If they hope to defend home soil and secure a sixth-straight SheBelieves Cup crown, the task for Emma Hayes and the United States women in San Diego is simple: win.
The USWNT must come away with the victory against Japan on Wednesday night if they are to retain supremacy in this annual early-season competition.
Both sides have passed their tests against Australia and Colombia with a pair of victories each, but Japan did so in much more convincing fashion and thus hold the goal-difference tiebreaker.
Given that, a draw would see the visitors come away with the crown, which would be an embarrassing finish to a competition the U.S. has only failed to win twice since its inception in 2016 and has won annually since 2020.
The Sporting News is following the USA vs. Japan match live, providing score updates and commentary
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USA vs. Japan score
| Score | Goal scorers | |
| USA | – | – |
| Japan | – | – |
Location: Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego, CA)
Starting lineups (predicted):
USA (4-3-3, right to left): Campbell (GK) — Fox, McKeown, Sonnett, Nighswonger — Heaps, Yohannes, Coffey — Macario, Sentnor, Ryan
Japan (4-3-3, right to left): GK (GK) — Yamashita (GK) —…
