LINEUP NOTES
Japan vs. USMNT
International Friendly
September 23, 2022
Düsseldorf Arena, Düsseldorf, Germany
Pre-Game Coverage: 8 a.m. ET on ESPN2, ESPN+; 8:20 a.m. ET on UniMás, TUDN
Kickoff: 8:26 a.m. ET on ESPN2, ESPN+, UniMás, TUDN
Social Media: @USMNT on Twitter and Instagram; U.S. Soccer on Facebook , The U.S. Soccer App
Today’s USMNT Starting XI vs. Japan: 1-Matt Turner, 2-Sergiño Dest, 3-Walker Zimmerman (capt.), 4-Tyler Adams, 5-Aaron Long, 6-Sam Vines, 8-Weston McKennie, 9-Jesús Ferreira, 11-Brenden Aaronson, 14-Luca de la Torre, 21-Gio Reyna
Substitutes: 18-Ethan Horvath, 25-Sean Johnson, 7-Paul Arriola, 12-Erik Palmer-Brown, 13-Jordan Morris, 15-Johnny Cardoso, 16-Mark McKenzie, 17-Malik Tillman, 19-Ricardo Pepi, 20-Reggie Cannon, 22-DeAndre Yedlin, 23-Kellyn Acosta, 24-Josh Sargent, 26-Joe Scally
GAME NOTES | FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT JAPAN
- USMNT Starting XI Cap Numbers (including this match): Weston McKennie (36), Walker Zimmerman (32), Tyler Adams (31), Aaron Long (28), Brenden Aaronson (23), Matt Turner (19), Sergiño Dest (18), Jesús Ferreira (14), Gio Reyna (13), Luca de la Torre (12), Sam Vines (9)
- Today’s Starting XI has an average age of 24 years, 143 days and average cap number of 20.
- Forward Gio Reyna makes his first international start in more than a year, last doing so in the 0-0 draw at El Salvador to open 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying on Sept. 2, 2021. Reyna dons the number 21 shirt today, the same number his father Claudio wore a total of 42 times for the USMNT, including at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
- Defender Sam Vines makes his first USMNT appearance since the Concacaf Gold Cup Final against Mexico on Aug. 1, 2021, and earns his first start since the semifinal against Qatar on July 29, 2021. Thanks to that appearance against this year’s World Cup hosts, Vines is the only USMNT starter that has played against opposition from the Asian Football Confederation.
- After missing both the March and June international windows, defender Sergiño Dest makes his first appearance since the Jan. 30 World Cup Qualifying match at Canada.
- Walker Zimmerman captains the side for the sixth time today.
- Tyler Adams, Luca de la Torre and Weston McKennie start together in midfield for the first time today.
- The forward line of Brenden Aaronson, Jesús Ferreira and Gio Reyna also start together for the first time today.
- Jesús Ferreira leads all USMNT players with five goals in eight matches during 2022.
- Aaron Long and Walker Zimmerman partner in central defense for the 10th time. The USMNT is 7-1-1 when the veteran duo pair together on the back line.
- Three starters have represented clubs here in Germany. Gio Reyna has played for Borussia Dortmund since 2019, Weston McKennie lined up for Schalke from 2017-2020 and Tyler Adams represented RB Leipzig from 2019-2022.
- Should he sub into the match tonight, midfielder Kellyn Acosta will appear against the country of his father and grandmother’s birth.
- Christian Pulisic is off today’s roster because of a knock he took in training earlier this week. He will be evaluated day-to-day for his availability to play against Saudi Arabia on Sept. 27 in Murcia, Spain.
- The USMNT will dress 25 players, while Japan will dress 26 for today’s game. Six substitutions are allowed in three different moments. Halftime does not count as a substitution moment.
- The USMNT is 1-1-0 all-time against Japan. The Samurai Blue won the first meeting, a 3-1 victory on March 14, 1993 in Tokyo. The USA won the last meeting, earning a 3-2 result on Feb. 10, 2006 in San Francisco.
- The USMNT is 36-9-9 in 54 matches under Gregg Berhalter.
- Today’s match marks the team’s third neutral site friendly under Berhalter. The USA earned a 6-2 win against Panama on Nov. 16, 2020, and a 4-1 win against Jamaica on March 25, 2021. Both matches were played in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.
- Felix Zwayer of Germany is the referee for tonight’s match. This is the first time he has officiated a USMNT match.
