International

United States to play final Olympic preparation match at Children’s Mercy Park on June 11 against Japan

YNT-CON-Annoucement-vs Japan-1920x1080 (1)

The U.S. Men’s Olympic Soccer Team will face Asian champion Japan at 7 p.m. CT on Tuesday, June 11 at Children’s Mercy Park in the team’s final preparation match before the USA heads to France for the 2024 Olympics, U.S. Soccer announced today.

Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. CT on Tuesday, May 14 via SeatGeek. Sporting Kansas City Season Ticket Members will have access to a pre-sale beginning at 4 p.m. today.

“We’ve had a number of productive training camps in preparation for the Olympic Games and we’re excited to play in front of American fans in our last game before we travel to France,” said head coach Marko Mitrović. “It’s important for us to continue building toward the Olympics and we know that Japan will provide a strong test. Kansas City is known for its passionate soccer fans and it will be a great host for our final match in the United States.”

The U.S. Men’s Olympic Team is returning to the Olympics this summer for the first time since 2008 and serves as an important part of U.S. Soccer’s mission to develop winning teams. The Olympic Men’s Soccer Tournament is restricted to players under the age of 23, with each team allowed three overage players on its roster. The Men’s Olympic Team provides some of the nation’s top young talents the opportunity to compete against elite opposition on the world stage for a place on the podium.

In a marquee opening game of the tournament, the USA will kick off its Olympic return at 2 p.m. CT on Wednesday, July 24 – two days before the Opening Ceremony – against host France at Stade de Marseille in Marseille. The U.S. will then take on New Zealand at 12 p.m. CT on Saturday, July 27 in Marseille and will finish the group stage against Guinea at 12 p.m. CT on Tuesday, July 30 at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne.

Japan qualified for the Olympics by winning the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup earlier this month. This will be the Samurai Blue’s 11th appearance at the Games after reaching the semifinals as the host nation at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The U.S. Men’s Olympic Team topped Japan 4-1 on Oct. 17 in Phoenix, its second match after its return to action last fall. Most recently, the U.S. topped African fourth-place finisher Guinea 3-0 – with a goal from Sporting Kansas City midfielder Gianluca Busio -- and rallied to earn a come-from-behind 2-2 draw at France during the March FIFA window.

The U.S. qualified for its first Olympic Men’s Football Tournament in 16 years with a dominant performance at the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship. At that tournament, the USA topped host Honduras 3-0 before a raucous crowd in San Pedro Sula to secure its Olympic berth.