International Tournament of Brasilia: Dates, Schedule, Rosters and Live Stream

The United States women’s national team (USWNT) will be looking to finish 2014 with a flourish when they take part in the International Tournament of Brasilia.

The four-team competition—which will also feature hosts Brazil, Argentina and China PR—will be the last action of the year for these teams, and you can bet the managers of all four nations will be looking at how their players fare in a tournament environment with the groups set for next year’s World Cup in Canada.

Here’s a closer look at the schedule for the competition, the players looking to shine in Brazil and all the details you need on where to catch the action via an online stream.

Date	Match	Kick-Off (ET)
Dec. 10	USA vs. China PR	4:20 p.m.
	Brazil vs. Argentina	7 p.m.
Dec. 14	Argentina vs. China PR	1 p.m.
	Brazil vs. USA	4 p.m.
Dec. 17	USA vs. Argentina	4:20 p.m.
	Brazil vs. China PR	7 p.m.
Dec. 21	Third Place Playoff	1 p.m.
	Final	4 p.m.

All USWNT matches can be streamed via USSoccer.com.

Here are the players that will represent the United States at the tournament, per the U.S. Soccer Twitter account:

The USWNT qualified for the 2015 World Cup with ease, dominating their group. But when it has come to the tournaments this year, they’ve stuttered and staggered their way through. The biggest disappointment came at the Algarve Cup, when the team finished in a meagre seventh place despite being one of the favourites to triumph.

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

It’s vital, therefore, that Jillian Ellis’ team get some wins under their belt in a different format to the qualifiers. And after being drawn in the perceived “Group of Death” for the 2015 showpiece alongside Australia, Sweden and Nigeria, perhaps the players involved in this tournament will have refined their focus.

The team does seem to be in great spirits ahead of their trip to Brazil, though, as we can see here courtesy of the official U.S. Soccer account:

Ellis’ side will get their competition underway against China at the Mane Garrincha Stadium on Dec. 10 before they move on to clashes with Brazil and Argentina. The opponents here all have different stylistic principles to a lot of the sides the team played in qualification, and subsequently, the experience accrued from the tournament will be vital moving towards the World Cup.

It’s something Ellis touched upon ahead of the big kick-off, per USSoccer.com: "It's pretty exciting to get to play in a World Cup stadium, and many of our players have never played or even been to Brazil before. It's a unique opportunity to go to a fantastic soccer country, have a great cultural experience and get four competitive games to end the year on a high note."

Kent Horner/Getty Images

And while the USWNT do remain the top-ranked team in the women’s game, don’t expect them to have things their own way here. Brazil, who are likely to be roared on by some sizeable crowds, are a particularly dangerous outfit; they've won this competition in four of the five years it has been played so far.

They did lose 2-0 to Argentina on home soil back in a World Cup qualifier in September, however, and that points toward a thoroughly open and entertaining competition here. The Albiceleste are the lowest-ranking team to take part in the tournament and will be hoping for a repeat of that result when the two longstanding rivals clash in their opening match. 

Dolores Ochoa/Associated Press

The hosts will be hoping to call on five-time World Player of the Year winner Marta after she escaped unharmed from a car accident earlier in the week, per the Mail Online. Should she feature in the matches, these are the kind of skills that could potentially thrill the Brazilian fans in attendance:

China are the third-highest-ranking team involved in the tournament and have made some significant recent progress when it comes to the sport. They are currently ranked a respectable 14th in the world and made it to the quarter-finals of the 2014 Asian Games recently, where they were eventually dumped out by gold-medal winners North Korea.

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Nonetheless, the United States are rightly overwhelming favourites to sample glory in this tournament. To go away from home and put together a set of strong results against high-class opposition would be a wonderful way to end an underwhelming year, not to mention make a major statement with the biggest prize of them all on offer in around seven months' time.