Long dominant on the international stage, the Americans are heading to France for the Women's World Cup with any number of teams potentially in position to topple the defending champions. Among the challengers are host France, upstart England, the surprise third-place finisher at the 2015 World Cup in Canada, and perhaps even Canada.

U.S. World Cup history

Best finishes: Champion in 1991, 1999 and 2015, the Americans have never failed to reach the semifinals.

The last time: The Americans defeated Japan 5-2 in the final at the 2015 World Cup in Canada, with Carli Lloyd scoring a hat trick in the first 16 minutes.

This time: The Americans will try to duplicate Germany's feat as back-to-back champions (2003 and 2007).

The 2019 team

Jill Ellis is leading the U.S. team into her second World Cup as coach. She selected a roster that emphasized experience, but the lineup will look vastly different from four years ago. Stalwarts Abby Wambach and Lauren Holiday have retired, and Lloyd has moved into a "super sub" role off the bench. The current squad includes 12 players who were on the 2015 World Cup roster. The U.S. has the oldest squad in the tournament, with an average age of 29.

The Runup

The United States breezed through five qualifying games, outscoring opponents 26-0. As CONCACAF women's qualifying tournament champions, the Americans defeated Mexico 6-0, Panama 5-0, Trinidad and Tobago 7-0, Jamaica 6-0 and Canada 2-0.

Group F preview

Teams (with FIFA rankings): United States (1), Sweden (9), Thailand (34), Chile (39)

The favorite: The United States has won the World Cup three times and Olympic gold four times, but its earliest exit in major competition (2016 Olympic quarterfinals vs. Sweden) has helped motivate a squad with enough depth and experience to field two quality teams.

The contender: Sweden has been among the most reliably strong programs since women's soccer took root, and for the fifth straight tournament, it landed in the same group as the Americans.

The others: With a surprising second-place finish at Copa America Femenina (South American championship), Chile qualified for the first time. Thailand is back on the world stage after debuting in Canada four years ago.

U.S. schedule: June 11 vs. Thailand, June 16 vs. Chile, June 20 vs. Sweden.