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USA vs. Japan live score, updates, highlights from USMNT pre-World Cup soccer friendly

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The USA men’s soccer team will face a stiff test as it takes on Japan in Dusseldorf, Germany in a pre-World Cup friendly that fans and coaches hope will answer the many lingering questions as the tournament in Qatar rapidly approaches in November.

Head coach Gregg Berhalter has tactical and personnel decisions to make and he’ll be hoping some of those are resolved out on the field in Germany. There are questions to be answered at the goalkeeper, center-back, and striker positions, and while not everything will be figured out in a one-week span, these 90 minutes will play a factor in his eventual roster choices as he plans to face Wales, England, and Iran in Group B.

Fellow World Cup participant Japan will present a very difficult challenge, as the Asian nation has positioned itself atop their continent’s hierarchy and improved the squad depth and talent on a team that narrowly missed out on a massive upset over Belgium in the 2018 Round of 16.

The Samurai Blue have their own decisions to make on the field at various positions, as head coach Hijime Moriyasu prepares his team to face a difficult World Cup Group E that includes former champions Germany and Spain.

The Sporting News will be following the USA vs Japan match live and providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.

MORE: Projecting USA’s World Cup roster | USMNT schedule

USA vs. Japan live score

  1H 2H Final
USA 0
Japan 0

Goals:
None

USA vs. Japan live updates, highlights from friendly

2nd min: Tough start for the aforementioned Long, who gives the ball away on the left flank and it results in a Japan counter-attack. The eventual shot is right into the waiting arms of Matt Turner, and the U.S. get away with an early mistake. Long will have to be better in possession to impress the coaches.

1st min: The match is under way in Dusseldorf! Big day for a number of U.S. players looking to earn spots on the World Cup roster, but likely none bigger than for Aaron Long who has a chance to earn a place at center-back.

Pre-Match: USMNT vs. Japan (kickoff at 2:26pm local CEST)

8 mins to kick: ESPN just ran a package on Gio Reyna on their broadcast, an honest chat with Sam Borden about his injury struggles, including the mental health side of his fight to return to the field. It was an enlightening and emotional discussion, just two days after forward Jesus Ferreira spoke to the media about his own mental health journey in the sporting world.

Thankfully, it looks like Reyna is all smiles now as he makes his first start in over a year. The trip for the 19-year-old from Dortmund to Dusseldorf is a quick one, just over an hour. You can get all the latest USMNT injury news here.

34 mins to kick: The U.S. doesn’t play friendlies on neutral sites very often. They’ve played matches in Europe before, but usually on the road at an opponent’s home field, such as against Wales, Northern Ireland, or Switzerland over the last few years.

45 mins to kick: The Japan lineup is out, and there are some wrinkles for the opponent today as well. No Furuhashi in the starting lineup as his Celtic teammate Daizen Maeda starts up top. Arsenal full-back Takehiro Tomiyasu starts as part of a back three, while Takefusa Kubo plays the No. 10 role.

60 mins to kick: The USMNT lineup is out and there’s no Christian Pulisic after he took a knock in training earlier this week, and he misses out as a precaution. Instead, Brenden Aaronson moves over to the left, while Gio Reyna starts on the right wing.

90 mins to kick: Get to know Japan forward Kyogo Furuhashi. He’s one of three Celtic players on the Japanese squad, including Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda.

120 minutes to kickoff: While the United States are missing Yunus Musah for this international window, the “MMA” midfield has developed a critical — and quite frankly, fun — base of chemistry. That was never more evident than yesterday during the pre-match press conference, where Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams were in a playful mood, answering a number of questions in a jovial manner.

It’s fun for fans to see the players so open and comfortable, and it’s a great sign that the team has fostered a culture of comfort that allows the players to be themselves. Fans will hope that materializes on the field as well, as players feel able to express themselves on and off the ball.

USA vs. Japan lineups

Matt Turner plays in goal behind the center-back pairing of Aaron Long and Walker Zimmerman. Sam Vines is in for the injured Antonee Robinson at left-back, while Luca de la Torre starts for the injured Yunus Musah in midfield. Up front, there’s no Tim Weah on the roster due to injury, meaning Brenden Aaronson and Gio Reyna will see time on the wings with Christian Pulisic off the roster after picking up a knock in training.

USA starting lineup (4-3-3): 1-Turner (GK) — 2-Dest, 3-Zimmerman (capt.), 5-Long, 6-Vines — 8-McKennie, 4-Adams, 14-De la Torre — 11-Aaronson, 9-Ferreira, 21-Reyna.

USA subs (14): 18-Horvath (GK), 25-S. Johnson (GK), 20-Cannon, 16-McKenzie, 12-Palmer-Brown, 26-Scally, 22-Yedlin, 23-Acosta, 15-Cardoso, 17-Tillman, 7-Arriola, 13-Morris, 19-Pepi, 24-Sargent

MORE: Who should be the USA’s World Cup GK? | Will Pefok make the US roster?

Japan head coach Hijime Moriyasu will hope to use the match to help him decide on his two starting winger positions. The competition to claim the right wing involves Junya Ito and Ritsu Doan with Ito getting the start, while Eintracht’s Daichi Kamada gets a chance to show what he can do on the left with Takumi Minamino and Kaoru Mitoma the others in contention. Takefusa Kubo projects to line up in a more central attacking role in this game.

Schalke’s 34-year-old Maya Yoshida, likely in his final World Cup cycle, will be relied upon to marshal the backline especially with Borussia Monchengladbach defender Ko Itakura suffering a partial MCL tear that has thrown his World Cup participation in doubt. Other center-back candidates for the final roster include Huddersfield Town starter Yuta Nakayama, who will instead have a chance to show his tactical flexibility at left back.

Japan starting lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): 12-Gonda (GK) — 19-Sakai, 16-Tomiyasu, 22-Yoshida, 20-Nakayama — 6-Endo, 13-Morita — 14-Ito, 11-Kubo, 15-Kamada — 25-Maeda

Japan subs (15): Schmidt (GK), Tani (GK), Yamane, Taniguchi, Nagatomo, H. Ito, Shibasaki, Haraguchi, Tanaka, Mitoma, Doan, Soma, Minamino, Furuhashi, Machino

USA vs. Japan TV channel, live stream

  USA Japan
Date Friday, Sept. 21 Friday, Sept. 21
Time 8:26 a.m. ET 9:26 p.m. JST
TV channel ESPN2, TUDN, Unimas Fuji TV
Streaming fuboTV, ESPN+,
TUDN site/app,
Univision NOW
Fuji TV

USA: Friday’s pre-World Cup friendly from Dusseldorf, Germany will be broadcast in both English (ESPN2) and Spanish (TUDN, UniMas) in the USA with both channels streaming on fuboTV.

Japan: In Japan, the friendly match can be found on Fuji TV, where most Japan national team games are broadcast, including the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

USA vs. Japan betting odds

Odds via Caesars in USA and Sports Interaction in Canada.

The betting options for this international friendly are understandably limited, given that it’s hard to know exactly how each team will approach the game. It’s likely that both sides won’t start their best players from the beginning as the head coaches look to give fringe players a final chance to earn World Cup roster spots.

Japan are the slight favorite, as the team that dominated Asian World Cup qualifying, and a squad that is thought to be improved on the one that reached the Round of 16 in the 2018 World Cup and had Belgium on the ropes.

  Caesars Sports Interaction
Japan win +140 +149
Draw +210 +215
USA win +175 +175
Both teams
to score Y / N
-115 / -115 -122 / -127
Over / Under
2.5 goals
+115 / -145 +115 / -154

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