Tampa to close out the tournament against Brazil on Tuesday.

The variation in style and overall quality of all three teams the U.S. will face make this tournament an ideal tune-up.

“It’s exactly how we want these teams in here because they’re so unique,” Ellis said at her press conference on Tuesday.

“Each team has a unique skill set and obviously I think for us we’re going to take it one game at a time but I think what we also look at is what common things do these three teams have and what things do we need to sharpen.”