The 2016 She Believes Cup is under way as all four nations competed on Thursday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida. The United States and Germany ended the day with narrow victories, but they still earned the three crucial points.

The tempo of the two matches was expected: competitive. The four countries participating in this tournament are all in the top five of the FIFA Women’s Ranking.

So it was no surprise when there was only a combined two goals scored between the two games. However, there were multiple chances in the matches. A combination of 27 shots was created on Thursday between the four nations. The USWNT, Germany, England and France managed to place 12 of those on target. It is safe to say that the low number of goals scored in Tampa Bay did not happen because of a lack of effort.

Since the tournament of the heavy weight countries is a round robin, a victory in the opening match can go a long way. It can increase their chances of lifting the trophy on the finale on Wednesday, March ninth. Or a defeat in the opener will already make game two on Sunday a must win.

Let’s break down the games that took place on the opening day of the She Believes Cup.

Germany 1-0 France

This match up was number two of the world (Germany) versus number three (France), plus these two countries have a long and rich rivalry on the pitch. The two countries were relentless in the match in both offense and defense. Their offenses created a combined 14 shots and placed seven of them on target.

However, every step the offense took in this match was contested from both sides. It was a physical match as there were 19 fouls called and Die Nationalelf were shown three yellow cards in the heated game.

Germany and France did not score a lot goals but the battle to control the possesion was fierce. Photo provided by Mike Carlson-Associated Press.
Germany and France did not score a lot goals but the battle to control the possession was fierce. Photo provided by Mike Carlson-Associated Press.

The two goalkeepers were also forced to step up and keep their teams in the game. Sarah Bouhaddi (France) and Almuth Schult (Germany) combined for five saves. However, Bouhaddi was finally beaten in the 83rd minute. A powerful close range shot from Leonie Maier broke the deadlock and secured the Germans 1-0 victory.

USA 1-0 England

The United States were expected to win this match, but not struggle doing it. The Three Lionesses were not allowing the Yanks to push them around. In the first half 17-year-old striker Mallory Pugh was leading the attack for the Americans. She ran at defenders, sent in accurate crosses and made smart runs to keep the English on their toes. Besides her effort the Americans had nothing else going for them in the first 45 minutes.

The reason for that was the defensive discipline from England. They pressured the Yanks movement of the ball and were not afraid to rough them up. There was a combined 30 fouls between the two countries, the Three Lionesses committed 16 of them.

However, England’s smart possession and stubborn defense did not earn them a victory or a draw. Instead a moment of magic from substitute forward Crystal Dunn sunk the English in the 73rd minute.

U.S. attacker Mallory Pugh (Left) was causing the English defense troubles in the match on Thursday. Photo provided by Mike Carlson-Associated Press.
U.S. attacker Mallory Pugh (Left) was causing the English defense troubles in the first half on Thursday. Photo provided by Mike Carlson-Associated Press.

Dunn received a close and low pass from Meghan Klingenberg. She controlled the ball inside the box at the far left hand side. Dunn was closely guarded from behind, but she still lost the English player with a quick spin move to her right with the ball.

Her spin bought her some time to prepare for a shot. She lined it up and fired a rocket into the upper right hand corner of the net to secure the 1-0 victory for the USWNT.

How the group stands after day one:

Nations PTS GP W D L GF GA GD
1. USA 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 1
2. Germany 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 1
3. France 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1
4. England 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1

Day two matches:

The next two games will be played on Sunday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. The Americans will kick off the day with a match against the French. This game will be tricky since Les Bleues must win to keep their chances of winning the tournament alive. A victory for the Yanks will place them in the driver of seat of winning the She Believes Cup.

The last game of the day will be between Germany and England. The English cannot afford to lose this match. If they do then they will need the French to defeat the U.S. to be in the running for first, mathematically. If the Germans win, then their final match against USA on Wednesday will be for the cup.