USMNT vs Japan: Time and how to watch online and on TV
There’s no doubt that this warm up to the World Cup will prove to be much more. The only question that remains is who will get the W?
With the 2022 FIFA World Cup just two months away now, the preparations continue and with that we’ve got the lowdown on the USMNT’s game against Japan this weekend.
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How to watch Japan vs USMNT
With kickoff set for 8:25 a.m. ET on Friday, September 23rd, you’re going to want to be up and at it quite early if you want to catch the action. With that said, here’s what you need to know about how you can watch. Coming to you live from the Dusseldorf Arena in Germany, you can find the game on ESPN 2, Unimas and TUDN if you’d like to watch on TV. Prefer to stream? No problem, but you’ll have to check ESPN+. Also be sure to check in with us here on AS USA as we’ll be bringing you our live text coverage!
Team U.S.A. has an injury problem
Since they finished third in their CONCACAF qualifying campaign and with that, booked themselves a place in the World Cup itself, this will be the third time they are playing against a team who is also heading to football’s biggest party in November. The Americans’ last two outings were a 0-0 draw with Uruguay and a solid 3-0 victory over Morocco as recently as June. Yet confidence is not the issue here, as the Americans have proven they can go toe for toe with some of the world’s biggest sides. The bigger issue is that of injuries to key players.
Goalkeeper Zack Steffen (Middlesbrough), left back Antonee Robinson (Fulham) and winger Tim Weah (Lille) were all excluded from the original 26-man roster due to injury. The situation was only made worse when midfielder Yunus Musah (Valencia) and center backs Chris Richards (Crystal Palace) and Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic) withdrew as well. This is all to say, that American depth will be tested when they face the Japanese.
Japan looks to expose American frailty
In their seventh consecutive World Cup appearance since 1998, the The Samurai Blue aren’t going to Qatar 2022 to simply make up numbers. After moving through qualifying with little fuss - their record of 15-2-1 proves the point - the Japanese boast a roster that is almost entirely based in Europe’s top leagues. from start to finish. Fans will of course know the name of former Liverpool man Takumi Minamino, one of their leading scorers during qualifying. Then there’s also Schalke defender Maya Yoshida and let’s not forget forward Kyogo Furuhashi who’s been turning heads at Celtic. Indeed, there are qute a few players on the roster who are part of Celtic’s squad. This is all to say, nothing will be given on the pitch when the whistle goes.
The last time the sides met, it was back in a friendly which was played in February of 2006. On that day, the USMNT managed to get themselves a 3-2 victory courtesy of goals by Eddie Pope, Clint Dempsey and Taylor Twellman. As for where they rank heading into the tournament, the Samurai Blue are currently ranked No. 24 according to FIFA, while the Americans sit ten spots higher at No. 14.