After a productive 32-minute runout in the United States men’s National Team’s 2-0 loss to South Korea, USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino rewarded Cristian Roldan with a start in the team’s 2-0 win over Japan.
Credit Pochettino for deploying a 3-4-3 formation that morphed into a 3-2-2-3. With Roldan playing the six next to Tyler Adams, Alex Freeman on the right, and  Max Arften on the left. The three-man front line had Cristian Pulisic on the left , goal scorer Folarin Balogun in the center, and Alejandron Zendejas on the right. Zendajas scored the USMNT’s opening goal in the first half. The back line consisted of Chris Richards, Tim Ream, and Tristan Blackmon with Matthew Freese in goal.
FREE FLOWING FORMATION
The formation played to Roldan’s skill set and he flourished as a result. Roldan as an outlet in the transition from the backline to midfield to the front line. He continued to demonstrate his maturity and traffic control skills, directing traffic effectively when defending and on the counterattack. When pressing, he was diligent and clinical. That is, he played the quick ball when needed and was patient when given time to find an open teammate.
STATISTICALLY SOUND PERFORMANCE
In his 90 minutes, Roldan made 60 of 73 accurate passes for an 82 % percentage. He was accurate on two of five ling balls for a 40% accuracy rate. This is a testament to his ability to read the field and deliver the ball to teammates running to space or standing still. More impressive is the 83 touches three of which were in the Japan goal box. His overall performance is what you would expect from a holding midfielder. He won 40% of his ground duels, was fouled once, and committed one foul.
This 40 % ground duels was the one blemish to his game. He will need to be more tactical when coming in for to take the ball from the opponent. The key component is timing which is something Roldan can certainly improve on. He also had seven recoveries and created two chances.
A NOD FROM CLUB COACH
 When asked, Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer gave a glowing review of his star midfielders’ performance.
“ Really good I mean, 3, 2, the way, putuccino, put the team up is exactly how Christian fits and plays, and he was good with Adams, just as good. I mean, there’s going to be some guys that are negative, but he made one bad pass, okay, said Schmetzer. “

Well, the center back made a bad pass. They might have scored on him. So, look, those kind  of things happened, but tactically, you saw a Christian understanding when Arstin was higher up the field coming out here, receiving balls, relieving pressure, his defending, you could see his body language saying, “Come on, let’s press, let’s get organized his leadership skills.” 
I thought Christian had a great game.”
POST MATCH NOTES
The USA will first host Ecuador, presented by AT&T, on Oct. 10 at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas. As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, U.S. Soccer will pay tribute to the Hispanic community, honoring both their cultural heritage and their passionate support for the U.S. team.
Four days later, the USMNT faces Australia, presented by American, at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park. The match on Oct. 14 marks the first time the USMNT has played in Commerce City, Colorado since 2017.
Goal Scoring Rundown:
USA – Alex Zendejas (Max Arfsten), 30th minute: Arfsten beat his defender one-on-one on the left wing with a quick stepover move and created space to fire a left-footed cross. Zendejas lined up his left-footed strike just yards away the penalty spot and blasted a low bouncing volley into the lower left corner of the net to deliver the match’s opening goal. USA 1, JPN 0
USA – Folarin Balogun (Christian Pulisic), 64th minute: Following a foul on Japan, the United States was awarded a free kick around midfield. Pulisic raced down the pitch on the dribble and fed a ball to Balogun making a run inside the box. The striker used his left foot to deliver a low-driven shot from just beyond the corner of the six-yard box into the far side netting. USA 2, JPN 0 FINAL
Additional Notes:
- The assist on the second goal of the night was the 19th for Pulisic in his career, which ties him with Claudio Reyna and Clint Dempsey for fourth all-time in assists in USMNT history.Â
- Pulisic also ties Eric Wynalda for fourth all-time in USMNT goal contributions at 51 (31 goals, 19 assists). Pulisic has now recorded 17 goal contributions in his last 24 games.
- Zendejas’ 30th minute goal was the second of his international career and his first since March 24, 2023 against Grenada.
- Balogun’s goal in the 64th minute was the sixth of his international career and his first since June 27, 2024 against Panama in Copa America.
- His assist on the opening goal was Arfsten’s fourth for the USMNT, with all coming in 2025.
- Pulisic became the 30th player to reach 80 caps for the USMNT.
- Balogun and Cristian Roldan earned their first starts under Mauricio Pochettino.
- Balogun became the 17th different player to score in Mauricio Pochettino’s 18 games as USMNT head coach. Zendejas was the 16th.
- The USMNT is now 2-2-0 (W-L-D) in four matches all-time against Japan.
– U.S. MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT –
Match: United States Men’s National Team vs. Japan
Date: September 9, 2025
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: Lower.com Field; Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 20,192
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: 72 degrees, partly cloudy
| Scoring Summary | 1 | 2 | F |
| USA | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| JPN | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| USA – Alex Zendejas (Max Arfsten) | 30th minute |
| USA – Folarin Balogun (Christian Pulisic) | 64 |
Lineups:
USA: 1-Matt Freese; 15-Tristan Blackmon (19-Nathan Harriel, 84), 3-Chris Richards, 13-Tim Ream (Capt.); 16-Alex Freeman, 4-Tyler Adams (2-Sergiño Dest, 66), 24-Cristian Roldan, 18-Max Arfsten (14-Luca de la Torre, 66); 17-Alex Zendejas (7-Diego Luna, 65), 20-Folarin Balogun (11-Damion Downs, 79), 10-Christian Pulisic (6-Jack McGlynn, 66)
Substitutes not used: 12-Jonathan Klinsmann, 5–Noahkai Banks, 8-Sebastian Berhalter, 9-Josh Sargent, 21-Tim Weah
Head coach: Mauricio Pochettino
JPN: 12-Keisuke Osako; 26-Henry Mochizuki (18-Shuto Machino, 73), 21-Kaishu Sano, 25-Hayato Araki; 16-Hiroki Sekine, 17-Joel Chima Fujita (15-Diachi Kamada, 62), 13-Yuito Suzuki (8-Takumi Minamino, 62), 5-Yuto Nagatomo (Capt.) (22-Ayumu Seko, 46); 14-Junya Ito, 19-Koki Ogawa (2-Yukinari Sugawara, 73), 11-Daizen Maeda (7-Kaoru Mitoma, 62)
Substitutes not used: 1-Zion Suzuki, 3-Tsuyoshi Watanabe, 4-Ko Itakura, 6-Wataru Endo, 9-Ayase Ueda, 10-Takefusa Kubo, 20-Kodai Sano, 23-Tomoki Hayakawa, 24-Mao Hosoya
Head coach: Hajime Moriyasu
Stats Summary: USA / JPN
Shots: 19 / 11
Shots on Goal: 11 / 6
Saves: 6 / 9
Corner Kicks: 3 / 6
Fouls: 1 / 2
Offside: 8 / 13
Misconduct Summary
| USA – Alex Zendejas (Caution) | 23rd minute |
| JPN – Koki Ogawa (Caution) | 35 |
| JPN – Yuito Suzuki (Caution) | 61 |
Officials:
Referee: Bryan Lopez (GUA)
Assistant 1: Juan Topaz (GUA)
Assistant 2: Cristian Alvarado (GUA)
Fourth Official: Julio Luna (GUA)
Michelob Ultra Man of the Match: Alex Zendejas
