After an entertaining 5-3 victory against Australia on April 4, the U.S. Women’s National Team will play its seventh game of the “Countdown to the Cup” when it takes on Belgium for the first time on Sunday. The match on April 7 (6 p.m. PT on ESPN2) will also be the first for the WNT at Banc of California, home of LAFC. Here are five things to know about The Red Flames:

BELGIUM WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (3): 21-Nicky Evrard (FC Twente, NED), 12-Lisa Lichtfus (R. Standard de Liège), 1-Justien Odeurs (RSC Anderlecht)
DEFENDERS (6): 17-Maud Coutereels (Lille OSC, FRA), 22-Laura Deloose (RSC Anderlecht), 18-Laura De Neve (RSC Anderlecht), 4-Heleen Jaques (Fiorentina Women’s FC, ITA), 2-Davina Philtjens (Fiorentina Women’s FC (ITA), 5-Shari Van Belle (AA Gent)
MIDFIELDERS (3): 20-Julie Biesmans (Bristol City, ENG), 23-Kassandra Missipo (AA Gent), 8-Lenie Onzia (AA Gent) 
FORWARDS (8): 11-Janice Cayman (Montpellier HSC, FRA), 6-Tine De Caigny (RSC Anderlecht), 13-Elena Dhont (AA Gent), 19-Chloé Vande Velde (AA Gent), 3-Ella Van Kerkhoven (RSC Anderlecht), 14-Davinia Vanmechelen (PSV Eindhoven, NED), 15-Sarah Wijnants (RSC Anderlecht), 9-Tessa Wullaert (Manchester City, ENG)

BRIGHT FUTURE AHEAD
Belgium is one of several up-and-coming European nations starting to make an impact on the world of women’s international soccer. With the Belgium MNT ranked #1 in the world, the women’s domestic league growing, and numerous players playing abroad, Belgium, despite being a small country, is making a push to move into the upper echelon of European women’s soccer.

BELGIUM BARELY MISSES WORLD CUP
Belgium fell just short of qualifying for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, finishing second in UEFA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Group 6, two points behind qualifier Italy, and earned a playoff berth. Belgium fell to Switzerland in the two-leg semifinal playoff series which ended tied 3-3 on aggregate, but Switzerland went through on away goals. Belgium tied 2-2 at home in the first leg and drew 1-1 at Switzerland in the second. In the first game, Janice Cayman scored the first goal and center back Laura De Neve scored the second. In the second leg, Tine De Caigny scored Belgium’s goal. She equalized in the 77th minute but the Red Flames could not get another goal they needed to send them to the UEFA playoff final.

BREAKING DOWN THE ROSTER
Eight players on Belgium’s roster are playing abroad, two in England, two in the Netherlands, two in Italy and two in France. Eleven of the 12 domestic players play on two clubs – RSC Anderlecht (6) and AA Gent (5) – with one player for Standard de Liège. More than half of Belgium’s roster is under 25-years old, but it’s also an experienced team with nine players with 35 or more caps, led by leading scorer Cayman, who has 34 goals in her 92 caps. Cayman played from 2009-2012 at Florida State University and played briefly with the Western New York Flash in 2016. She was also the tops scorer at the 2016 Algarve Cup with four goals.Wullaert, also a striker, has scored 39 times in 78 caps. The two most-capped defenders are Maud Coutereels (86/9) who plays with Lille in France, and Heleen Jaques (89/2) and Davina Philtjens (78/8), who both play for Fiorentina in Italy.

BELGIUM RECENTLY
Belgium is unbeaten in their last 10 games (6-0-4), while keeping six clean sheets over that span. Over their 10-game unbeaten streak, Cayman has scored six goals, the most on the team. Only one other player, Davinia Vanmechelen with two, has multiple goals during this span. Goalkeeper Nicky Evrard who plays in the Netherlands with FC Twente has kept five of Red Flames’ last six clean sheets, including Belgium’s penalty shootout against Austria that earned third-place in the Cyprus Women’s Cup in March. Belgium drew Spain 1-1 in a friendly in January (Cayman scored yet again) and then finished third at the Cyprus Women’s Cup, beating Slovakia 3-0, drawing Austria 0-0, and downing Nigeria 1-0 before drawing Austria 0-0 again in the Third-Place Match, but prevailed 3-2 on PKs.

CHICAGO (April 18, 2019) –U.S. Soccer and Major League Soccer today announced a three-year partnership with Headspace, one of the world’s leading meditation and mindfulness apps.

Headspace will annually provide thousands of app subscriptions to ensure all U.S. Soccer and MLS athletes, coaches, and league and club staff have access to strengthen their mindfulness and meditation skills. This partnership illustrates U.S. Soccer and MLS’ commitment to being at the forefront of total wellness by providing athletes with the best mental skills training resources. The partnership also includes the National Women's Soccer League. Details of the partnership will be announced at a later date.

As part of the deal, Headspace will conduct in-person introductory training sessions with U.S. Soccer and MLS athletes and coaches, led by Headspace co-founder Andy Puddicombe, and the company’s Head of Sports and Fitness, Lindsay Shaffer. Training sessions will take place during U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Team training camps and at various MLS events.

“MLS is committed to leveraging cutting-edge technology to enhance the overall total wellness of our athletes, coaches and staff members,” said Dr. Margot Putukian, MLS Chief Medical Officer. “The Headspace app provides top-line meditation training and is a wonderful supplement to the preexisting health and wellness resources the league and our clubs already provide. We look forward to members of the soccer community utilizing the Headspace app to advance their mindfulness skills to help them achieve their goals both on and off the field.”

Headspace is also creating a personalized training program for each individual athlete on the U.S. Women’s National Team to support their preparation on the journey to this summer’s tournament in France. The U.S. Women’s National Team is the defending World Champion and is currently ranked No. 1 in the world.

“We are extremely excited to partner with Headspace, the world leader in mindfulness and meditation,” said James Bunce, U.S. Soccer Director of High Performance. “Not only will this partnership help all of our players’ performance on-the-field, but it will also have significant impact on their wellness off-the-field. While the importance of soccer’s physical components are well-known and well-trained, the power of mental conditioning in soccer has often been underutilized. Through this partnership with Headspace, we now have the expertise and technology to ensure that all of our players’ needs are being supported as they work towards their goals.

“We are also extremely excited to work closely with the Headspace development team and the U.S. Women’s National Team to individually support every player on the road to France. With this project, each player will be provided an individually-tailored mindfulness and meditation program to help make sure that no stone is left unturned in these players’ preparation for this summer’s tournament.”

U.S. Soccer’s partnership with Headspace further demonstrates the Federation’s commitment to making soccer the preeminent sport in the United States, using innovation, science and technology to provide the best possible training environment for its athletes. In addition to partnering with Headspace, U.S. Soccer created the High Performance Department and hired full-time staff dedicated to the Men’s and Women’s National Teams. The organization also partnered with StatSports for comprehensive physical data collection, and has implemented initiatives such as bio-banding to support long term player development.

“We know that mental preparation is as important as physical preparation for elite athletes,” said U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis, “We are excited that Headspace has partnered with U.S. Soccer to provide the players another tool to help them perform at their highest levels heading into, and through the tournament this summer.”

MLS, U.S. Soccer and Headspace will also explore scientific research opportunities around the benefits of meditation and mindfulness related to key aspects of performance. Additionally, they will have the opportunity to co-create mental training content specific to soccer with leading physical and mental performance experts.

“While athletes go to great lengths to physically train their bodies, the mind is often neglected. Mental training is the future of sport, and meditation and mindfulness are proven techniques to improve mental fitness. We are thrilled to provide Headspace as the mental training tool to some of the world’s greatest athletes, helping them to achieve their performance goals, support their overall health and happiness, and work with U.S. Soccer and the MLS to create a future of sport in which athletes focus as much on training their minds as they do their bodies,” said Lindsay Shaffer, Head of Sports and Fitness at Headspace.

MLS and U.S. Soccer athletes and coaching staff will have access to Headspace’s comprehensive library of meditation content, including “Headspace for Sport,” which is designed to strengthen their mindfulness and meditation skills through a variety of 10-session “packs,” including Motivation, Concentration, Training, Competition, Communication, Analysis and Recovery.

Meditation and mindfulness are scientifically proven to support key aspects of preparation, performance, and recovery. When it comes to performance, mindfulness helps athletes stay focused, free from distraction, and ensure they are in the optimal flow state. In recovery, mindfulness can be used to induce the relaxation response, lowering the heart rate, relaxing the muscles, and counteracting the harmful effects of stress on the body. This ensures athletes have the ability to recover that much quicker, and often has the added benefit of improving sleep quality. Meditation also increases the grey matter in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is responsible for focus, and decreases grey matter in the amygdala, the area of the brain responsible for stress and fear.

Mindfulness training is an additional resource to a person’s overall total wellness regimen. For assessment and management of psychological issues, treatment from a licensed healthcare professional is advised. For more information on the Headspace app, visit www.headspace.com.