The Americans are favourites to win an unprecedented third straight title, but it is far from lonely at the top for the top-ranked squad.
Sweden, dual-winners Germany, France and European champions England are widely seen as the main contenders to dethrone the US, 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 in Auckland 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 US suffered three straight defeats for the first time since 1993 in October and November when they fell to rivals England 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 had to settle for bronze at the Tokyo Games, and the rest of the world.
Canada, who ended the US 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," Mewis said.
"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."
