Women’s World Cup Preview: United States vs. Japan

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Women’s World Cup Preview: United States vs. Japan

The FIFA Women’s World Cup will come down to one final match when the United States vs. Japan match decided it all on Sunday, June 17th.

The United States and Japan will meet for the FIFA Women’s World Cup championship Sunday in Frankfurt (2:45 p.m. ET, ESPN, Galavision, CBC, ESPN3.com).

The Americans, seeking their third world title and first since 1999, have dominated the all-time series with 22 victories, no losses and three draws, including three wins this year.

While the Americans have relied largely on perseverance and power, Japan has exhibited the grace and technical skill to win its first title.

The Women's World Cup Finals features one team most people expected to be there, and one team that very few expected to be there. And the funny thing about this is that the team that few expected to make it is the team that has played better, and had an easier time making it to the finals.

It is the U.S. that most had penciled into the finals, but the team that needed a miracle ending in the quarterfinals and a strong finish in the semis just to make.

And then there is a Japan team that easily handled tournament power Germany, and then had an even easier time handling Sweden in the semifinals.

While both the U.S. and Japan advanced on 3-1 victories, it was the U.S. that struggled most of the game. They were getting wildly out shot, and spent most of the game reacting to what France was doing. Japan didn't have the same problems.

They controlled the ball and the action, and they took the majority of the game's shots. Japan is as technically sound as any team. They are amazing in tight spaces and their controlled passing has given teams' fits.

This is going to put a tremendous amount of pressure on the U.S. midfielders. The U.S. midfield has struggled all tournament to control possession. That trend was certainly on display against France, and it will be even more tested against Japan.

Somehow, someway they have to find a way to control the ball enough to get it to their front line.

The U.S. has more depth on the front line, but the two teams feature similar front line players. Abby Wambach and Homare Sawa enter the game as the World Cup's leading scorers. They are both 32, and playing as good as ever. Both are also considered to be the heart of their team.

Where the U.S. will have an advantage is with their size. The U.S. should be able to out muscle Japan. And this should pay big dividends. And like every game with the U.S. they will have an advantage at goalkeeper.

The U.S. defense should be able to keep Japan in check, as long as the U.S. can manage enough possession time to give them a break. This game will be close until the half and the US will pull away for the cup victory!

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