Boca Raton Set To Host Three-Time World Cup Champions in March

Carli Lloyd, left, of the United States beats Elena Morozova to score one of her two goals in the Amercans' 7-0 victory versus Russia in 2014

Carli Lloyd, left, of the United States beats Elena Morozova to score one of her two goals in the Americans’ 7-0 victory versus Russia in 2014

The 2015 Women’s FIFA World Cup Champions are heading back to Boca Raton in March alongside England, France, and Germany as part of the SheBelieves Cup.

The four-team international tournament, which features four of the top five ranked women’s national teams in the world, will be held from March 3 until the 9th in Tampa Bay, Nashville, and closing out the Tournament in Boca Raton.

The SheBelieves Cup is a showcase event for the campaign, which will continue to spread its positive message to young women and girls.

Tickets for all three doubleheaders go on sale to the public Friday, Jan. 15, at 10 a.m. local time through ussoccer.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers in the local venue areas. Tickets are not sold at either Raymond James Stadium or FAU Stadium except on the day of the event.

The winner of the tournament 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 tournament goals scored, then head-to-head result and lastly, FIFA Ranking if necessary.

The USA is currently first in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings. Germany is ranked second, France is third and England is fifth. The USA, Germany and England all advanced to semifinals of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup with Germany beating France in a quarterfinal penalty kick shootout to earn its spot in the last four.

“When I took this job, one of my main objectives was to play the best teams in the world during our preparation periods and you can’t ask for better matches,” said Ellis. “This is another sign of U.S. Soccer’s dedication to the women’s game to organize a tournament like this, which will bring some of the world’s best teams and players to the USA. To get the chance to play these great teams on home soil is a treat for our fans and extremely valuable in the further evolution of our team. These are the kinds of games where you get tested all over the field and can really evaluate players and learn a lot about ourselves.”

All three matches carry some significant storylines for the USA. The meeting with Germany will be the first since the epic 2015 Women’s World Cup semifinal, a 2-0 U.S. victory. The meeting with France will be the first since the 2015 Algarve Cup championship game, a 2-0 U.S. win that reversed a 2-0 loss in the teams’ first match of 2015. The meeting with England will be the first since the USA’s narrow 1-0 victory in Milton Keynes, England in early February of last year that sparked a 24-game unbeaten streak which included the run to the World Cup title.

In addition, the other matches carry tremendous intrigue with Germany facing France in a rematch of their Women’s World Cup quarterfinal, and England taking on Germany, the team it defeated in the third-place match of the Women’s World Cup.

The 2015 FIFA Women’s Player of the Year, Carli Llyod, is expected to be among the 25 Ellis call on for the tournament.

The US Women’s National team has played five matches in Boca Raton, including two at FAU Stadium, a 4-1 win versus China PR in 2012, and a 7-0 victory over Russia in 2014.