U.S. football players pay tribute to influential women in SheBelieves Cup

Each member of the United States team selected a woman who had inspired them both on and off the field and would be wearing their names on the backs of their jerseys in the game in Nashville, Tennessee, the U.S. Soccer federation said.

U.S. Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is being honoured by defender Becky Sauerbrunn, Mother Teresa by midfielder McCall Zerboni and singer Beyonce by forward Mallory Pugh.

Novelist J.K. Rowling is the selection of midfielder Rose Lavelle, the late astronaut Sally Ride of defender Tierna Davidson and tennis star Serena Williams of defender Crystal Dunn.

Former U.S. women's football stars Mia Hamm (picked by midfielder Samantha Mewis), Abby Wambach (forward Alex Morgan) and Brianna Scurry (goalkeeper Adrianna Franch) will also have their jersey names on the field again.

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; editing by Clare Fallon)