USA vs. Colombia and Japan vs. Australia, 2025 She Believes Cup: Match thread
The 2025 She Believes Cup, an annual international tournament hosted by the United States, kicks off today. This year’s version brings together strong teams from four different continents — USA, Australia, Japan, and Colombia — to play a series of six round robin matches.
With Washington Spirit players featuring on three of four teams in the tournament, feel free to use this thread to talk about both of today’s matches!
First up, eighth-ranked Japan take on 15th-place Australia. Australia are coming off of some mixed results in 2024, when they failed to get past the group stage in the Olympics and are 3-1-2 (W-D-L) in international friendlies since then. They are led by interim coach Tom Sermanni in this tournament. Japan also have a new head coach, Nils Nielson, who most recently coached the Switzerland Women’s National Team. In 2024, they advanced out of the Olympic group stage but lost to the United States in the quarterfinal. Narumi Miura, who Washington Spirit signed out of free agency this offseason, will be available to play for Japan.
Next, the hosts will play Colombia, an opponent who knows how to push the USA’s buttons, resulting in some dramatics at recent matches between the two. Colombia are ranked 21st by FIFA and, like Japan, made it to the quarterfinals of last year’s Olympics before losing to Spain on penalties. They’ll be joined by Spirit midfielder Leicy Santos, who scored two goals for her country last year.
Santos will have the opportunity to face off against teammate Tara McKeown, who has the chance to play her first international match for Emma Hayes’s USWNT. The team has been successful under Hayes’s leadership so far, but this tournament’s squad looks very different from the one that won the Olympics, as the coach looks to expand and develop the talent pool.
Japan vs. Australia
Advertised Kick-off Time: 5 p.m. Eastern
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, TX
Available TV: Universo (Spanish)
Available streaming: Max (English), Peacock (Spanish)
USA vs. Colombia
Advertised Kick-off Time: 8 p.m. Eastern
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, TX
Available TV: TBS (English), Universo (Spanish)
Available streaming: Max (English), Peacock (Spanish)
Japan Starting XI: https://x.com/jfa_nadeshiko/status/1892681178987311502
Miura is available off the bench
Australia Starting XI: https://x.com/TheMatildas/status/1892673743266148449
Thanks, Annie. Always love to have a live thread for matches of interest. I hope that Tara McKeown starts. She’s become my favorite Spirit. Impressive that in her conversion from forward to center back she’s national team caliber.
Tara Mckeown is starting! First cap! Lily is also getting her first start, so that’s awesome, too
Ahhhh, so happy for Tara! This is overall a pretty fun lineup, and I’m curious to see how the newer players perform (and who will be ready to step to Colombia in the way they’ll need to).
For me, the intriguing players are Mckeown, Lily, and Macario. The first two are sorta self explanatory, but Macario gets a chance to play the false nine that she was always expected to occupy. Injuries have been devastating, interesting to see what the coaches who have called her in have salivated over.
Oh, and Leicy Santos of Spirit fame is playmaker for Colombia
Um, Colombia’s Ramirez with what I’d charitably call “a bit of a shove” into Mckeown’s back. Geez, that was dirty
Mckeown with a good pass to free Nightswonger in space, but the left back does not complete the play. Horrible cross. Shame.
Insta-time wasting? 15th minute? Ok, Colombia. Way to kill momentum.
Nighswonger clangs the crossbar
The ref allowing a lot of just rough play from Colombia, as well as them falling down when we have momentum.
We likely won’t, but I sorta want to crush this team, if they’re not gonna honor the game with anything but dark arts
This is always the way with USA-Colombia. We have to get just as physical as them and eat the cards.
Gotta wonder what a yellow in this game would be for Colombia at this point. Probably a lot lower bar for us, but we’ll see
Yes! Great for Macario!
And man, what a tertiary assist by Yohannes
That ball was strong enough to break the line, delicate enough to die in Ryan’s path.
Geez, Ramirez dummies both CBs and really should have converted
Lily with another stellar pass, this time a through ball to Heaps, and it looks to have caused a Colombian player to twist wrong, have to depart
Are the Americans learning how to sell their falls?
The way Colombia are hitting them after they pass the ball, they’re getting plenty of practice
Congrats to the ref for a sightless, I mean, cardless first half
Honestly, Colombia have been cynical enough that no stretcher, no empathy.
You want to give players the benefit of the doubt with falls and potential injuries, they’ve lost it
Lily Yohannes is spoiling us with this passing
Macario gets Brazilian Jujitsu-ed by a Colombian defender, the ref decides it’s late enough in the game to do her job. Yellow
Sentnor scores a worldie, Moses!
Mckeown with the most technical of assists, yowza
Don’t know much about Cooper, but a Colombian defender just tried to shove her, and her center of gravity said “no thanks” on the way to a near assist. Respect
Yohannes just blocked a shot with Neo like agility.
What can’t she do? And follow up, when can she be president?
Not for about 18 years, sadly
Chacon wants Sonnett to use her health insurance, gets a yellow
Fuck, Reyes apparently has as subbed on just to shiv Heaps. She survives
Final whistle, pretty much total success in the circumstances. Two goals, clean sheet, no injuries and, shockingly for the game, not so much as a yellow.
Colombia have truly earned my disgust, particularly with late challenges on Sonnett, Heaps, and Biyendolo that couldn’t possibly have been more thuggish.
But, Lily Yohannes had a wildly successful first start, Macario is indeed a beast at false nine, and our depth was impressive. On we go.
I thought that Tara played a very solid game. Her sole mistake was missing a tackle on Ramirez in the 36th minute at the left corner top of the box. Ramirez then juked Sonnet, cutting to her left, but put a total sitter over the bar.
In the second half Tara got the assist on Sentor’s goal though Sentor largely created the space for her terrific shot.
Lily Yohannes is the real deal. The battle will be between Yohannes and Croix Bethune for USWNT playmaker.