Before the Olympic Games, the United States will play a high-level friendly match Japan in Kansas City. It will be the first time since 2008 that American soccer will participate in the Olympic Games, but Marko Mitrovic faces tough decisions as his roster can only consist of eight players for the tournament. Walker Zimmerman will likely be one of the three allowed overage players after he is included in the squad, but it remains to be seen who the others will be as those discussions still continue. The Olympic Games kick off with a tough match against Francethis will be an important competition in preparation.
Here are our storylines, how to watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Tuesday June 11 | Time: 8:05 PM ET
- Place: Kinder Mercy Park – Kansas City
- TV: Universal | Live stream: American Football Youtube
Storylines
USMNT: Mitrovic will be left with midfield questions ahead of the match as Gianluca Busio will be unavailable as he recovers from a minor injury, but there is also a chance that Aidan Morris will be unavailable due to reportedly completing a move to Middlesbrough in the championship. With key parts of his midfield missing, the team will lean on him Tanner Tessmann And Jack McGlynn but it could also present an opportunity for the Inter Miami midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi. The creative midfielder is also eligible for the next Olympic Cycle
Japan: After their run to win the Asian Cup brought them here, Japan came into the Olympics with high expectations after becoming the first two-time champions of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup. Japan, a country with a rich Olympic history, has the sixth-most Olympic appearances of any team, but they only managed a bronze medal in 1968. Joel Fujita was named MVP of the tournament and the Sint-Truiden midfielder will be someone the UMSNT will keep an eye on during the match.
Prediction
Despite the uncertainty in midfield, this is a USMNT side too talented not to score goals at home in what will be a lively farewell match to the Olympics. Choose: USMNT 3, Japan 2
