PayPal Park to Host U.S. Women's National Team Friendly April 11 vs. Japan
NWSL Bay FC

PayPal Park to Host U.S. Women's National Team Friendly April 11 vs. Japan

Published on January 24, 2026 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Bay FC News Release


ATLANTA - U.S. Soccer announced today that PayPal Park in San Jose will host the U.S Women's National Team Saturday, April 11. The match will be the first of three matches in the April international window against Japan, a long-time rival that has been a part of some of the most famous games in USWNT history.

All three of the USWNT matches against the world's eighth-ranked women's soccer nation will be played in venues that are home to National Women's Soccer League teams. DICK'S Sports Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., will host the second and third home matches in the inaugural season of the Denver Summit, who visit Bay FC to open NWSL action March 14.

The matches will take place on Saturday, April 11, at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif, home to Bay FC (2:30 p.m. PT on TNT, truTV and HBOMax in English and Universo and Peacock in Spanish). The U.S. and Japan will meet again on Tuesday, April 14, at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash., home to Seattle Reign FC (7 p.m. PT on TNT, truTV and HBOMax in English, Universo and Peacock in Spanish) and Friday, April 17, at DICK'S Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. (7 p.m. MT on TNT, truTV and HBOMax in English, Telemundo, Universo and Peacock in Spanish). All three matches will also be available in English on the radio on Westwood One.

PayPal Park hosted both the United States Men's and Women's senior national teams in 2025, staging the USWNT's Olympic Gold Medal rematch vs. Brazil in April before hosting Concacaf Gold Cup action between the USMNT and Trinidad and Tobago in June.

"Japan is one of the best teams in the world," said U.S. head coach Emma Hayes. "I'm a big admirer of how they play and I have tremendous respect for their team and identity. They are a highly experienced group and are fully committed to their style of football. Playing the same opponent three times is unusual but it presents a great challenge and a chance to test ourselves against a top-quality opponent."

The USA-Japan rivalry is a storied one, dating back forty years to first-ever meeting in 1986. The USA holds a 32W-2L-8D all-time record against the Nadeshiko and in the 2010s, the teams met in three straight world finals. Japan won the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup on penalty kicks, while the U.S. won the London 2012 Olympic Games and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. The teams also famously met in the quarterfinal of the 2024 Olympic Games, a razor-thin contest in which Trinity Rodman scored a world class goal in overtime to win it, 1-0.

TICKETS

Presales for all three U.S. Women's National Team vs. Japan matches will begin on Monday, Jan. 26 and run through Thursday, Jan. 29. Bay FC season ticket members will have presale access to match tickets beginning Jan. 27 at 10am PT, with additional presale opportunities for Bay FC fans opening Jan. 28. The public on-sale for all venues will commence on Jan. 29.

Circle Insiders can receive individual customer support and concierge services for their ticketing needs. Please submit an inquiry here.

EXCLUSIVE PRESALES FOR U.S. SOCCER INSIDERS

For the opportunity to buy tickets before the general public, fans should consider becoming U.S. Soccer Insiders. Membership is free for Standard Insiders. Learn more.

Sales Schedule Presale Date & Start Time

Circle Insiders Presale (Circle Insiders) Monday, Jan. 26 | 10 a.m. local venue time

VIP Insiders Presale (VIP Insiders) Monday, Jan. 26 | 1 p.m. local venue time

Premium Insiders Presale (Premium & Premium Family Insiders) Tuesday, Jan. 27 | 10 a.m. local venue time

Standard Insiders Presale (Standard Insiders) Wednesday, Jan. 28 | 10 a.m. local venue time

Visa Presale (Visa cardholders only) Wednesday, Jan. 28 | 1 p.m. local venue time

Public Sale Thursday, Jan. 29 | 10 a.m. local venue time

VISA PRESALE

Thanks to Visa, the Official Payment Service of U.S. Soccer, Visa cardholders have the opportunity to purchase tickets in advance of the public on-sale date. Visa cardholders can purchase tickets from Wednesday, January 28 at 1 p.m. local venue time to Thursday, January 29 at 8 a.m. local venue time through ussoccer.com. As the Official Payment Service of U.S. Soccer, Visa will be the only payment method accepted during the Visa presale. Terms and conditions apply.

Additional Notes:

- Japan will come into the matches fresh off the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup, which will be held in Australia from March 1-21. The tournament will serve as the final stage of Asian qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil, so Japan may have booked its World Cup berth before the April matches commence against the USWNT.

- Japan will play in Group C of the AFC Women's Asian Cup with Vietnam, India and Chinese Taipei.

- The four quarterfinal winners of the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup will qualify directly for the 2027 Women's World Cup, while the four quarterfinal losers will compete in the play-in matches to determine the final two direct qualifiers from Asia as well as the two Asian representatives in the Inter-Confederation Playoffs.

- The most recent meeting between the USA and Japan came at the 2025 SheBelieves Cup when the U.S. fell 2-1, a result that clinched a first-ever SheBelieves Cup title for the Japanese.

- The USA needed to win the game to take the title, but Japan scored in just the second minute - the second time in as many games against the USA that Japan scored before two minutes of the match had elapsed - with a goal from Yuka Momiki. The USA answered in the 14th minute when forward Cat Macario found midfielder Ally Sentnor on a run in behind the defense. Sentnor ripped a beautiful shot past the 'keeper on her one-on-one opportunity to even the score, but a well-struck free kick and a buried rebound from Toko Koga in the 50th sealed the match for Japan.

- The April 11 match will mark the USA's sixth all-time match at PayPal Park, where the USA is 5-1-0 and has consistently played in front of large crowds. The most recent match at the venue was the USA's first loss at the venue, a 2-1 setback to Brazil on April 8, 2025, when the USA started its least experienced starting XI in the past 25 years.

- Historically, the USWNT player pool features many connections to San Jose and the Bay Area and the roster selected to these matches should be no different.

- The USWNT also played at DICK'S Sporting Goods Park in 2025, a 4-0 win over the Republic of Ireland on June 26. The USA will hit double figures in matches in Commerce City and bring an 8-0-1 all-time record to the venue dating back to 2008.

- U.S. captain Lindsey Heaps, the most high-profile signing for the new NWSL expansion club Denver Summit, hails from Golden, Colorado. She will join Denver this summer.

- Two members of the "Triple Espresso" front line that led the USA to the Olympic gold medal, are from Colorado, but Sophia Wilson (Windsor, Colo.) and Mallory Swanson (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) are still in the early stages of their return to fitness after giving birth to their respective daughters.

- The USA's return to Washington state will be a special one as Washington played a major role in the early years of the USWNT, with several of the players who played for the USA in the 1980s hailing from there, most notably Michelle Akers, and Sharon Remer (now McMurtry), who was honored in 1985 as the first-ever U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year.

- The USWNT has not played in Washington state for almost nine years, mostly due to a lack of a suitable stadium with a grass surface. With natural grass being laid down at Lumen Field ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the USA will play in Seattle for the first time since July 27, 2017, a 1-0 loss to Australia. The USA has played at Lumen Field twice, in 2015 and 2017, and has never won there. The USA played twice at what was then SAFECO Field, home of the Seattle Mariners, in the 2002 Concacaf World Cup qualifying tournament.

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National Women's Soccer League Stories from January 24, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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