The USWNT earned a 2-1 victory – it’s 10th win in a row – in the first leg of a rare three-game series against the same opponent when it took down Japan on April 11 in San Jose, Calif. The result flipped the scoreline from the most recent meeting before April 11, in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup when Japan won 2-1 to give the Nadeshiko the tournament title. This is the ninth time the USWNT has faced a team three consecutive times in its 40-year existence. The USA will play Japan for a second time on Tuesday, April 14, at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. (7 p.m. PT on TNT, truTV and HBOMax in English, Universo and Peacock in Spanish) in a match presented by Allstate, before finishing the series on Friday, April 17, at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. (7 p.m. MT on TNT, truTV and HBOMax in English, Universo and Peacock in Spanish). All three matches will also be available in English on the radio on Westwood One. Japan is fresh off a triumphant run at the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia where it outscored its opposition 29-1 (the only goal allowed was to South Korea in a 4-1 semifinal victory) and impressively beat the Matildas, 1-0, in the title game in front of 74,397 fans at Stadium Australia, one of the more impressive feats in international soccer since the last FIFA Women’s World Cup
U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position (Club; Caps/Goals)
2026 April Matches vs. Japan
GOALKEEPERS (3): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash, 10), Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign FC; 9), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United, ENG; 6)
DEFENDERS (9): Tierna Davidson (Gotham FC; 67/3), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG; 75/1), Naomi Girma (Chelsea FC, ENG; 53/2), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash; 10/1), Lilly Reale (Gotham FC; 7/0), Emily Sams (Angel City FC: 9/1), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC; 115/2), Gisele Thompson (Angel City FC; 8/0), Kennedy Wesley (San Diego Wave FC; 5/0)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Sam Coffey (Manchester City, ENG; 45/5), Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 174/40), Claire Hutton (Bay FC; 16/1), Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC; 119/28), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC; 15/5), Jaedyn Shaw (Gotham FC; 34/10), Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 16/1)
FORWARDS (7): Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current; 11/1), Jameese Joseph (Chicago Stars FC; 4/1), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit; 53/13), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville FC; 18/6), Ally Sentnor (Kansas City Current; 19/7), Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea FC, ENG; 30/4), Sophia Wilson (Portland Thorns FC; 59/24)
VETERANS LAVELLE, HEAPS LEAD USA TO VICTORY IN SAN JOSE: On April 11 in San Jose, Calif., Rose Lavelle and Lindsey Heaps showcased why the value of veteran leadership can never be underestimated as the pair scored the USA goals, with Lavelle also picking up the assist on Heaps’ goal, as the USA triumphed 2-1 in the first of three games against a talented Japanese side. The match featured ebbs and flows favoring both teams, and Japan outshot the USA 11-9 with six shots on goal to the USA’s three, but few of Japan’s shots tested U.S. goalkeeper Claudia Dickey. The USA scored in the 9th minute through Lavelle and then again 141 seconds into the second half to take a 2-0 lead. Even though the USA conceded sloppily in the 61st minute, the Americans showed maturity and grit to see out the final 30 minutes of the match and pick up their 33rd all-time win over Japan.
MOMENTS NOT TO MISS:
Dickey, Cooper Throw Out Ceremonial First Pitch at the Seattle Mariners
Lavelle’s Goal and Post-Match Reaction
Heaps’ Goal and Post-Match Reaction
Sophia Wilson’s First Match Back
Rapinoe Announces Seattle Women’s Soccer Match Attendance Record
Gigi’s First USWNT Match
RECENT HEADLINES:
USWNT vs. Japan: Match Recap & Highlights
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FIRST MATCH IN SEATTLE IN NINE YEARS SETS RECORD: The U.S. returns to Seattle, Wash. for the first time in almost nine years. The match will take place at Lumen Field, the home of Seattle Reign FC and Seattle Sounders FC. Goalkeeper Claudia Dickey is the only player on the roster from the Reign, which are currently 3-1-1 early in this NWSL season. In the Reign’s most recent match, Dickey set the club record for saves, surpassing Hope Solo — who had 187. Dickey currently has 190. The last time the U.S. played in Seattle was July 27, 2017, at CenturyLink Field (now Lumen Field) to open the inaugural Tournament of Nations, losing 1-0 to Australia. This time, Lumen Field is ready to rock with a crowd that will set the record for largest for a standalone women’s soccer match in Seattle. The previous record was 34,130 for Megan Rapinoe’s farewell game. The match will have an added twist as it will be the first for the USA on grass at Lumen Field, with a new pitch having been laid down in preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches.
WNT HISTORY IN SEATTLE: This will be the third match the USWNT has played at Lumen Field as the USA drew Brazil, 1-1, in Oct. of 2015, meaning that Lumen Field is one of the few soccer venues in the USA where the USA has not won a game. In 2002, the USWNT played two matches at what was then SAFECO Field, putting together big wins over Panama (9-0) and Costa Ria (7-0) in qualifying for the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup (which was to be held in China PR before moving to the USA on short notice due to the SARS epidemic). The USA did play a match in Tacoma, Washington, in 1995, a physical affair played on a very small field at Franklin Pierce High School.
USWNT ROOTS RUN DEEP IN SEATTLE: Seattle played an important role in the early history of the U.S. Women’s National Team. The first-ever USWNT in 1985 featured Seattle-based head coach, Mike Ryan, and more than half the roster (at least eight of the 17 players) hailed from the Seattle area, including the legendary Michelle Akers, making the region one of the ancestral homes of the USWNT.
SISTER, SISTER: The Thompson sisters are the third pair of sisters to represent the USA. The first time Gisele and her older sister Alyssa were called in together was at the 2025 SheBelieves Cup, and they became the first pair of sisters to come to camp from the same professional club (Angel City FC). The first instance of sisters on the same USWNT roster occurred in the late 1990s when twins Lorrie and Ronnie Fair were called up together. More recently, Samantha and Kristie Mewis were on the 2021 Olympic Team together. After starting together on the left side on April 11 in San Jose vs. Japan, the Thompson sisters have now started a record four WNT games together and have played in six total WNT games together. Alyssa started on June 26 vs. Ireland and Gisele came off the bench to play the final 32 minutes. They both started against Australia in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup and in the second match vs. Brazil on April 8. On March 1, Gisele started the USA’s first match of the 2026 SheBelieves Cup vs. Argentina, with Alyssa subbing on late in the match. More recently, the Thompson sisters both started the March 4 match vs. Canada. Had Alyssa not been subbed out of that match in the 90th minute, it would’ve marked just the second time ever two sisters on the USWNT played a full match together. The first time was when Sam and Kristie Mewis played against Mexico on July 1, 2021, and combined for a goal. On April 11, Gisele played a full match, but Alyssa subbed off in the 85th minute. The Mewis sisters hold the record for most USWNT matches played together by sisters with 12, a mark the Thompsons are only halfway towards achieving.
TEAM NOTES
- Since its inception in 1985, the USWNT has compiled a record of 611 wins, 75 losses and 91 ties. Over the history of the program, the USA has gone 365W-25L-37D (90% winning percentage) at home, 59W-20L-16D away (71%) and 187W-30L-38D (81%) on neutral ground. The USA’s overall winning percentage of 84% is the best all-time of any international sports team in history. Of the USA’s 75 losses, 12 (16%) came at the Algarve Cup in Portugal, long one of the world’s most competitive tournaments but one in which the USA no longer competes.
- So far in 2026, of the USA’s combined 17 goals and 16 assists, 61% involved a player under 25.
- Goals by players under 25: A team-leading three from 21-year-old Ally Sentnor, two from 24-year-old Emma Sears and 23-year-old Trinity Rodman, one each from 23-year-olds Reilyn Turner and Jameese Joseph, 24-year-old Croix Bethune and 21-year-olds Jaedyn Shaw and Alyssa Thompson.
- Assists by players under 25: One each from 20-year-olds Olivia Moultrie, Riley Jackson, Gisele Thompson, 23-year-olds Ayo Oke and Trinity Rodman, 21-year-old Jaedyn Shaw and 24-year-olds Croix Bethune and Emma Sears.
- In 2025, of the USA’s combined 41 goals and 28 assists and 51% involved a player under 25.
- Thirty-six of the USA’s 50 goals in 2024 (68%) were scored or assisted by a player under 25.
- Sixteen players made their USWNT debuts in 2025 which is the most U.S. debuts in a calendar year since the first year of the program (1985). Five players have debuted for the U.S. in 2026 so far.
- For the second camp in a row, the USWNT roster has zero uncapped players on it, marking the only two rosters of Emma Hayes' tenure without uncapped players.
- Eleven different players have scored for the U.S. thus far in 2026 and nine of them are on this roster, led by Ally Sentnor with three goals. Sears, Rodman and Lindsey Heaps each have two goals after six matches so far this year.
- The April 11 match vs. Japan was the first international match Sophia Wilson, formerly Sophia Smith, played under her married name. Wilson's most recent international goal came on Oct. 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas during a 3-1 win over Iceland. Playing in this match she became the 18th mother to play for the USWNT. Should Wilson score a goal, she will be the ninth player to score for the U.S. as a mom.
- Three players on the roster have more than 100 caps, led by Lindsey Heaps (174) and followed by Rose Lavelle (119) and Emily Sonnett (115).
- Five players have between 50-100 caps: Emily Fox (75), Tierna Davidson (67), Wilson (59), Naomi Girma (53) and Rodman (53). Sam Coffey is five caps from 50. Ten players have 10 or fewer caps.
- Of the 23 field players on the roster, 20 have scored in an international match, led by Heaps with 40 international goals. Lavelle has 28 goals and Wilson has 24. The only other players with double figures are Rodman with 13 and Jaedyn Shaw, who scored her 10th career goal on March 1 against Argentina at the SheBelieves Cup.
- The roster features 19 NWSL players (five from Gotham FC) and seven who are currently playing for clubs in Europe. Four of the seven are currently competing in the latter stages of the UEFA Women's Champions League: Lindsey Heaps and Lily Yohannes with OL Lyonnes, Emily Fox with Arsenal FC and Phallon Tullis-Joyce with Manchester United.
- Sam Coffey's Manchester City is close to securing the England Women's Super League title and a berth in next year's Champions League.
- This roster features several connections to the three venues that will host the April matches. Five players on the roster played college soccer in the Bay Area at Stanford University in Wilson, Davidson, Girma, Wesley and Jane Campbell. Davidson hails from Menlo Park, Calif. and Girma grew up in San Jose, Calif. Claudia Dickey is the starting goalkeeper for Seattle Reign FC, Wilson and Olivia Moultrie play in the Northwest for Portland Thorns FC and the roster features two Colorado natives in Wilson and Heaps, the latter of whom signed with the Denver Summit in early January and will join the NWSL expansion club in July after finishing her final season in France. Claire Hutton from Bay FC will also get the chance to play in her club's home venue. Wilson has ties to all three venue locations.
- Hayes has now given caps to 60 different players. Of those 60 players, 56 have started a match. No other full-time manager named more than 36 different starters in their first 30 games in charge. In 2025 alone, Hayes gave 44 different players caps, the most of any coach in the 40 years of the USWNT program. So far in 2026, 40 players have earned match minutes already.
- The three goalkeepers in camp have a total of 25 career caps. Campbell of the Houston Dash has 10 but has not earned a cap since Feb. 26, 2025, which was a USA loss to Japan in the most recent meeting between the teams. Dickey has nine caps and Tullis-Joyce has six.
IN FOCUS: JAPAN
FIFA World Ranking: 5
AFC Ranking: 1
World Cup Appearances: 9 (1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023)
Best World Cup Finish: Winners (2011)
Record vs. USA: 2W-33L-8D
Head Coach: Michihisa Kano
JAPAN WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Ayaka Yamashita (Manchester City FC, ENG; 89), 12-Chika Hirao (Granada CF, ESP; 15), 23-Akane Okuma (INAC Kobe Leonessa; 3)
DEFENDERS (7): 2-Risa Shimizu (Liverpool FC, ENG; 87/4), 3-Moeka Minami (Brighton & Hove Albion, ENG; 70/5), 4-Kumagai, Saki (London City Lionesses, ENG; 169/4), 5-Hana Takahashi (Urawa Reds; 48/5), 6-Toko Koga (Tottenham Hotspurs FC, ENG; 28/4), 13-Hikaru Kitagawa (Everton FC, ENG; 29/2), 16-Yuzuki Yamamoto (Denver Summit, USA; 8/1) 21-Miyabi Moriya (Utah Royals, USA; 27/2)
MIDFIELDERS (9): 7-Hinata Miyazawa (Manchester United FC, ENG; 60/12), 10-Fuka Nagano (Liverpool FC, ENG; 58/1), 14-Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City FC, ENG; 103/22), 15-Aoba Fujino (Manchester City FC, ENG; 42/10), 17-Maika Hamano (Tottenham Hotspurs FC, ENG; 31/9), 18-Honoka Hayashi (Everton FC, ENG; 40/2), 19-Momoko Tanikawa (FC Bayern Munich, GER; 20/6), 22-Remina Chiba (Eintracht Frankfurt, GER; 26/6)
FORWARDS (4): 20-Manaka Matsukubo (North Carolina Courage, USA; 14/1), 9-Riko Ueki (West Ham United FC, ENG; 52/18), 11-Mina Tanaka (Utah Royals, USA; 102/47), 24-Maya Hijikata (Aston Villa FC, ENG; 4/1)
USA vs. JAPAN
- The most recent USA-Japan meeting came in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup finale, a 2-1 loss for the USA that gave Japan the tournament title. It was just the second-ever win for Japan against the USA.
- The USA and Japan have meet five times in the SheBelieves Cup. The U.S. leads that SBC series with a 3W-1D-1D record.
- The meeting in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup was the 42nd all-time between the countries, which first met back in 1986 in the USWNT’s second year of competition. These three matches will be the 43rd, 44th and 45th matchups between the two teams.
- The teams met twice in 2024 and both were epic. The first was in the SheBelieves Cup semifinal (in the truncated four-game format) when the U.S. and Japan faced off in front of a crowd of 50,644 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium – the largest crowd to watch the USWNT on home soil since the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final – and the U.S. came back from an early deficit to win 2-1 to advance to the SheBelieves Cup final where it beat Canada to hoist the trophy for the fifth consecutive year. AT MBS, Japan scored just 31 seconds into the match, taking the lead on a goal from Kiko Seike, but the Americans equalized in the 21st with a strike from distance by Jaedyn Shaw and Lindsey Horan converted the game-winning penalty kick in the 77th.
- The second match was the 2024 Olympic semifinal, an extremely tight affair where Japan played with a defensive posture in an attempt to slow down the Triple Espresso front line of Trinty Rodman, Sophia Wilson and Mallory Swanson, the first two of whom are on this roster, but Trinity Rodman’s dramatic overtime goal was the difference.
- The teams met in the 2023 SheBelieves Cup, a 1-0 U.S. victory in Nashville on a goal from Swanson.
- Before the 2023 SheBelieves Cup the teams met in the last U.S. match before the COVID-19 pandemic; a 3-1 U.S. victory in which Megan Rapinoe and Christen Press scored magnificent first half goals while Lindsey Horan added an insurance goal after Japan’s Mana Iwabuchi pulled one back in the 58th minute.
- The USA leads the all-time series against Japan with an overall record of 32W-2L-8D. Before last year’s SBC match, the USA’s lone loss in the series came during the 2012 Algarve Cup. The USA then went unbeaten against Japan in 14 consecutive meetings, with 10 wins and four draws in that span, including a 2-1 win in the 2012 Olympic Final and a 5-2 victory in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, before falling in the SBC in San Diego last year.
- Since the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, the USA has gone 11-2-4 against Japan, outscoring them 37-19.
- The USA and Japan have a rich history dating back to 1986, the second year of the U.S. WNT program, but the more recent meetings in the 2010s have forever linked these two countries in women’s soccer history.
- The USA and Japan met in the three consecutive world finals, with the USA losing the 2011 Women’s World Cup in penalty kicks after a 2-2 tie over regulation and overtime, then winning the 2012 Olympic goal medal game, 2-1, and the historic 2015 Women’s World Cup Final, 5-2.
JAPAN NOTES
- Japan is coming off a rousing run to the title at the 2026 AFC Asian Women’s Cup. Japan won all six games, outscoring their opponents 29-1 and the only goal allowed came in a 4-1 win over South Korea in the semifinal. Japan is now qualified for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, one of six teams to earn berths from the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
- Japan’s 1-0 victory in the championship game on a 17th minute goal from Maika Hamano was even more impressive as it came in front of a crowd of 74,397 at Stadium Australia, one of the more impressive wins in women’s international soccer since the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
- Riko Ueki of West Ham led the tournament in scoring with six goals. Kiko Seike, who was on this roster before being dropped due to injury, leaving Japan with 23 players for the three-match series, had four goals. Hamano and Hinata Miyzawa had three each.
- 14 different players scored for Japan in the tournament as it won its third AFC Women’s Asia Cup title and three out of the last four competitions. Japan also won in 2014 in Vietnam and 2018 in Jordan.
- Mina Tanaka is the leading scorer on this roster with 47 international goals in 102 caps. Yui Hasegawa, who plays for Manchester City in the FA Women’s Super League, has the second-most goals of any player on this roster with 22 goals in 103 caps.
- Every field player on Japan’s roster has scored an international goal and five players are in double-figures in international goals. Hamano is almost there with nine.
- Yamashita is Japan’s long-time starter and carries 89 caps into these games. The other two GKs on the roster have 18 caps combined.
- Japan’s veteran leader is the 35-year-old central defender Saki Kumagai, by far the most experienced player on this roster with 169 caps and has represented Japan at the last four FIFA Women’s World Cups, including scoring the winning penalty against the USA in the penalty kick shootout during the 2011 FIFA World Cup Final. She currently plays for the London City Lionesses in England.
- While Japan’s Senior National Team has not reached a world championship final since 2015, its Women’s Youth National Teams – particularly the Under-20s – have had a great run of recent success. Japan won the 2018 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup and finished runner-up at the 2022 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
- The then eighteen-year-old Hamano won the Golden Ball as the top player at the 2022 FIFA U-20 World Cup and also took home the Silver Boot after finishing the tournament with four goals.
- In a move that provided a shock to the women’s soccer world, Japan parted ways with head coach Nils Neilsen just 12 days after winning the Asian title and just days before the start of this FIFA window. Long time senior team assistant and former U-20s head coach Michihisa Kano will serve as interim head coach for the Nadeshiko through all three matches.
