USA vs Japan women’s soccer live score, updates, highlights from USWNT in SheBelieves Cup
With the Women’s World Cup growing in focus this summer, the US Women’s National Team turns its attention to eleventh-placed Japan in their second game of the 2023 SheBelieves Cup.
The No. 1 USWNT defeated Canada 2-0 in their first game of winter competition on Thursday, in a surprisingly dominant win over a northern rival that has been a thorn in America’s side in recent years. But the US swept aside Les Rouges in a statement performance that flashed their intent ahead of an unprecedented three-peat attempt this summer.
Mallory Swanson was brilliant in the first half, scoring both goals and coming close to a hat-trick on numerous occasions. Her extraordinary achievement came as striker Alex Morgan was honored ahead of the game for winning more than 200 career caps.
While Canada always tries to beat the USA in their own game of top-flight football, Japan presents a different challenge as the Asian team is a strong possession side with a technically proficient squad. They were beaten 1-0 by Brazil in their opener four days ago, with a goal in the 72nd minute proving the difference after Japan dominated possession but failed to capitalize off the net.
The Sporting News will be following the USA v Japan game live with updated results, commentary and highlights as they take place.
MORE: Reflect on USWNT’s 2-0 win over Canada in SheBelieves Cup opener
USA vs Japan live score
| 1H | 2H | score | |
| USA | — | — | — |
| Japan | — | — | — |
Goals:
none
Confirmed Lineups:
USA (4-3-3, right to left): 18 Murphy (GK) – 8 Huerta, 3 Cook, 12 Girma, 23 Fox – 2 Sanchez, 22 K Mewis, 10 Horan – 6 L Williams, 13 Morgan, 9 Swanson .
Japan (5-4-1, right to left): Tanaka (GK) – Shimizu, Miyake, Kumagai, Minami, Sugita – Fujino, Hasegawa, Nagano, Miyazawa – Ueki.
USWNT vs Japan Live Updates, Highlights, Comments
60 minutes to kick: The line-ups are in place and there’s serious rotation of Vlatko Andonovski and the United States against the weakest team in the SheBelieves Cup field (by FIFA rankings). Casey Murphy takes the lead and gets a chance to spell Alyssa Naeher while Sofia Huerta, Naomi Girma, Lynn Williams and Kristie Mewis all make the starting line-up. Lindsey Horan wears the captain’s armband. Rose Lavelle is still unbootable, which is a cause for concern.
80 minutes to kick: An intriguing story from this SheBelieves Cup that hasn’t garnered much attention is Vlatko Andonovski’s full-back deployment. Crystal Dunn’s return from pregnancy has affected quite a few people, starting with herself. Dunn played 45 minutes against Canada at left-back while working her way back up to full playing fitness, but she is not keen on playing that position long-term.
“I enter [national team] Camp, and I feel like I’m losing a part of myself,” Dunn said in an interview with GQ Magazine. “I’m not going to be Crystal anymore who scores goals, assists, is that attacking player. I’m entering an environment where I have to be world class in a position that I don’t consider my best position.”
It’s a strong statement and she later described the change of position between club and country as a “massive burden”. Her deployment at left-back has also forced Emily Fox to switch from her natural position to the opposite flank. The 24-year-old is not one of the more flashy USWNT players, but in her 25 international appearances and profile is a consistent and reliable presence as a ubiquitous pillar of the team for years to come. Andonovski has an important decision to make regarding the future of full-back positions and managing this position will be a crucial part of the long-term health of this national team programme.
95 minutes to kick: Today’s opponent Japan still brings back painful memories of the 2011 Women’s World Cup final when USA lost to Japan on penalties. Since then, the USA have more than justified those demons by winning the World Cup twice and, in a more directly relevant aspect, going 11 games unbeaten against Japan. On the other hand, Japan has slipped out of that mantle since their only World Cup.
107 minutes to kick: Established in 2015, the SheBelieves Cup is a tournament designed to highlight the achievements of women on and off the field. “Inspired by the US women’s national team, SheBelieves is a movement dedicated to encouraging young women and girls to pursue their dreams, sporting or otherwise,” according to the competition’s official website.
Ahead of the 2023 Women’s World Championship, where the USWNT is aiming for an unprecedented treble, the idea of ”faith” is central both this winter and in the future. Props to TNT for an exceptional production built around the team’s focus on faith!
120 minutes to kick: The USWNT showed their depth against Canada after questions the team lacked. The team played at a high level against Canada, considering Rose Lavelle was absent, while Naomi Girma missed out and was brilliantly replaced by veteran Becky Sauerbrunn.
The biggest question will now be whether the two can return from injuries sustained in training ahead of the Canada game. Both trained yesterday but coach Vlatko Andonovski knew he would play it safe with both players.
Lineup USWNT vs. Japan
Both Rose Lavalle And Naomi Girma missed the opener against Canada with minor injuries picked up in training and Vlatko Andonovski claimed they would sit out if there was “any risk of injury”. That partly comes into play as Girma makes the lineup but Lavelle remains sidelined.
Today there are many rotations for Andonovski against Japan. Mallory Swanson And Trinity Rodman Both were exceptional against Canada but Rodman is benched in favor of Lynn Williams Sophia Smith out of the competition due to injury.
Sophie Hurta enters the fray as a full-back, with Crystal Dunn benched while slowly working her way back to getting fit. Kristie Mewis is in midfield while Andy Sullivan falls out.
USA confirmed starting lineup (4-3-3): Murphy (GK) – Huerta, Cook, Girma, Fox – Sanchez, Mewis, Horan – L Williams, Morgan, Swanson.
USA Sub (12): Naeher (GK), Franch (GK), Sauerbrunn, Sonnett, Dunn, Sullivan, Kornieck, Lavelle, Purce, Rapinoe, Rodman, Hatch.
MORE: Mallory Swanson, formerly of Pugh, is emerging as an inevitable player for USWNT
Japan have been struggling to score against top international clubs lately, having been eliminated by Brazil, Spain and England in three straight games. Although 23 years old Rico Ueki When the striker started against Brazil, it’s possible that veteran Mana Iwabuchi returns to the line-up, with the Tottenham striker’s 85 caps and 37 goals providing much-needed experience in attack. Japan misses veteran Mina Tanaka who has not yet played for club or country in 2023.
Japan predicted starting lineup (5-4-1): Tanaka (GK) – Shimizu, Miyake, Kumagai, Minami, Sugita – Fujino, Hasegawa, Nagano, Miyazawa – Ueki.
Japan Submarines (11): (Line-ups will be published one hour before kick-off)
How to watch USA vs Japan
- Date: Sunday February 19th
- Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
- TV channels (English): TNT
- Stream (English): fuboTV, HBO Max
- TV channels (Spanish): universe
- Streaming (Spanish): fuboTV, peacock
MORE: SheBelieves Cup 2023 fixtures, results and highlights
This USWNT SheBelieves Cup match will be broadcast on TNT in English. Turner Sports, which has signed an eight-year deal with US Soccer for both men’s and women’s broadcasts, has decided to televise this game after the opener of the competition was only shown exclusively on HBO Max. That means the show can be streamed on fuboTV, with HBO Max also an option.
A Spanish language show is available on Universo, which can also be streamed on fuboTV. The match can be found in Spanish on NBC’s subscription-based streaming service, Peacock.
USWNT vs Japan betting odds
The United States, as the No. 1 team in the FIFA rankings, are understandably big favorites in this game, but not as strong favorites as against teams who are defeated by Japan in 11th place.
| BetMGM | |
|---|---|
| US win | -300 |
| Pull | +380 |
| Japan wins | +675 |
| Both teams to score Y/N |
+100 / -140 |
| over under 2.5 goals |
-155 / +110 |