PREVIEW: USA Begins #ToN2018 with Stern Japan Test | Thursday 7pm ET | FS1

The U.S. Women’s National Team opens its 2018 Tournament of Nations on July 26 at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas (6 p.m. CT on FS1) against long-time rival Japan. U.S. head coach Jill Ellis named 25 players to the training camp roster and chose a final 23-player roster for this event after several days of training.

These games are providing valuable preparation for the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship which will send three nations to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. After the Tournament of Nations, the USA will have two friendly matches against Chile (Aug. 31 in Los Angeles and Sept. 4 in San Jose) before entering World Cup qualifying. The USA’s 2018 has so far featured wins over Denmark, Germany, England, Mexico (twice) and China PR (twice), along with a tie against France.

Follow all the #USWNT and tournament action on Twitter using #ToN2018 on @ussoccer_wntand @ussoccer_esp, and also on Facebook, Instagramand Snapchat (ussoccer_wnt).

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position (Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3): 21- Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC; 0/0), 24- Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 16/0), 1- Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 29/0)

DEFENDERS (6): 7- Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 19/0), 12- Tierna Davidson (Stanford; 8/0), 11- Merritt Mathias (NC Courage; 1/0), 4- Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC; 139/0), 14- Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 21/0), 22- Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC; 17/0)

MIDFIELDERS (8): 6- Morgan Brian (Chicago Red Stars; 75/6), 2- Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 61/15); 9- Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 51/5), 16- Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit; 8/2), 10- Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC; 254/100); 3- Samantha Mewis (NC Courage; 36/7); 20- Allie Long (Seattle Reign FC; 39/6), 5- McCall Zerboni (NC Courage; 2/0)

FORWARDS (6): 19- Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 64/23), 17- Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns; 133/19), 13- Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 142/86), 23- Christen Press (Utah Royals FC; 100/44), 15- Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign; 137/37), 8- Amy Rodriguez (Utah Royals FC; 131/30)

STORYLINES

#ToN2018 Schedule: The competition tournament format is same as the SheBelieves Cup and last year’s Tournament of Nations with the four teams each participating in three doubleheader events at three different venues over an eight-day period. The winner of the tournament will be based on total points (three for a win, one for a tie), with the first tie-breaker being overall goal difference, followed by most total tournament goals scored, then head-to-head result and lastly, FIFA Ranking if necessary.

USA vs. Japan: The USA and Japan have a rich history dating back to 1986, the second year of the U.S. WNT program, but it’s the more recent meetings which have linked these two countries together in women’s soccer history. The USA holds an all-time record of 27-1-7 against Japan and has scored 100 goals while allowing 25. The teams met in the three 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 gold medal game 2-1, and the historic 2015 Women’s World Cup Final 5-2.

• Read: Five Things to Know About Japan, Presented by Thorne

The first meetings between the two countries after the 2015 Women’s World Cup Final came in June of 2016 with the teams playing to a wild 3-3 draw in Commerce City, Colo., as hometown hero Lindsey Horan scored late to make it 3-2, but Japan equalized in stoppage time. The USA then won 2-0 in three days later in Cleveland, getting goals from Julie Johnston and Alex Morgan, in a match that was called in the 76th minute due to weather. Since falling in the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, the USA has gone 5-1-3 against Japan, outscoring them 21-10.

At #ToN2017: The most recent meeting between the USA and Japan came at least year’s Tournament of Nations with the USA winning 3-0. Megan Rapinoe scored what was one of the best goals of the year in the 12th minute and the USA then broke open a tight game with goals from Mallory Pugh in the 60th and Alex Morgan in the 80th.

Make it Four in Kansas : This will be just the fourth visit to Children’s Mercy Park for the U.S. WNT. The first two matches were low-scoring, on Sept. 17, 2011, a 1-1 draw with Canada, and a 1-0 victory against T&T on Oct. 15, 2015 in World Cup qualifying. The USA also downed Costa Rica 4-0 at Children’s Mercy Park on July 22, 2016. The U.S. Women have also played four matches in Kansas City, Missouri, all at Arrowhead Stadium between 1999 and 2004.

Morgan Climbs the Multi-Goal Lists: With two goals in both April matches against Mexico, Alex Morgan is now third all-time in two-goal games for the USA and fourth all-time in multi-goal games.