Everton’s Kelly, MacIver in America for SheBelieves Cup

The England Women are about to take on the reigning world champions US Women’s National Team in America for the SheBelieves Cup. The two teams haven’t squared off since England’s bitter 2-1 loss to USA in the World Cup semi-final. The Three Lionesses went on to lose the third place playoff finishing in fourth place and they haven’t quite been lighting the pitch on fire since. In their six games since the World Cup, England has only won against Portugal and Czech Republic, while suffering defeats to Norway, Brazil, and Germany and drawing Belgium.

But now that the Lionesses have Everton forward Chloe Kelly and goalie Sandy MacIver on the roster, there’s new hope! England manager Phil Neville has chosen the two Blues among a very youthful 23-player roster, with an emphasis on development. He told FA.com:

“This is a transformational moment for the England Women’s team.

“With eight of our squad under the age of 23 - and six of them having competed in the WU20 FIFA World Cup - we are focusing on developing the incredible young talent we have in the women’s game with a keen eye on EURO 2021 in 16 months’ time.

The SheBelieves Cup is usually a time for experimenting and tinkering, so the results aren’t always indicative of what will happen in the future. For instance, England won the last SheBelieves Cup whereas USA under-performed and that clearly went the opposite way for the World Cup. But hopefully this means that Kelly and MacIver will get a shot at actually playing some minutes this tournament, probably more of a chance for the former really.

The young goalkeeper will be competing with tried and true Carly Telford and newcomer Hannah Hampton for a chance in goal. MacIver did travel with the England squad to the SheBelieves Cup last summer as well, but only to train with the team.

Kelly has scored 9 goals in 12 WSL appearances and if she doesn’t get a full chance to show what she can add to the team during the tournament, we reserve the right to riot.

The England Lionesses are currently training in Orlando. Can you spot the Evertonian in the photos below?

Great news: you can watch all of England’s games on TV if you live in England or in the States. Bad news is that if you live in England and want to watch the USA game, you may have to be awake at an unholy hour on a weekday in order to do so, but whatever. Schedule below:

SheBelieves Cup
Match Day 1
USA vs. England
Date: Thursday, March 5, 2020
Time: 7 p.m. ET or 12 a.m. GMT (Friday March 6th)
Location: Exploria Stadium; Orlando, Florida
How to Watch: ESPN2, TUDN, BBC Two, BBC iPLayer

Match Day 2
England vs Japan
Date: Sunday, March 8, 2020
Time: 2:15 p.m. ET or 7:15 p.m. GMT
Location: Red Bull Arena; Harrison, N.J.
How to Watch: ESPN3, BBC Four, BBC iPlayer

Match Day 3
England vs Spain
Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Time: 4:15 p.m. CT or 10:15 p.m. GMT
Location: Toyota Stadium; Frisco, Texas
How to Watch: ESPN3, BBC Four, BBC iPlayer

Full England roster:
Millie Bright (Chelsea), Rachel Daly (Houston Dash), Toni Duggan (Atletico Madrid), Bethany England (Chelsea), Alessia Russo (UNC), Grace Fisk (West Ham United), Alex Greenwood (Lyon), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Steph Houghton (Manchester City), Chloe Kelly (Everton), Sandy MacIver (Everton), Abbie McManus (Manchester United), Jordan Nobbs (Arsenal), Nikita Parris (Lyon), Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City), Jill Scott (Manchester City), Lucy Staniforth (Birmingham City), Georgia Stanway (Manchester City), Demi Stokes (Manchester City), Carly Telford (Chelsea), Keira Walsh (Manchester City), Ellen White (Manchester City), Leah Williamson (Arsenal)