The US has suffered a disappointing defeat against Japan in Dusseldorf, which is a poor start to their world cup preparation.
They are to play two warm-up games (they have already lost one to Japan) before they travel to Qatar for the 2022 world cup playoffs. The US would travel to Spain for a second warm-up match against Saudi Arabia before their coach would present his final 13 starting players for the World cup.
Berhalter’s team was without Christian Pulisic against Japan, as the star player had sustained a knock while training with his national team.
Japan was in front in the 24th minute when Hidemasa Morita collected the ball from a sloppy play, before passing it on to Kamada who wasted no time in firing it home. The goal was initially ruled out for offside but after a VAR check, the goal stood.
Berhalter enlisted a host of debut substitutes to use their energy to level the game, but none of them did anything spectacular.
In the 88th minute, Mitoma sealed their lead, after dribbling past numerous defenders and curling a beautiful goal into the back of the net. Japan is a force to reckon with, as they have been doing well in the past few years.
Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner was not too happy with his team’s performance. He stated that the game was disappointing. He said:
“Obviously really disappointing. I just kind of wish that we had a little more fight about us from the start. I think we hurt ourselves in a lot of ways.”
