For all the talk that Japan was in a rebuilding phase, they came out looking like a team determined to forget what happened last summer at the World Cup. Even with a new coach and some new, young players, they played quintessentially like Japan for much of the game with their trademark patient technicality.
The United States came out in a 4-3-3, hoping that the dynamism of Crystal Dunn on the right and Tobin Heath on the left would help create opportunities for Alex Morgan. Both Dunn and Heath have become creative engines for their respective NWSL clubs this season, but it was not to be - at least not for the first quarter of the game.