The ninth annual SheBelieves Cup kicks off tomorrow

The GIST: The ninth annual SheBelieves Cup kicks off tomorrow, with four of the world’s best women’s footy squads competing in a preview of this year’s Paris Olympics. Oui oui.

• But this edition of SheBelieves looks a bit different than years prior. The tourney was trimmed to four teams, so the winners of tomorrow’s semis head straight to Tuesday’s championship and the losers to the third-place match. Efficient.

No. 4 USWNT vs. No. 7 Japan — Tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. ET: The USWNT is dealing with a possibly tense locker room, but remains focused on clinching a fifth consecutive title.

• Forward Mallory Swanson, the all-time leading SheBelieves scorer, and high-powered forward Catarina Macario are expected to make their highly anticipated national team comebacks from injury, but veteran Japanese defender Saki Kumagai could stymie the Americans’ offensive efforts.

No. 9 CanWNT vs. No. 10 Brazil — Tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. ET: After a dismal performance at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the defending Olympic champion red and white are finding their stride, impressing at the Concacaf W Gold Cup (even when underwater) behind a strong showing from forward Adriana Leon.

• But CanWNT’s midfield woes may cause issues, which the legendary Marta and Brazil’s veterans can certainly expose, despite missing several of their own rising stars to injury. Nevertheless, they persist.