USA vs. Germany Women's Soccer: Start Time, TV Channel, Live Stream Info For She Believes Cup 2017 Match

The United States women’s soccer team will get their 2017 season underway with a clash against Olympic gold medalist Germany on the opening night of the SheBelieves Cup in Chester, Pennsylvania, Wednesday. For Jill Ellis’ squad, which was last seen recording comprehensive back-to-back friendly victories over Romania last November, it represents a tough return to action and likely the most difficult test it will face all year.

“It’s always going to be a massive game for both countries,” Ellis told the U.S. Soccer website. “It’s a perfect game for us to test ourselves against the Olympic champions. I said to the players at the beginning of camp, the more we get stretched and tested right now the better, because that’s what going to allow us to add more layers to our own development.”

The U.S. will not have a strictly competitive game this year, with qualification for the 2019 Women’s World Cup not getting underway until next year. Since a shock quarterfinal exit from the 2016 Olympics at the hands of Sweden, Ellis’ team has been in something of a rebuilding phase, testing out new personnel and formations.

That process is continuing with the roster for the second annual SheBelieves Cup, which also features England and France, who face off earlier on Wednesday. Named to the roster are an uncapped trio of goalkeeper Jane Campbell, midfielder Rose Lavelle and 16-year-old Brianna Pinto.

“For this group, I think I'm still in a look-and-see,” Ellis said. “I think January was a good camp. [Now it's about] looking at some different things in here. Obviously, the [NWSL] will start up again. But in my mind, I gave myself about eight months of really vetting and testing players because I know, obviously, this tournament is a big one.”

While the U.S. endured an Olympics to forget, Germany, whom the U.S. beat in the semifinals of the World Cup a year earlier, had a moment to savor. Victory in the final over the United States’ conqueror Sweden was a fitting farewell to legendary coach Silvia Neid, who guided Germany for 11 years.

Steffi Jones, a winner of the 2003 World Cup with Germany as a player, is now the woman charged with emulating Neid’s years of success. And for Jones, the situation is more pressing than for her Ellis, with Germany set to defend its European Championship title in July.

“We want to win all three games,” Jones said ahead of the SheBelieves Cup. “We also want to test many players, gather a lot of insights and try out our flexible system, and we want to give all players the chance to start from the beginning against such strong opponents.”

USA vs. Germany
Kickoff Time: 7 p.m. EST
TV Channel: Fox Sports 1
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go, Fox Soccer 2Go