Japan defeated USA 1-0 on Monday at the 2018 U20 Women’s World Cup in France. It was the first game of the event for both teams. USA continues Group C play on Thursday with a game against Paraguay, which lost 4-1 to Spain on Monday. Thursday’s game is already a must-win for USA with only two teams advancing from each group to the knock-out round. 

Japan nabbed the lone goal of the game in the 74th minute on a stellar shot from Honoka Hayashi. The Japan midfielder caught USA goalkeeper Laurel Ivory slightly off her line and lifted a shot over her from 35 yards out that snuck past Ivory’s finger tips and hit off the bottom of the post before going across the line for the lone goal of the game. 

USA had a couple of chances in the late stages of the game. Forward Sophia Smith missed the frame on a free kick from just outside the box. Midfielder Jaelin Howell was denied the equalizer on a terrific defensive play as Howell had a clean header off a corner kick from Brianna Pinto in stoppage time that went past the goalkeeper but a retreating Japan defender cleared the shot away from the goal. 

The final statistics for the game ended up relatively even. Japan held the advantage in shots with 15-12, but USA held onto the ball for longer with 56% of the possession. Each team hit the frame of the goal once and both finished with four shots on goal. 

The two teams exchanged chances in the first half. The victor had the better look at the leading tally in the opening half. Ivory came up big on a fingertip save to stop a header and then pounced on the ball to secure the loose ball near the goal frame. Following Amanda McGlynn’s stellar performances at the Concacaf Championship, it was a bit of a surprise to see Ivory in the starting line-up on Monday. However, Ivory’s terrific stop in the first half made her appear to be the correct choice for the spot. 

USA generated chances in the attack in the first half against a conservative Japan defense. Smith was often left in 1v2 situations against the two center backs, which nearly paid off early in the game when she broke past the last defender but a heavy touch allowed Japan goalkeeper Hannah Stambaugh to pluck the ball off her foot on a breakaway. Stambaugh also blocked Smith’s shot from inside the 18-yard box in the first half. Howell also had a couple of looks in the first half.

USA will attempt to bounce back on Thursday with a game against Paraguay, which looked suspect defensively in the loss to Spain on Monday. 

USA U20 XI: Laurel Ivory; Kiara Pickett, Samantha Hiatt, Naomi Girma, Isabel Rodriguez (Emily Fox 85’); Jaelin Howell, Viviana Villacorta, Savannah DeMelo (Brianna Pinto 73’); Erin Gilroy, Sophia Smith, Ashley Sanchez (Abi Kim 64’) 

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