US women's national soccer team speaks out on being World Cup favorites

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - The United States women's national soccer team are considered the favorites to win the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, but they will have to overcome major challenges from teams all across the globe to repeat as world champions.

"The term 'defending champions', we won that," said co-captain and 2015 World Cup heroine Carli Lloyd. "Now, 2019, we're actually going to try to win it again, and that's the plan."

"Most countries have continued to progress and evolve and get better. That's just the nature of the game, which is great for the game on a global level because competition is stiffer and it makes games more exciting," said defender Kelley O'Hara.

The USWNT begins their campaign to become back-to-back champions for the first time in the team's history on June 11 at 3 p.m. against Thailand.