US/Japan friendly

I'm only gonna do a quick prediction since the game is tommorow and it's off topic.

This game looks like a mirror image.......both teams have trouble scoring, strong midfields, and questions on D. The two best players on the field are arguably Landon Donovan of the LA Galaxy and Shinji Ono of Urawa.Both players had tumultuos times in Europe after being successful in their home leagues.Ono can only hope to see the same domestic success as Donovan, who pulled a double in his return (US open cup---The Emperors cup of america, and the MLS cup). Another similarity is the decline of two vets in REAL Salt Lake and US defender Eddie Pope, and Urawa DF/MF Alessandro Santos. Pope has put alot of wear and tear on his legs and doesn't have the jets of previous years. Santos has turned into a sieve on defense......with the 3-6-1 formation, Alex gets the chance to attack more and plays in a more compatible system to the 3-5-2 that Urawa utilizes.

Japan has the advantage in goal, using the dependable Jubilo keeper, Kawaguchi while the US will let Kevin Hartman (who ranks 4th or 5th on the depth charts) in the nets.Hartman has had a less than stellar record in big games and national team appearances. The US is at home and has had a couple of matches this season (0-0 to Canada and 5-0 to Norway as well a 2-1 loss to Korea in a scrimmage).....Japan is playing in their first competitive match of 2006 and have to deal with jet lag after arriving on the 5th. Taylor Twellman is the player to watch in this game......if the mercurial New England Revolution striker can find the mark early, the US could roll.

I'm calling it a 2-2 draw