Five Things to Know: USMNT vs. Japan
Here’s everything you need to know before the USMNT faces Japan on Tuesday, Sept. 9 in Columbus, Ohio
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The U.S. Men’s National Team returns to action for the second match in the September window. After falling to Korea Republic in the opener, the USMNT look to bounce back in a city with a lot of soccer history and where the program has thrived in big moments.
Here are five storylines heading into Tuesday’s matchup:
1. The USMNT Has Deep Ties to Columbus
The United States is home to several cities with deep soccer roots, and Columbus, Ohio is one of them. The USMNT has won 10 of its 14 all-time matches in Columbus, including victories in seven of its last eight. The Ohio capital has hosted 11 World Cup Qualifying matches in history, eight of which the U.S. has won, the most of any city. One of the most memorable was the WCQ match against Mexico in 2001. The 2-0 win for the U.S. produced the famous chant “Dos a Cero” and etched Josh Wolff’s name in Columbus and U.S. Soccer history books.
2. Keeping Up the Positive Vibes
The vibes out of training camp last week were positive. Players from the Gold Cup roster reported integrating seamlessly with the players called into camp for the first time since prior to the summer. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino emphasized this in his post-match press conference, saying that despite the result he learned some positive lessons from the match against Korea. Tuesday’s meeting with Japan will give Pochettino another chance to see more from players in the pool and give them opportunities to make their mark like Sergiño Dest and Falorin Balogun, who both made their first appearance Saturday against Korea after missing time due to injury.
3. Two Crew Members Return to their Club Stadium
The September roster features 13 players from Major League Soccer, including two from Columbus Crew who will have the chance to represent the USMNT in their home club stadium Tuesday at Lower.com Field. Fullback Max Arfsten and midfielder Sean Zawadzki currently lace up for the Crew and were members of the squad that won the 2023 MLS Cup. In addition to making his USMNT debut in 2025 in January, Arfsten was selected to this year’s MLS All-Star Team. If Zawadzki appears in Tuesday’s match, it’ll be his second career cap.
4. Building Off September’s Opener in New Jersey
The United States was not short of scoring opportunities in the loss to Korea Republic at Sports Illustrated Stadium. In fact, the USMNT outshot Korea 17-5 on the night. Several players had chances on goal, including Tim Weah in the first half and Balogun with a close-range volley in the second, but Korean goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo had a stellar performance and finished with five saves to stymie the USMNT’s chances to convert. In his post-match press conference, Pochettino said the team needs to be more clinical with finishing its chances and will have a clean slate to do so against Japan.
5. Japan is a World Cup Caliber Opponent
For the second straight match this window, the United States will face a top-25 team that is World Cup bound. Japan enters the meeting No. 17 in the FIFA world rankings and back in March became the first country, outside of the host nations, to secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The USMNT has only met Japan four times in its history and will be looking for win No. 2 in the all-time series. The Samurai Blue travel east to Ohio from Oakland, California where they played Mexico to a scoreless draw Saturday.