USWNT Prepares for Crucial Friendlies Against Japan
The United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) is set to face Japan, the fifth-ranked team in the world, in a series of three friendlies. This rare opportunity to play the same team three times in a week comes at a crucial time, with the 2027 Women’s World Cup just over a year away. USWNT head coach Emma Hayes is looking to refine her team’s tactical ideas and narrow down her roster, and these matches will provide valuable insight into the team’s strengths and weaknesses.
One of the major storylines heading into these friendlies is the return of forward Sophia Wilson, who is set to play for the United States for the first time in 17 months after her maternity leave. Additionally, defender Tierna Davidson is back with the team for the first time in over a year after tearing an ACL. These two returns alone are major headlines, and they each further complicate important positional decisions for Hayes.
Key Questions for Hayes in This International Window
With only six international windows left before the World Cup, Hayes can’t afford to let any matches go to waste. Here are some of the burning questions she’ll be looking to answer in this crucial international window:
Is the USWNT’s Versatility of Strikers a Strength or a Vulnerability?
Wilson’s return comes with Catarina Macario sidelined by a lingering heel injury, meaning the two players won’t be in camp together. Macario had held down the No. 9 role in Wilson’s absence and hit her groove in late 2024, ending the year with a strong showing in a pair of wins over Italy. Macario plays the position as a false 9 who wants to drop deep and combine, while Wilson can both stretch the line and drift wide to beat defenders one-on-one.
Come the World Cup, Hayes has to decide how she wants to play against a given team to choose who will occupy that role. In this camp against Japan, she’ll see who can carry that load beyond Wilson and Macario. Ally Sentnor stepped up in that role in the SheBelieves Cup, and the versatile Jaedyn Shaw could get another look up top. Jameese Joseph is likely to get time there as well in what will be her biggest test yet as a pro.
Who Should Be the USWNT’s Starting Pair at Center Back?
Davidson will be on restricted minutes in this camp as she works her way back to full fitness, but her return should eventually reunite her with Naomi Girma for the preferred center-back partnership of the 2024 Olympic gold medal run. As previously discussed, a healthy Davidson would likely be the preferred partner to Girma at the 2027 World Cup.
Emily Sonnett remains a steady option and potential starter, but Emily Sams and Kennedy Wesley are each off to hot starts this NWSL season. Wesley is the most intriguing up-and-coming option outside of the injured Jordyn Bugg, with Girma-like qualities that extend beyond the San Diego Wave jersey to her ball-reading and play-setting abilities.
Which USWNT Player Combinations Will Be Solidified?
Hayes alluded to the idea that she will roll out one lineup in two of the games against Japan, and a second, distinct lineup in the other. She will likely alternate them too, similar to how she handled the SheBelieves Cup. These are not necessarily A- and B-teams, but we can infer that the stronger, more experienced group is most likely to feature more favored starters.
What’s important, Hayes has said, is the combinations within those lineups. That could be as simple as a midfield trio, but it is also about developing patterns of play between, say, a fullback, central midfielder, and winger who have been asked to combine more down a given flank.
Will Hayes Show All Her Cards with the World Cup Next Year?
Three games against Japan is a difficult proposition for Hayes, considering the matchup could be a knockout round game at next year’s World Cup. That proposition is likely too hypothetical — and the World Cup too far away — for Hayes to hold back too many tactics. However, there could be some gamesmanship in two world powers meeting at this stage of the cycle.
Japan also enters this window in a precarious place, having just won the AFC Asian Cup last month but announcing that it was moving on from head coach Nils Nielsen after his contract expired in search of more creative playing styles. This leaves Japan with Michihisa Kano as interim coach, which will complicate the analysis for Hayes and her staff.
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