Japan beats U.S. 2-1 for SheBelieves Cup women's soccer title

USA likes to organize tournaments without the strongest nations, more chance to win?

Fifa Ranking: 1 USA / 8 Japan / 15 Australia / 21 Colombia.

Next time invite Spain, Germany or England.

Finally congratulations to Japan!

Hats off to Nadeshiko Japan!

Beating the Stars and Stripes at their home is no mean feat. Definitely a team to be feared now with the Asia Cup looming in '26. They are improving - and will aim to take the Cup off the Chinese.

USA likes to organize tournaments without the strongest nations, more chance to win?

Fifa Ranking: 1 USA / 8 Japan / 15 Australia / 21 Colombia.

Next time invite Spain, Germany or England.

Germany, Brazil, England and Spain have often featured in the She Believes Cup.

Good. Nothing pleases me more than to see the U.S. women's soccer team lose.

I’m with you on that.

“Of course we want to win. No one wants to lose these things,” Hayes said. “But we didn't put out our most experienced team. We put out a team we're hoping to develop, and our goals go beyond just the SheBelieves.”

I hate it when players make these kind of comments ergo excuses.

The US women's socer team has a hard time admitting defeat.

I'm glad Japan beat this arrogant team.

Good. Nothing pleases me more than to see the U.S. women's soccer team lose.

Oh, I enjoy seeing the Australian team lose more than the Americans.

And I'm Australian.

The reason is that I saw Australia play Japan here in Japan.

When there was a collision, the Japanese players jumped up and headed for the ball.

The Aussies rolled around on the grass hoping for a freeby.

Sorry, no freebies!!!!

The US team is blooding a lot of new players at the Cup in preparation for next year's World Cup qualifiers. Its starting lineup is the youngest since the turn of the millennium

"U.S. women's national soccer team using SheBelieves Cup as chance to foster young talent"

https://www.thealbertan.com/soccer/us-womens-national-soccer-team-using-shebelieves-cup-as-chance-to-foster-young-talent-10258875

Nineteen-year-old Claire Hutton is one of four players on the U.S. women’s national team roster for the start of the SheBelieves Cup this week who have never appeared in a game for the team.

The inclusion of Hutton and fellow newcomers Tara McKeown, Gisele Thompsonm, and Michelle Cooper, along with 17-year-old Lily Yohannes is part of coach Emma Hayes’ plan to make developing talent a priority ahead of the Women’s World Cup qualifiers next year.

Hayes said she sat down with the team’s leadership group this week to explain the importance of growing the team from within.

“But there’s no point talking about the development of a program without providing opportunities for people to do it,” she said. “But with that comes the risk, and of course it won’t look polished in its entirety. But I trust the process and I’ve been a coach for a long, long time to know that doing it this way will give us a much better chance down the road to compete at the top end.”

The average age of the team is 24 years old. Think about that. The year is 2025 - that means a lot of its players were not even born yet the last time it fielded a starting lineup that young!

The US needed to win the game to earn the Cup, while Japan needed just a draw due to superior goal-difference. The US pressing for the win made them sloppy in many places, while Japan remained solid throughout. Neither team could dominate the game

This is Coach Hayes first loss as US coach - she was undefeated in her first 17 games in charge

Congrats to the Nadeshiko! They were the best team throughout the tournament. Their best player plays in the US women's league

Mina Tanaka, who plays for the Utah Royals in the National Women's Soccer League, led all players in with four goals and three assists and was named tournament MVP.

Congratulations to the Japanese squad. Nicely done ladies!

The inclusion of youngsters in the US's team is not a good "excuse".

Nadeshiko Japan Squad:

Momoko Tanikawa - 19 yrs old

Toko Koga - 19 yrs old

Maika Hamano - 20 yrs old

Manaka Matsukubo - 20 yrs old

Maya Hijikata - 20 yrs old

Shinomi Koyama - 20 yrs old

Akane Okuma - 20 yrs old

Aoba Fujino - 21 yrs old

Rion Ishikawa - 21 yrs old

Shu Oba - 22 yrs old

30 yrs old & above:

(2 only):

Mina Tanaka - 30 yrs old

Saki Kumagai - 34 yrs old.

Congratulations to champions Nadeshiko Japan.