The American national women’s team will face Japan for the title of the Sheblieves 2025 Cup on Wednesday evening. Japan enters the last day tied with the United States on points, but leads the tournament table on the goal differential, setting up an essential scenario for the USWNT. The longtime rivals will meet for the 41st time on Wednesday, and the USWNT will run the series of all time 31-8-1 and will compete for the first time since their meeting of Olympic quarter-final in 2024.
Here’s what you need to know:
Information display
- Date: Wednesday February 26 | Time: 10:30 p.m. and
- Place: Snapdragon Stadium – San Diego, CA.
- TV: Universo and TBS | Live flow: Fubo (Try for free)
- Odds: USWNT -450; Draw +500; Japan +800
Trophy scenarios
The two teams enter the last day with two victories each and six points. Japan runs the tournament table with a better differential objectives (+7) than the USWNT (+3). Japan holds the break in differential equality of goals in the last match, so they only need a draw to secure the Shebelieves Cup, and for the USWNT, it is a winning-vain scenario. Nothing less than a victory for the United States means a second place for the first time since 2020.
Classification
|
Japan |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
1 |
+7 |
6 |
|
USA |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
+3 |
6 |
|
Australia |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
-5 |
0 |
|
Colombia |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
-5 |
0 |
What they say
The manager Emma Hayes and the group were faced with various obstacles against Colombia and Australia and their last match against Japan will be their biggest challenge to date. Here is what she had to say about the upcoming game:
“Well, it’s just the perfect game. It’s just what you want. And I think Japan, you can see on the current form, score a lot of goals, the quality of their game is so high. I think they are one of the top, top, the best world teams.
“I can’t wait to watch, I love watching Japan play anyway. So excited for the challenge … So let’s go, and I respect hell. They are a brilliant team, but we want to win .
Projection of the starting programming
USWNT Starting XI Projection: Jane Campbell, Emily Fox, Emily Sams, Emily Sonnett, Crystal Dunn, Sam Coffey, Lily Yohannes, Jaedyn Shaw, Yazmeen Ryan, Catarina Macario, Michelle Cooper
Prediction
Two teams who respect each other a little too much could mean another closely disputed match. Take: USA 1, Japan 0
