On Wednesday the United States women’s national team will play its first game in Brazil since 1997 when the U.S. plays China to open a four-team tournament in Brasilia, Brazil. Argentina joins host Brazil as the other countries participating.
This kicks off a longer-than-usual stretch of road matches for the United States, who will also play at France and at England in February before heading to the Algarve Cup in Portugal in March. A January training camp in Los Angeles will be wedged in between.
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Of the four teams at the International Tournament of Brasilia, three are headed to the World Cup: Brazil, China and the U.S. Brazil headlines Group E, while China is in Group A with World Cup host Canada and the U.S. is in the well-publicized Group D with Sweden, Australia and Nigeria.
All matches at the International Tournament of Brasilia will be played at The National Stadium Mane Garrincha, which hosted 2014 World Cup matches and cost $900 million to build. Here’s the tournament schedule:
International Tournament of Brasilia Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Kickoff |
| Dec. 10 | USA vs. China PR | 4:20 p.m. ET |
| Brazil vs. Argentina | 7 p.m. ET | |
| Dec. 14 | Argentina vs. China PR | 1 p.m. ET |
| Brazil vs. USA | 4 p.m. ET | |
| Dec. 17 | USA vs. Argentina | 4:20 p.m. ET |
| Brazil vs. China PR | 7 p.m. ET | |
| Dec. 21 | Third-Place Match | 1 p.m. ET |
| Championship | 4 p.m. ET |
The format is round-robin, with the best two teams advancing to the final. The tie-breakers are as follows: goal difference, goals scored, lowest number of red cards, lowest number of yellow cards, a drawing of lots. A player can only be suspended for the championship or third-place match if they received a yellow card in each of the three group matches or a red card in the third group match. Teams are allowed four field player substitutions per match, and a fifth if the team needs to change a goalkeeper.
USWNT roster for International Tournament of Brasilia
GOALKEEPERS (3): Ashlyn Harris (Washington Spirit), Alyssa Naeher (Boston Breakers), Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC)
DEFENDERS (9): Lori Chalupny (Chicago Red Stars), Crystal Dunn (Washington Spirit), Whitney Engen (WNY Flash), Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), Meghan Klingenberg (Houston Dash), Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Morgan Brian (Virginia), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), Lauren Holiday (FC Kansas City), Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), Samantha Mewis (UCLA), Heather O’Reilly (FC Kansas City), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC)
FORWARDS (5): Sydney Leroux (Seattle Reign FC), Alex Morgan (Portland Thorns FC), Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), Amy Rodriguez (FC Kansas City), Abby Wambach (WNY Flash)
