The USMNT's penultimate friendly before the start of the World Cup was a lesson in what not to do against Wales on Nov. 21 at Al-Rayyan Stadium. Japan destroyed the U.S. defense and midfield with its press, isolated the Americans' attack and generated all the chances in a thorough 2-0 victory in Düsseldorf.
Gregg Berhalter’s United States men’s national team plays its first of two friendlies on Friday vs. Japan. The game is being played on neutral ground in Düsseldorf, Germany. Here are some USMNT vs Japan predictions and scenarios.
Up first will be the overall scenarios, and then it'll be broken down by the three sections (attack, midfield and defense).
Wales captain Gareth Bale said he is on a "good path" towards full fitness ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, despite not completing a full game since joining Los Angeles FC in June.
Bale signed for the Major League Soccer club after leaving Real Madrid, where he struggled with injury in his last few seasons. He has made only two starts in his 11 appearances for LAFC, scoring twice.
The USMNT begins its two-game September window Friday morning with a friendly against fellow World Cup participant Japan at Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany.
It'll be a fascinating matchup with the Samurai Blue fielding the likes of Schalke's Maya Yoshida, Monaco's Takumi Minamino, Arsenal's Takehiro Tomiyasu and Real Sociedad's Takefusa Kubo, while the U.S. is looking for some reassurances from its banner carriers (the goalkeeper position, Christian Pulisic).
On Tuesday evening at the Portuguese Football Federation's "Gala Quinas de Ouro 2022," Cristiano Ronaldo used an award acceptance speech to outline his international future with the national team.
This week serves as the final international break before clubs must release players to their national teams just one week before the World Cup begins, so the latest squad selections should be huge indicators of the final 26-man rosters for the competing nations.
However, a look at the current teams indicates that this won't be a traditional World Cup of blockbuster snubs, but rather an exploration of player pools in an attritional battle against lingering muscle strains.
To prepare you for the tournament, The18 has launched 2022 World Cup team previews for each of the 32 nations competing in Qatar.
Below you will find each team listed along with a link to those previews that have been published. Check back throughout the buildup to the 2022 World Cup as we publish a complete list of World Cup team previews, updated with the latest on each team participating in the greatest men's soccer tournament in the world.
To prepare you for the tournament, The18 has launched team-by-team previews for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This is the Brazil World Cup preview for the Group G favorite.
World Cup Appearances: 22 (last in 2018)
Best Finish: Champion (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)
AMSTERDAM — The Netherlands will be testing their goalkeepers in a special penalty shootout training session this week with an eye on the World Cup later this year, coach Louis van Gaal said on Monday.
He has called up four goalkeepers for this week's Nations League clashes against Poland and Belgium as the Dutch look to finish top of their group and advance to the finals next June.
But Van Gaal said a priority will be putting together the final touches for the World Cup in Qatar in November, where the Dutch play in Group A against the hosts, Ecuador and Senegal.
Brentford's in-form striker Ivan Toney earned his first England call-up on Thursday as manager Gareth Southgate named his squad for the upcoming Nations League matches against Italy and Germany.
Toney's inclusion, together with the omission of Manchester United duo Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, was the most significant development as Southgate named his final squad before deciding which players will make his World Cup selection.