USA vs Japan friendly: match preview

Japan isn't going to the Olympics, but the US can still learn from playing them

Japan emerged as the USWNT's biggest archrival in recent years, competing against them in three straight tournament finals from 2011 to 2015. They've since seen a dropoff in their progress, washing out of AFC Olympic qualifying, which led to the resignation of longtime head coach Norio Sasaki.

But now Japan has a new coach at the helm, Asako Takakura, the first woman to ever manage the Japan WNT, and the team will surely be looking for, if not redemption, at least a fresh start. For Japan, that may not mean playing to win, but instead playing to work on their own system and get players back into a groove against a…