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The U.S. will meet Japan in Columbus, Ohio this evening. The match will be televised on FSC at 6:30 p.m. ET. Five players in the USWNT’s roster did not take part in the WNY Flash’s 3-2 victory against the Boston Breakers last night. Read Jeff Kassouf’s match report for all the details (and DiCicco’s brutally honest comments at the end) but McCall Zerboni had a stellar game, contributing two goals and one assist for the Flash. The Flash remain undefeated while the Breakers have lost four games out of five of their previous games. Anyway, on to the USWNT…

The back four.

• Rampone - On the conference call following the Women’s World Cup roster announcement, Pia Sundhage said she wasn’t likely to risk Christie Rampone after the veteran center-back sustained a groin injury in last weekend’s magicJack match. An intrepid anonymous blogger attended the USWNT’s training match last night and reported that Rampone was one of the few standouts. If Sundhage does decide to sit Rampone, it could pave the way for Amy LePeilbet’s return to a central defense position. And if that’s the case, either Stephanie Cox or Becky Sauerbrunn (but likely Cox) will probably occupy the spot at left-back. And if Cox gets the start at outside back, Sauerbrunn may start in the center of defense. The possibilities are endless. And worrying.
• LePeilbet - Speaking of LePeilbet, Sundhage also mentioned that Rachel Buehler is likely to assume the center-back position from now into the World Cup. When Rampone isn’t an injury scratch, that will presumably mean that LePeilbet will be squeezed out wide. The Boston Breaker has looked alarmingly short on confidence, fitness, and form since CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifying. Tony DiCicco has employed LePeilbet at an outside back position in the Breakers’ previous two matches prior to last night so Sundhage isn’t the only coach to think she can perform well at full-back. So, can she? It remains to be seen.
• Krieger or Mitts - According to Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch, Heather Mitts is still hamstrung and had an MRI on Thursday. Sundhage’s quote about not using a player who is at 90 percent is telling. That means Krieger will likely be the go-to right-back in these two games and we’ll see if Mitts is at 100 percent by June. Krieger hasn’t been dreadful but has had her fair share unconvincing movements in a U.S. shirt. However, there is simply no one else.

Will Hope Solo get the start?

Solo shared halves with Nicole Barnhart in the USWNT’s loss against England in early April. The goalkeeper should welcome any and all prep time ahead of the World Cup. This could be the right moment to test out the fitness of her shoulder.

*P.S. Solo’s tweets seemingly evaporated in cyber space and have yet to return. While Solo’s ranty tweets were taken with more amusement than seriousness, her recent conspiracy theory-peddling tweets and bullying of unsuspecting fans were simply beyond the pale. Solo will represent her country in the World Cup and therefore should not partake in anything that could distract from the task at hand. Considering the 2007 episode is apprently still one of the few talking points in pre-match press coverage, the USWNT (and U.S. Soccer’s P.R. people) likely don’t want to go through a similar scenario in 2011. Plus, if the USWNT continues to play the way it has in recent times, the team should spend its time worrying about more things than a rogue tweet from a cell phone.

Will the USWNT concede a goal early?

Two of the U.S.’s three losses since 2010 emanated from conceding early goals. The USWNT let in goals in the first eight minutes against both Mexico in World Cup Qualifying and against England in April. Despite getting a goal back in both games, the U.S. could never mount a full recovery. It’s an issue that’s bedeviled the USMNT in recent years. Perhaps it’s mental fragility or a case of an unsettled back four. Either way, it will hopefully not become a trend.

Will this be a different team from the one that failed to compete against England?

The U.S. went into the match against England with high expectations. The team had just claimed victory in both the Four Nations tournament and the Algarve Cup and appeared to be thoroughly deserving of the wins. The U.S. had not been defeated by England since before Alex Morgan was born. However, the team looked out of sorts for the entire 90 minutes and was deservedly beaten by a superior England side. It was the first time the U.S. had lost a friendly since 2004. That particular loss came against Denmark in Philadelphia on November 6, 2004. It also marked the last time the U.S. has lost a game on home soil. That’s a record that will hopefully be left unbroken by the end of these two matches.

The formation will be a flat 4-4-2 with Wambach and A-Rod up top, won’t it?

And Boxx and Lloyd in the middle and Rapinoe and O’Reilly on the outside. Anyone who’s watched the team in the past nine months probably has a good read of what’s worked and what hasn’t worked. The tactical rigidity, lack of distribution, problems in central midfield, and same starting XI are common knowledge now. There’s really no point in banging out about them at this point. That is to say that maybe there will be some change. And hopefully the team will play better than it had against England, Italy, and Mexico.

On Japan:

Japan are currently ranked number 4 in the world and are the seeded team in World Cup Group B. The team is led by head coach Norio Sasaki. Japan had a banner 2010, claiming victory in both the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and the 2010 Asian Games. Japan’s attack will be led by two Frauen-Bundesliga standouts. Yuki Nagasota tallied 12 goals for Turbine Potsdam last year and is rostered for these two matches ahead of her club’s appearance in the UEFA Women’s Champions League final on May 26. Duisburg’s Kozue Ando is listed as a defender despite playing primarily as a striker for her club team. Ando scored five goals in 20 matches for Duisburg. WPS fans will be familiar with former Washington Freedom player Homare Sawa and former Atlanta Beat member Aya Miyama. Both players are listed in Japan’s 20-player roster. 18 of Japan’s 20 players ply their trade in Japan’s domestic L-League. The kick-off of the season got postponed by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami and the season is on an indefinite hiatus.

The USWNT have a 20-0-3 record against Japan. The team’s three draws came in back-to-back-to-back matches over 2000 and 2004. The USA met Japan just over two months ago in the opening game of the 2011 Algarve Cup in Portugal. The USWNT won 2-1 thanks to goals from Amy Rodriguez and Megan Rapinoe.

And some stats and figures, of course:

• The U.S. Women’s National Team has not played in Columbus, Ohio, since Sept. 28, 2003, when it faced North Korea during group play at the FIFA Women’s World Cup. That matched attracted a sell-out crowd of 22,828.

• The USA last played in Ohio in 2010, defeating Germany 4-0 on May 22. The U.S. put forth an absolutely brilliant performance on the day and hasn’t had a 90 minutes to rival that match since.

• This is a good sign. Pia Sundhage is 12-0-2 all-time against Asian teams during her three and a half years as head coach of the USA.

• Since the end of the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the USA is 63-4-6. Two of those losses came in 2011, one loss came in 2010, and two draws were from in 2010.

• The USA is 73-1-2 when Abby Wambach scores a goal. Abby Wambach has yet to score a goal in five total appearances this calendar year.

• Lindsay Tarpley has the most career goals on the roster (32) of anyone besides Wambach.

• Oldest U.S. player to debut in World Cup (1991): April Heinrichs (27 years, 263 days). Amy LePeilbet, Lori Lindsey, and Heather Mitts are all poised to break that record.

• Here’s the games-to-goals ratio for 2011. Based on this (admittedly dubious) indicator, Carli Lloyd is very much in form.

Lloyd 1.6, Tarpley: 2, Morgan 2.6, Rapinoe 3.5, A-Rod 3.5, Cheney 3.5

• And here’s the games-to-assists ratio:

Cheney = 2.3, A-Rod = 2.3, Heath = 2.5, Rapinoe = 3.5, Boxx = 3.5, Tarpley =4

There won’t be a live chat this game (but hopefully for the one on Wednesday though). Check back after the match for relieved or whiney reaction, depending on the result.

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