Have the USWNT progressed since the 2025 defeat to Japan?
From Full Time: A show about women's soccer by The Athletic
April 13, 2026 · 33 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the USWNT's recent victory over Japan and evaluates the team's progress since their 2025 defeat.
The U.S. women’s national team defeated Japan 2-1 over the weekend, getting revenge for a 2025 loss by the same scoreline to the same opponent. But, is this result proof that Emma Hayes’s team has progressed? On this episode of Full Time Review , host Jillian Sakovits is joined by The Athletic’s Tamerra Griffin, who was out in San Jose, Calif., to take in the USWNT’s first of three friendlies against Japan. Who were the USWNT’s top performers? How did Japan test the USA? What did the pod make of Sophia Wilson’s first USWNT start since 2024? Did we get closer to understanding the status of Hayes’s A and B teams ? And, what changes to the starting XI will she make for Tuesday’s trip to Lumen Field in Seattle ? _______________ HOSTS: Jillian Sakovits, Tamerra Griffin PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes VIDEO PRODUCER: Lia Griffin EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Emily Olsen _______________ Referenced on the show: USWNT 2, Japan 1: Rose Lavelle scores in 100th start, Sophia Wilson returns USWNT’s next test: Japan, champions of Asia, with a roster of international stars in the making Claire Hutton interview: Ronaldinho influence, USWNT leadership and Japan test Emma Hayes’ rebuild of the USWNT is taking…
People in this episode
Host: Jillian Sakovits
Guest: Tamerra Griffin
Topics covered
- USWNT performance
- soccer analysis
- Japan match review
- Emma Hayes strategy
- women's soccer news
Keywords
- USWNT
- Japan
- Emma Hayes
- soccer
- women's national team
- friendlies
- performance analysis
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: USWNT, Japan, The Athletic
Books & works: Claire Hutton interview
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