COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Alex Zendejas and Folarin Balogun scored, and Matt Freese made six saves, giving the U.S. men's national team a much-needed victory, 2-0 over Japan in a friendly on Tuesday.

Zendejas scored in the 30th minute and Balogun extended the lead in the 64th against the No. 17 team in the FIFA rankings.

The U.S lost their previous five matches to top-25 teams by a combined 11-1 score.

Zendejas scored his second U.S. goal from a cross by Max Arfsten, who plays for the Columbus Crew.

Arfsten did several stepovers then sent a line drive to the middle of the box, where Zendejas ripped a side volley into the net for the highlight of an entertaining first half that saw each team put four shots on target.

Christian Pulisic set up the second score with a slick entry pass that Balogu

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