Gold Cup offers the USWNT a first chance at World Cup redemption

The inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup kicks off this week. The US is planning to use the tournament as a testing ground for the Paris Olympics

The coming year will be a pivotal one for a beleaguered Team US. With last summer's biting disappointment at the World Cup still fresh, a team deep in transition has its sight set on redemption, and the Olympic Games in France (just five months off) are the chosen stage.

Redemption starts now, with the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup. 23 players are gathered in California to play their first games of 2024, stocked with a litany of new names and under the care of an interim coach. Over the course of three weeks (should they progress to the final) the US will test their mettle against top teams from Concacaf (including reigning gold medalists Canada), and challengers from Conmebol, who've sent four teams to the inaugural affair (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay).