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Sweden, twice-winners Germany, France and
European champions England are widely seen the main contenders
to dethrone the U.S. team, who kick off on Saturday in Auckland
against Vietnam.
"It's always tough being at the top because everyone's kind of
chasing you and everyone will give you their best game, but
there's no other place you'd rather be," Mewis told reporters on
Monday.
"We're just going to take one game at a time and continue to
play the soccer that we know how to play."
The U.S. suffered three straight defeats for the first time
since 1993 in October and November when they fell to rivals
England and then lost to Spain and Germany, before regrouping
for a strong start to 2023.
The growing popularity of the women's game and increasing
competitiveness of the professional ranks have narrowed the gap
between the defending champions, who settled for bronze at the
Tokyo Games, and the rest of the world.
Canada, who ended the U.S. path to Olympic gold in 2021, are
also vying for the trophy, along with Japan, who beat the
Americans in the 2011 World Cup final.
"We want all women's teams to get better and better and we want
to get better and better," said Mewis, who was part of the
United States' opening press conference in Auckland.
"We encourage it, but we obviously want to still be the best. So
we're going to keep pushing the limit and everybody else can try
and follow us."
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in Auckland)
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