United States vs. Japan Picks and Predictions: International Friendlies Continue

The United States were embarrassed by South Korea last Saturday, losing on their home soil by a score of 2-0. Lucky for them, they get another shot to take down an inferior opponent tonight, as they host Japan in Columbus. Their loss to South Korea was the USMNT first match since losing to Mexico in the Gold Cup Final, and to be quite honest, they did not look good at all. Can they turn things around and get a much needed confidence boosting win tonight? Let’s get into our favorite picks.

Check out the best odds at our favorite online sportsbooks.

United States vs. Japan International Friendly Picks

Now, let’s jump into the stats surrounding the United States’ first friendly.

Yes, they lost 2-0. But they did dominate the stat sheet. The United States gained 54% of possession, had five shots on target compared to four from South Korea, as well as outshooting them overall 17-5. The USMNT also won the corner kick battle 6-3, but it wasn’t enough to come out victorious. While the personnel wasn’t the issue, Mauricio Pochettino could have started Folarin Baolgan instead of Josh Sargent. Other household names like Christian Pulisic and Tim Ream played all 90 minutes, while Sergiño Dest, Sebastian Berhalter, Timothy Weah and Diego Luna all got the start but were subbed off, and normal starter, Chris Richards came off the bench.

Perhaps Pochettino was trying out some new tactics and players together, but it didn’t work, and things need to change tonight.

As for Japan, they come into this match ranked No. 17 in the world and the top team in the AFC. The United States are just ahead at No. 15, so given their recent form, the betting odds make sense to me. We’ll get into those in a minute.

Japan played a scoreless draw with Mexico on Saturday, winning the corner kick battle 3-1 and outshooting Mexico 2-1 on target and 9-8 overall. Their defense is rock solid, allowing just one goal over their last five matches, and three over their last 15 contests, 14 of those being competitive, World Cup qualifying matches. Aside from Mexico, the rest of Japan’s “top competition” includes No. 24 Australia, whom they lost to 1-0, and played to a 1-1 draw during the most recent qualifiers over the last year.

Can they get a win tonight against the United States?

Matchup Information – United State vs. Japan

• Venue & Location: Lower.com Field (Columbus, OH)
• Date: Tuesday, September 9, 2025
• Kick Off: 7:30 p.m. Eastern
• Broadcast: TNT/HBO Max/Peacock

United States vs. Japan Betting Odds – September 9

Odds are courtesy of BetOnline, an industry leader in the sports betting world. Sign up today using code BNBOL55 and get a 55% deposit bonus.

Money Line

• United States +205
• Draw +240
• Japan +119

Draw No Bet

• United States +128
• Japan -170

Total

• Over 2.5 (+110)
• Under 2.5 (-145)

I’m not going to dig too deep, because there’s plenty of better spots to wager our money this week. However, with minimal sports on the television this Tuesday Night, several of you might be tuning in to TNT to see if the USMNT can bounce back.

Personally, I think they do, but it won’t be easy. This Japan defense is top notch, and will try to keep their fantastic form going forward. Offensively, both teams have seemed to struggle recently, and I will be betting on defenses standing strong tonight.

United States vs. Japan Picks and Predictions

United States vs. Japan Prediction: 0-0 Draw (+800)

Best Bet: United States/Japan Under 2.25 (-108) BetOnline

Here we go again, the asian handicap. Our bet is split into two wagers, one for under 2, one for under 2.5, both priced at (-108). If we see one goal or less, we win both bets, two total goals, and we win and push for some profit, and three total goals would make us lose.

Japan’s defense has been incredible. They held Mexico (No. 12 in the World) to just one shot on target, and again, they’ve allowed just three goals over their last 15 matches, 14 of which were competitive, meaningful matches. The United States have not shutout their opponent in five straight matches, giving up goals to Costa Rica (No. 40), Haiti (No. 90) and Guatemala (No. 100). Defense will certainly be a focal point of their plan tonight, and I expect Tim Ream and Chris Richards to hold the backline strong throughout this match.

While I do have a scoreless draw as my prediction, I could see it going 1-0 either way, but I definitely don’t see either team scoring twice, making me bet this under.

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