U.S. Men’s Olympic Team to host Japan on June 11 in Kansas City in final tune-up match
CHICAGO – The U.S. Men’s Olympic Soccer Team will face Asian champion Japan on June 11 in Kansas City, Kansas in what will be its final preparation match before the USA heads to France for the 2024 Olympics. Kickoff from Children’s Mercy Park is set for 8 p.m. ET.
“We’ve had a number of productive training camps in preparation for the Olympic Games and we’re excited to play in front of American fans in our last game before we travel to France,” said head coach Marko Mitrović. “It’s important for us to continue building toward the Olympics and we know that Japan will provide a strong test. Kansas City is known for its passionate soccer fans and it will be a great host for our final match in the United States.”
The U.S. Men’s Olympic Team is returning to the Games this summer for the first time since 2008 and serves as an important part of U.S. Soccer’s mission to develop winning teams. The Olympic Men’s Soccer Tournament is restricted to players under the age of 23, with each team allowed three overage players on its roster. The Men’s Olympic Team provides some of the nation’s top young talents the opportunity to compete against elite opposition on the world stage for a place on the podium.
In a marquee opening game of the tournament, the USA will kick off its Olympic return on Wednesday, July 24 – two days before the Opening Ceremony – against host France (9 p.m. local / 3 p.m. ET) at Stade de Marseille in Marseille. The U.S. will then take on New Zealand on Saturday, July 27 in Marseille (7 p.m. local / 1 p.m. ET) and will finish the group stage against Guinea on Tuesday, July 30 at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne (7 p.m. local / 1 p.m. ET).
Japan qualified for the Olympics by winning the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup earlier this month. This will be the Samurai Blue’s 11th appearance at the Games after reaching the semifinals as the host nation at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The Men’s Olympic Team topped Japan 4-1 on Oct. 17 in Phoenix, its second match after its return to action last fall. Johan Gomez, Paxten Aaronson, Aidan Morris and Duncan McGuire all scored for the U.S. Most recently, the U.S. topped African fourth-place finisher Guinea 3-0 and rallied to earn a come-from-behind 2-2 draw at France during the March FIFA window.
The U.S. qualified for its first Olympic Men’s Football Tournament in 16 years with a dominant performance at the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship. At that tournament, the USA topped host Honduras 3-0 before a raucous crowd in San Pedro Sula to secure its Olympic berth.
