The U.S Women's National Team (USWNT) will travel to Japan to face Nadeshiko, Japan's World Cup Champion team, on April 1 and Brazil on April 3 in a new tournament called Women's Kirin Challenge Cup. The tournament builds on Japan's tremendous success in 2011 World Cup, which inspired the nation after the tragic tsunami, earthquakes and nuclear disasters in March 2011.
The USA will play Japan at Yurtec Stadium in Sendai and Brazil in Fukuda Denshi Arena in Chiba. The USWNT last faced Brazil in the 2011 Women's World Cup quarterfinal where the U.S. played for over an hour with 10 players before dramatically tying the score in the 122nd minute. The USA fell to Japan in the World Cup final, losing on penalties after overtime.
"This trip is fantastic," said U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage. "Playing two of the world's best teams almost back-to-back will be a tremendous challenge for our entire roster.
There are no better games to prepare you for Olympic competition than facing this caliber of teams away from home."
The USWNT's schedule leading to the London summer Olympics is as follows:
February 11: USA-New Zealand: Frisco, Texas
February 29: Algarve Cup: USA-Denmark: Portugal
March 2: Algarve Cup: USA-Norway: Portugal
March 5: Algarve Cup: USA-Japan: Portugal
April 1: Kirin Challenge Cup: USA-Japan: Japan
April 3: Kirin Challenge Cup: USA-Brazil: Japan
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