On December 8, 2018, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Official Draw in Paris, the U.S. Women’s National Team was drawn into Group F alongside Thailand, Chile and Sweden.

With the World Cup less than three months away, and the USA’s first group match on June 11 coming into focus, here are five things to know about the USA’s group stage in France.

Against Thailand, the U.S. won their only match to date by a score of 9-0 on Sept. 15, 2016. The game was U.S. legend Heather O’Reilly’s final international game. It was also the first game for the U.S. Women following the 2016 Olympics Games.

The USA dominated the game vs. Thailand in 2016.

In the summer of 2017, the U.S. traveled to Gothenburg, Sweden, to face the home side abroad on June 8, winning 1-0 on a goal from Rose Lavelle. Before that matchup, the teams met in Brazil at the Olympics, where the USA fell on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw through regulation and overtime.

The two matches against Chile were the first matches between the teams. The USA won both games, 3-0 on Aug. 31 in Carson, Calif. and 4-0 on Sept. 4 in San Jose, Calif.

At the 2018 AFC Women’s Cup, Thailand almost pulled off a massive upset when it faced top-ranked Australia in the semifinal as the teams battled to a 2-2 draw, but only after Alanna Kennedy tied it for Australia in second-half stoppage time. Australia then defeated Thailand in a penalty shootout to advance to the championship match while Thailand went to the Third-Place match, where it fell to China PR, 3-1.

Chile's Endler (above) made several spectacular saves vs. the USA when the teams met in 2018.

One of the main reasons for Chile’s success at the Copa America was the play of their captain, 27-year-old goalkeeper Christiane Endler. The six-foot Endler, whose father is from Germany and whose mother is from Chile, holds both Chilean and German passports. She played college soccer in the USA at South Florida and currently plays for one of the world’s top clubs in Paris Saint-Germain.

Currently ranked ninth in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings, Sweden, a U.S. opponent during the past four FIFA Women’s World Cup group stages, was also the USA’s first Women’s World Cup opponent when FIFA’s premier women’s competition began with the 1991 event in China. While the teams have never met in a Knockout Round match, the USA holds a 3-1-1 record vs. Sweden in the teams’ five previous World Cup games.

The USA will conclude Group F play vs. Sweden on June 20.

The USA opens its 2019 World Cup campaign vs. Thailand in Reims on June 11 (3 p.m. ET, FOX Sports, Telemundo), then continues on to Paris to face Chile on June 16 (12 p.m. ET, FOX Sports, Telemundo), and wraps up group play on June 20 (3 p.m. ET, FOX Sports, Telemundo) in Le Havre vs. Sweden.

Members of the U.S. Women's National Team joined with more than 28 of the world’s top female footballers and Nike in Paris to unveil their National Team Collection for this summer’s FIFA Women's World Cup. 

The USA will compete in France wearing a new collection and a set of kits that channel the energy of  the 1999 team and all its championship glory. For the all-white home kit, the shirt features a stripped sleeve cuff reminiscent of those worn by Brandi Chastain, Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy, and is punctuated by three stars above the crest — honoring the USA's world titles from ’91, ’99 and 2015. This theme follows on the shorts, where the single star adorning the sides of the ’99er uniform has been replaced by a stack of three. Knit tape on the back of the neck also displays this embellishment.

Another element to cherish: The back panel of the home shirt presents a tonal gray print formed from each of the 50 states. It is symbolic, a reminder of the nation’s support for the team — an enthusiastic “We’ve got your back!” 

As the away team, the WNT amps up its undeniably American identity in a red shirt and shorts with blue socks. The shirt is highlighted by an abstraction of the American flag and the three shining stars. Inner pride on the away shirt reads “One Nation, One Team.”

USA vs. Japan 
Date: Feb. 27, 2019
Venue: Talen Energy Stadium
Broadcast: FS1
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET

Starting XI vs. Japan: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 5-Kelley O’Hara, 7-Abby Dahlkemper, 12-Tierna Davidson, 19-Crystal Dunn; 8-Julie Ertz, 11-Mallory Pugh, 16-Rose Lavelle; 17-Tobin Heath, 13-Alex Morgan (capt.), 15-Megan Rapinoe

Subs: 2-Emily Sonnett , 3- Samantha Mewis, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 6-Andi Sullivan, 10-Carli Lloyd, 14-Casey Short, 20-Jessica McDonald, 21-Adrianna Franch, 22-Emily Fox, 23-Christen Press, 24-Ashlyn Harris, 25-McCall Zerboni

Starting Lineup

• Since the 2017 SheBelieves Cup, the USA has failed to score in just one game (vs. Australia at the 2017 ToN). That’s a 34-game span.
• Alyssa Naeher will earn her 42nd career cap tonight. She has 22 career shutouts and is the fifth goalkeeper in U.S. history to earn 40 or more caps.
• Kelley O’Hara makes her first appearance of 2019. She did not play in either of the January matches vs. France and Spain, as she was still recovering from ankle surgery. She will earn her 113th cap tonight, tying Rachel Van Hollebeke for 32^nd on the all-time caps list.
• Abby Dahlkemper will earn her 33rd cap tonight in what will be her third consecutive start of 2019.
• Tierna Davidson makes her first U.S. WNT start since Sept. 4, 2018. Davidson suffered a broken ankle late in 2018 which caused her to miss WCQ with the WNT and the November friendlies in Europe. She returned to the roster for the 2019 January training camp and played 82 minutes as a substitute over the games vs. France and Spain. She will earn her 15th cap.
• Crystal Dunn will earn her 78th WNT cap tonight and makes her third consecutive start of 2019.
• Julie Ertz makes her 75th international appearance tonight in front of her adopted hometown of Philadelphia where her husband Zach Ertz plays for the Philadelphia Eagles. She has scored 18 career goals and will make her second appearance and start of 2019.
• Mallory Pugh will earn her 46th cap of her WNT career. It will be her third appearance and second start. She scored the USA goal vs. France on Jan. 19 in Le Havre. She has 13 career goals.
• Rose Lavelle makes her second start and appearance this year. It will be cap No. 22 for Lavelle, who has scored six career goals.
• Tobin Heath will earn her 144th international appearance for the USA. Tonight, will mark her second appearance and start of the year. In 2018, Heath scored 7 goals in only 10 appearances. She has scored 25 goals in her career.
• Alex Morgan scored 18 goals in 2018 and now has 98 career goals in 155 caps. At age 29, she sits in sole possession of seventh place on the USA's all-time goal list. Morgan has scored 25 goals over her last 28 WNT matches, a span that runs from the end of 2017. The 25 goals have included six braces and one hat trick. Morgan will earn cap No. 156 tonight surpassing Michelle Akers for 18th all-time in caps. She will be captaining the USA today.
• Megan Rapinoe will earn cap No. 147 for the U.S WNT. She was the team-leader in assists last year, earning 12 in 2018.