The final whistle has sounded. The score at the end of regulation is USA 1, France 1. My name is Aaron Bellamy and I appreciate you joining me for this LIVE coverage of the game on VAVEL USA. I'll be back to bring you the second match of the day shortly.
90+3' Naeher makes a save at the center of the goal after a deflection.
We will have four minutes of stoppage time.
90' Le Sommer gets a yellow card for a flying kick into the stomach of Abby Dahlkemper.
86' France finally makes their first substitution with Gauvin coming out and making way for Kadidiatou Diani.
85' Bouhaddi makes a diving catch to stop a potentially dangerous American attack.
83' France has two more shots off the corner kick, but they were both blocked.
82' Gauvin has a free shot inside the box, but she pounds it right at Naeher, who parries the ball away.
75' Christen Press comes in for the injured Casey Short. It will be the final substitution for the USA.
74' Casey Short is down injured. The trainer is out checking her left leg. She is being taken off on a stretcher, meaning the USA will likely have to use their sixth and final substitution.
73' Mallory Pugh and Andi Sullivan go out for the USA, Crystal Dunn and Carli Lloyd come into the game.
67' McCaskill takes a corner that goes off the face of Alex Morgan. Morgan stays down on the play until the French attack ends in a US foul.
63' Casey Short takes a long shot over the bar, ending a solid few minutes of USA offensive pressure. The game is wide open right now.
58' France takes a corner kick, but it rolls out for a goal kick. France is definitely on the front foot through the first 15 minutes of the second half.
51' Pugh is fouled hard by Thiney, who is taking a risk since she is already on a yellow card. Pugh remained down, but she is back up after getting looked at by the trainer.
The Second Half Begins! Lynn Williams and Savannah McCaskill enter the game while Lindsey Horan and Megan Rapinoe come off the USA. France made no changes.
The first half ends tied at 1 with goals by Mallory Pugh (USA) and Eugene Le Sommer (FRA). The gold medal-winning United States women's national hockey team will be honored at halftime.
We will have one minute of stoppage time.
With the very early substitution, Ellis pulls defender Taylor Smith. Seems like she wasn't quite on form today, nd Ellis looks like she will make changes to win this game.
43' USA Substitution: Taylor Smith (22) out, Casey Short (2) in
USA 1 - 1 France
38' Le Sommer takes a through ball, outruns Dahlkemper, then dribbles around Naeher and scores against an open net.
37' Gauvin tries to chip the ball over Naeher, but the ball hits the crossbar and Naeher collects it.
USA 1 - 0 France
35' The ball bounces around inside the 6-yard box off the free kick. O'Hara hits it into the post and Mallory Pugh scores!
33' Torrent of France is booked for pulling on O'Hara as she moved on goal. Rapinoe takes the free kick from just outside the 18-yard box.
31' Pugh has a golden opportunity inside the box but she can't test the keeper.
30' Asseyi of France is shown a yellow card for a hard foul against Kelley O'Hara.
24' Le Sommer is caught offside.
20' Thiney of France is called for a questionable foul against Andi Sullivan stopping a French attack.
16' Alex Morgan puts the ball into the back of the net, but sh was called offside by about a half step.
13' Corner kick taken by French #7 Majri. It ends with a US goal kick.
10' France commits a foul in the US box while on attack, giving up a corner kick.
7' Miscommunication on the French defensive line leaves a dangerous chance, but France ends up with a goal kick after the USA throw in.
4' Foul given against Horan on attack. Could have been a good chance if she had better control.
2' Mallory Pugh tests the keeper from outside, but it is no risk.
The opening kickoff has been taken then we're underway! Megan Rapinoe is fouled early.
The anthems are done. France has the opening kickoff, and Bouhaddi will be looking into the sun for the first half.
The players are coming out onto the field. We'll be singing the national anthems of France and the United States shortly, then we will have kickoff.
The players are getting ready to come back out onto the field. The flags of France and the United States are
The biggest change here is that Bouhaddi is starting in goal. No surprise that the change was made after the 4-1 loss to England a few days ago. That said, it's almost a completely new lineup compared to the one that took the field in Ohio on Thursday. Just three players are starting for the second match of the tournament for France.
France Starting XI: Bouhaddi (G), Majri, Torrent, Mbock Bathy,Toukara, Asseyi, Le Sommer, Henry, Geyoro, Gauvin, Thiney
The French side is out warming up. We should have a starting lineup for them soon.
Very similar to last game with the lineup. We expected that Jill Ellis would start to solidify her starters with the 2019 World Cup qualifying tournament later this year. Sullivan and Brian start over Ertz and Lloyd.
The USWNT Starting XI has been released! Alyssa Naeher (G), Taylor Smith, Abby Dahlkemper, Tierna Davidson, Kelley O'Hara, Andi Sullivan, Lindsey Horan, Morgan Brian, Mallory Pugh, Alex Morgan (C), and Megan Rapinoe.
Good morning and welcome to VAVEL USA's live coverage of the game from Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. I'm glad you've decided to join us this morning. The game is still about an hour and a half away, but the crowd is starting to arrive despite the cold and wind. We are anxiously awaiting the release of opening lineups for the USWNT and France, so stick with VAVEL for all the information you need.
The USWNT attack has improved significantly since the start of 2017, with Megan Rapinoe healthy, Alex Morgan back in the United States and Mallory Pugh coming into her own. The United States has a variety of weapons at their disposal. Lindsey Horan and Megan Rapinoe are free kick specialists who threaten on every foul or corner. Pugh and Morgan have offensive finesse to finish from distance or in close. Julie Ertz found her attacking prowess in 2017 and excels on balls played in the air. Based on the performance by England and Germany in their most recent matches against France, there will be plenty of opportunities for the offensive strength of the USWNT to be put into full effect.
In the matchup last year in Washington DC, the French side used their blazing speed on offense to take advantage of the 3-back defensive scheme being tested by Jill Ellis. The mix of Taylor Smith (Washington Spirit), Kelley O'Hara (Utah Royals FC) and Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars) will be tasked with containing the speed. There were times in the match against Germany that forward Svenja Huth found space in behind the United States defensive line, so cutting out that option will be necessary to contain the French attack.
France's new manager Corinne Diacre has been having a bad time of her new job after taking over for Olivier Echouafni. France's poor performance at the 2017 UEFA Women's Euro led to a change in leadership, but after rattling off four wins to start her time as manager the results have slipped. 2017 ended for France with a 4-0 loss to Germany and a 0-0 tie against Sweden. 2018 started with a 1-1 draw with Italy which was followed up by the 4-1 loss to England on Thursday. The 2019 Women's World Cup is 15 months away and France will be hosting the tournament, so they need to produce better results in 2018 to build confidence. They have slipped from third to sixth in the FIFA rankings since the 2017 SheBelieves Cup.
USWNT manager Jill Ellis has decided to roll with Allyssa Naeher in goal, and she settled back into the 4-back formation after testing out a 3-back defense at the last SheBelieves Cup. Stanford defender Tierna Davidson performed admirably in her start at central defense alongside North Carolina Courage defender Abby Dahlkemper against Germany in difficult playing conditions. Utah Royals FC defender Becky Sauerbrunn would normally be starting in place of Davidson, but she has a foot injury and was not called into camp.
These two teams met in the final game of the 2017 SheBelieves Cup where France beat the United States 3-0. That defeat left the United States in last place out of the four teams in the tournament. France won the tournament in 2017, but they struggled during the second half of the year and started off 2018 in poor form.
The second match of the 2018 SheBelieves Cup will pit the United States (1-0-0) against France (0-0-1). The United States beat Germany 1-0 in their first match of the tournament, with both teams fighting wind-driven snow, off a goal from Megan Rapinoe. France, in the early game on Thursday afternoon, was beaten 4-1 by England in the windy rain.
USWNT vs France Live Stream Commentary
Welcome to VAVEL USA's LIVE coverage of the United States women's national team as they take on France at the 2018 SheBelieves Cup. My name is Aaron Bellamy and I will be bringing you all the action from the second USWNT match of the tournament. We will provide pre-game analysis, starting lineups and game action as it happens here at VAVEL and in the stands at the match. The game will be aired on ESPN2.