With the World Cup less than two months away Greg Berhalter is still fine tuning his squad
In the first of their last two two tune-up matches for the United States men's national team they'll clash with Japan. Gregg Berhalter's men are in Germany to see if their injury-riddled team can stand up to Japan's potent attack.
Heading to their seventh consecutive World Cup, the Samurai Blue will provide a solid test. Berhalter has already confirmed that the spine of his team will be manned by Matt Turner in net protected by Aaron Long and Walker Zimmerman as his center back pairing Sam Vines will also start at left back. Likely to go with a strong lineup, all eyes will be on who replaces the injured Yunus Musah as if someone like Johnny Cardoso features and impresses, it could be an easy way to make the World Cup roster.Follow along as CBS Sports will have wire to wire coverage from the match.
Live updates
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Score update
USMNT 0, Japan 1 (2H)
How to watch and odds
- Date: Friday, Sep. 23 | Time: 8:25 a.m. ET
- Location: Mekur Spiel-Arena -- Dusseldorf, Germany
- TV: ESPN2 | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
- Caesars Sportsbook odds: Japan +140; Draw +210; USMNT +175
Turner tested again
Ito has been everywhere during the match and forced turner into a good save but the space between center backs is still being exploited.
Much better from the midfield
Still room for improvement but the ball is moving faster as the USMNT are getting into the final third and pressing Japan to win the ball back.
Passing is a tad better
The U.S. is getting the ball a bit deeper now and passing with a bit more sharpness, but it's still not good enough yet. Japan are defending well and remaining organized.
Halftime changes are here
Reggie Cannon, Mark McKenzie, Jordan Morris and Josh Sargent have all entered the match and Dest, Long, Reya and Ferreira have all exited. Vines and de la Torre will get more time to steady their performances.
Vines charges forward and it's a chance for the USMNT
Japan held strong but it's better as the team has had no chances in the attacking third. The USMNT lost possession 28 times in their defensive third according to the ESPN broadcast which is telling of how the match has gone so far.
Two shots, none on goal for USA
It's been a bad first half. Very little shape, the passing has been largely sloppy, and they are deservedly down 1-0 at the break. Some changes needed. I'd expect to see Paul Arriola, Josh Sargent and Jordan Morris in the second half, but somebody needs to be a bit more creative. We could also see Ricardo Pepi too as he offers some creative features in attack.
Rust plus lack of chemistry equals problems
Sam Vines and Luca de la Torre have looked especially off the pace which is to be expected but is still a concern. Vines has a defensive role in the match but Japan are still finding ways past him while de la Torre hasn't brought his usual dynamism in midfield. These are key areas where they need to improve or a halftime hook could be coming from Berhalter.
A look at Japan's goal
Poor defending from the U.S.
It's not great defending for the Americans. Dest pushes so high to help in attack, and then once Japan go on the counter, they have a huge advantage against a three-man backline. Punished.
After a VAR review, Kamada gets his goal
Will it be enough to kick the USMNT's performance up a notch? Walker Zimmerman was just holding Kamada on.
That would've been a deserved goal for Japan
Ito plays in Kamada but he's ruled offsides by the slimmest of margins. It will go to VAR in a friendly to see if this will be given.
Still all Japan
The defense has held strong but that's more of a credit to Turner than praise for their performance so far. The midfield hasn't been able to move the ball quickly and are being outworked consistently. The United states are a team that is able to string passes together but it's not something that we've seen so far 20 mintues into this game. An important note is that with them playing top opposition, the match is still 0-0 so there's plenty of time to turn things around.
Matt Turner has been busy
He pulls out quite the save as Kamada creates a chance following a breakdown between Walker Zimmerman and Aaron Long.
Solid from the U.S.
The Americans are getting down the right regularly through de la Torre and Sergino Dest as Jesus Ferreira misses a tough yet wide open header in front of goal. But the passing has been fairly sharp early down the right, and that was a fine ball from Dest.
The USMNT is dominating possession but not much to show for it
It has been a rough time for progressing the ball as Japan has already taken two shots despite having 38 percent of the ball. Walker Zimmerman has been trying to play the ball over the top but Serginio Dest created the best chance for Ferreira after slipping by Japan's high line.
Quick start for Japan
Ito intercepts a pass and tests Matt Turner within the first minute. A great warning for the USMNT to be on their game as Japan's press can cause problems.
Five minutes until kickoff
It's almost time for an important test for the USMNT.
The defense will be tested
This U.S. defense will deal with plenty of chances. Japan are disciplined, and consistent, and they have some really creative players in attack. I expect the U.S. defense to have some issues in this match, and it won't surprise me if Japan find the back of the net more than once.
My eyes are on Gio
With all of the injury issues he's dealt with, Gio Reyna is finally healthy again and gets the start here. He is, in my mind and without a doubt, the most talented player on this team and the most important. His creativity and understanding of the game will be critical to success of the strikers. Let's see what his comfort level is and how the chemistry is at the moment with this group.
Matt Turner will have a big opportunity starting this match
A look into what he has to gain from this international break with Steffen not in the squad.
When asked how his lack of playing time would impact his sharpness, Turner said that "it depends on how you look at your situation and view your comfort levels. And for me, I want to continue to get better. I know that my ceiling has not yet been reached and it's going to take some hard work and some risky career moves at the end of the day.
"But if I want to get to where I want to get to, I need to get outside of my comfort zone a little bit, and that's going to help my sharpness every single day and my approach to the game in general."
This is when it comes back to the competition for places at Arsenal. While Turner may have to shake off some rust as a result of not playing regularly, being able to step up when called upon is important too. Even when Steffen has been available for Middlesbrough, he has made mistakes of his own that have given Turner this opportunity with the World Cup looming and this international break will also set him up well when he returns to Arsenal.
No Pulisic for the USMNT
After taking a knock, he is day to day which will see Brenden Aaronson and Gio Reyna man the wings. Berhalter also opts to go with Luca de la Torre in midfield to put together what is a strong team for this match.
Starters: 1-Matt Turner, 2-Sergiño Dest, 3-Walker Zimmerman (capt.), 4-Tyler Adams, 5-Aaron Long, 6-Sam Vines, 8-Weston McKennie, 9-Jesús Ferreira, 11-Brenden Aaronson, 14-Luca de la Torre, 21-Gio Reyna
Substitutes: 18-Ethan Horvath, 25-Sean Johnson, 7-Paul Arriola, 12-Erik Palmer-Brown, 13-Jordan Morris, 15-Johnny Cardoso, 16-Mark McKenzie, 17-Malik Tillman, 19-Ricardo Pepi, 20-Reggie Cannon, 22-DeAndre Yedlin, 23-Kellyn Acosta, 24-Josh Sargent, 26-Joe Scally
Japan Lineup
It's a strong lineup for Japan but Minamino will start the match on the bench.
Starters: Gonda, Tomiyasu, Nakayama, Yoshida, Sakai, Kubo, Endo, Morita, Ito, Kamada, Maeda
Reserves: Yamane, Taniguchi, Nagatomo, Shibasaki, Haraguchi, Furuhashi, Minamino, Tanaka, Mitoma, Doan, Schmidt, Soma, Ito, Machino, Tani
A look at Japan's full roster
GOALKEEPERS (4): Eiji Kawashima (Strasbourg/FRA; 95/0); Shuichi Gonda (Shimizu S-Pulse; 32/0); Daniel Schmidt (Sint-Truidense/BEL; 9/0); Kosei Tani (Shonan Bellmare; 1/0)
DEFENDERS (9): Hiroki Ito (Stuttgart/GER; 3/0); Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo; 136/4); Yuta Nakayama (Huddersfield Town/ENG; 16/0); Hiroki Sakai (Urawa Red Diamonds; 70/1); Ayumu Seko (Grasshopper Club Zurich/SUI; 0/0); Shogo Taniguchi (Kawasaki Frontale; 12/0); Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal/ENG; 28/1); Miki Yamane (Kawasaki Frontale; 13/2); Maya Yoshida (Schalke/GER; 119/12)
MIDFIELDERS (13): Ritsu Doan (Freiburg/GER; 26/3); Wataru Endo (Stuttgart/GER; 41/2); Genki Haraguchi (1.FC Union Berlin/GER; 73/11); Reo Hatate (Celtic/SCO; 1/0); Junya Ito (Reims/FRA; 36/9); Daichi Kamada (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER; 19/5); Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad/ESP; 18/1); Takumi Minamino (Monaco/MCO; 42/17); Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton & Hove Albion/ENG; 7/4); Hidemasa Morita (Sporting CP/POR; 16/2); Gaku Shibasaki (Leganes/ESP; 58/3); Yuki Soma (Nagoya Grampus; 6/3); Ao Tanaka (Fortuna Düsseldorf/GER; 13/2)
FORWARDS (4): Kyogo Furuhashi (Celtic/SCO; 15/3); Shuto Machino (Shonan Bellmare; 3/3); Daizen Maeda (Celtic/SCO; 7/1); Ayase Ueda (Cercle Brugge/BEL; 9/0)
Hopefully more of the same as the last meeting between the teams
This is the third meeting between the USMNT and Japan as the record is 1-1-0 in favor of the United States. The nations last met on Feb. 10, 2006, in San Francisco, a 3-2 win for the USA. Forward Taylor Twellman scored one and assisted the two other goals, boosting the U.S. to a 3-0 lead before Japan pulled two back.
Looking at the group of forwards, it isn't about how many goals they score
Its about what they bring to the team. While Berhalter stressed that the forwards bring different things to the table, it's about how they impact the team as a whole. Check that out along with other roster takeaways ahead of the match.
"We've been consistent in saying that it may not be the best forward that is in the group. It's a guy that fits what we're doing the best," Berhalter said when discussing his forward choices.
With the inclusion of Josh Sargent, Jesús Ferreira, and Ricardo Pepi, it is clear that work rate, vision, and positional awareness are as important for Berhalter -- if not more important -- than scoring goals when he's choosing a striker. Considering how the team relies on Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah cutting in from wing positions, it makes sense, but Berhalter isn't leaving himself with much of a backup plan if things don't go according to pan out.
This isn't to say that Sargent and Ferreira aren't good options as they're performing well enough to start, but for someone like Brandon Vazquez being left off the roster for Pepi, who has three attacking returns in almost a calendar year has to hurt. Jordan Pefok and Haji Wright have at least been involved in camps so you can point to Berhalter working to see if they could fit his system, but that's not the case with Vazquez. Berhalter has stayed in contact with players not called, so they know where they stand, but that only goes so far. Berhalter did note that he knows what Pefok can do, but it feels like his core three doesn't include Pefok at this time.
The biggest question facing the national team is who will replace Yunus Musah
I looked at possible choices as well and other questions that Berhalter will want to answer in this match.
One of the biggest questions surrounding the team is how Behalter will set up his midfield. In his pre-match media availability, when asked who would replace Musah, Berhalter almost named his entire midfield.
"This gives an opportunity for guys like Luca [de la Torre], for guys like Kellyn [Acosta], for guys like Johnny Cardoso -- who we know is a really good player," Berhalter said. "So I think those three can fill in admirably. And then we also have Malik Tillman or perhaps Gio Reyna who can fill in the midfield position. So just depending on what kind of look we want.
Berhalter was asked about Brenden Aaronson who filled in for Weston McKennie during the summer window and he clarified that Aaronson can fit in as well. What's interesting from his responses is that based on what the depth chart was during qualifiers, de la Torre should be the person who gets the nod as he can bring similar skills when it comes to ball progression. But only having played 11 minutes since moving to Celta Vigo, fitness is certainly a question at this time. Berhalter's late call-up of Cardoso could also see him get extended minutes, coming in after quality performances for Internacional. Only 20, Cardoso could see a late stock rise that sees him on the plane to Qatar similarly to the one that Tillman is currently on.
Japan will be a tough team to unlock so it makes sense for Berhalter to go with a more creative option and Cardoso has played as a holding mid or a shuttler depending on the need. With three goals and two assists this season, he can bring a dynamic presence to Berhalter's midfield three without the need to change the positions of Tyler Adams and McKennie.
USMNT team news
With these being the last matches that the United States will play before the World Cup, expect Berhalter to play a strong lineup. Berhalter has confirmed that Matt Turner, Aaron Long, and Walker Zimmerman will start the match. The USMNT hasn't lost in four matches and Costa Rica is the only team to defeat them in their last eight matches, so the expectation is that even though Japan are a strong squad, the United States should be able to handle the challenge in front of them. Japan are a good test for a defense that is far from the first choice squad but will also provide openings for the midfield.