USA vs Japan preview: Winner faces either Canada or Germany

The US men’s U23 team is out of the Olympics, so now it’s down to the US Women’s National Team (USWNT) to bring home a medal from Paris 2024. Fortunately, the USWNT has proven adept at doing just that as we share in our USA vs Japan preview.

But the standard has never been to just bring home a medal. They won bronze at the last Olympics in Tokyo and were seen as having failed. Against Japan on Saturday in the quarterfinal, they have a chance to move one step closer to gold.

USA’s group stage recap

For just the second time ever, the first coming in 2012, the USWNT won all three group stage games at the Olympics. They opened up with a 3-0 win over Zambia, with Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson getting the goals.

Their second game against Germany was probably their best game of the tournament. They took the lead, conceded, and then took the lead again. The final score was 4-1 with Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson, and Lynn Williams all getting in on the goal-scoring.

Finally, they wrapped up group play against Australia. While the Germany game was probably their best game of the tournament, the Australia game was their toughest. Trinity Rodman opened the scoring just before halftime but the US was made to work for the bulk of the game. Korbin Albert scored a laser beam in the 77th minute to give the US some insurance. But the Matildas refused to go down without a fight and pulled a goal back in the 92nd minute. Ultimately, it proved to be too little, too late and the US topped the group with all nine points.

USA faces a tough opponent

Japan qualified for the quarterfinals by finishing second in Group C. They dropped their opener against Spain 2-1, despite going ahead in the 13th minute. Their second group game against Brazil was the polar opposite, as they scored two goals in stoppage time (including a penalty) to earn a 2-1 victory. They closed group play with a comprehensive 3-1 win over Nigeria.

The US and Japan have quite a bit of tournament history, including at the Olympics. The two teams met in the 2011 Women’s World Cup Final, won by Japan on penalties. A year later at Wembley, the US got their revenge in the Gold Medal game, with Carli Lloyd scoring twice to secure the win and a gold medal. And perhaps most famously, the US and Japan met in the 2015 Women’s World Cup Final. Carli Lloyd scored a 16-minute hat trick that included a goal from midfield and the US won their third Women’s World Cup title by a score of 5-2.

Where to watch

Saturday’s game between the US and Japan is set for a 9 am ET kickoff. Viewers can watch in English on the USA Network and Peacock, and in Spanish on Telemundo as well as Fubo.

Photo: IMAGO / MAXPPP.