As the United States Women's National Team prepares to play its first game in the World Cup, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden have sent messages of support to the team.

President Biden took on the role of cheerleader in his message to the defending champions. “It's Game Day today,” Joe Biden said as he pumped his fist. “Go Team USA. You're going to do this.”

The US Womens Team is set to play its first game in the tournament Friday night against Vietnam. The United States is expected to make another long run in the championship and the team's initial effort against Vietnam is not expected to provide a significant test.

The US team realizes that it is likely to face significantly tougher opponents than Vietnam as the tournament progresses. As a result, head coach Vlatko Andonovski said three of the team's star players — including Megan Rapinoe, Julie Ertz, and Rose Lavell — will see limited minutes in the tournament opener.

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“Rose actually has been really good — she's trained with the team now for a good three weeks, and off-and-on she trained with us before that,” Andonovski said. “She's ready to play and we're not going to force a lot of minutes from the beginning. We'll ease everything up as we move on.”

While the US had some injury problems in the build up to the tournament, Andonovski said his players are healthy.

The United States and Vietnam will kick off at 9 p.m. ET at Eden Park Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. The game will be televised nationally by FOX.