USA and Japan played out an even match with very little separating the sides but it was Japan who prevailed in the end thanks largely to captain Ozu Moreira’s expertly-taken half-field goals.
Alessandro Canale opened the scoring with a diving header before Japan defender Ozu equalised directly from the restart. The sides went into each interval level after Naoya Matsuo and USA keeper Christopher Toth exchanged goals.
Teruki Tabata gave Japan the lead with a well-executed bicycle kick before Canale scored once again with his head. However, in a case of deja vu, Ozu scored immediately from the restart once again to make it two wins from two for Japan, while the Stars and Stripes fell short, narrowly, once again.
Up next
25 November
[[flag-usa-xs]] USA - Paraguay [[flag-par-xs]] (21:00 local time)
[[flag-jpn-xs]] Japan - Switzerland [[flag-sui-xs]] (17:50 local time)