Their last defeat dated as far back as July 2017!

The 3-1 win for France in Saturday's friendly encounter ensured a defeat for the USA's women's national team for the first time since July 2017. The result, subsequently, brought an end to a staggering 28-game unbeaten run for Jill Ellis' ladies.

In preparation towards this year's Women's World Cup in France, the USWNT took on the host nation as the first of two international friendlies to be played in January. However, it was Les Bleues who started off the clash at Stade Oceane in Le Havre on a high note with Kadidiatou Diani opening the scoring just nine minutes into the proceeding.

The 23-year-old forward for Paris Saint Germain's women's team then grabbed her second in the 57th-minute before her partner in attacker Marie-Antoinette Katoto put the game out of the reach of the visitors in the 78th-minute. Mallory Pugh provided a little spark in the day by grabbing the USWNT's consolation goal.

Although the result is hardly reflective of the form of Jill Ellis' women, it marks the second successive World Cup year that the U.S. began with a defeat to France.

In retrospect, the three-time world champions clinched the intercontinental trophy in 2015 after losing to Les Bleues at the preparatory stage of the competition. The USWNT will now regroup and aim for a better result when it takes on Spain in the second game of the month.