Team USA ready for "dream matchup" against Japan
American soccer fans are shouting, "I believe that we will win" as Team USA heads into the Women's World Cup final against Japan Sunday, reports CBS News correspondent Jericka Duncan.
Soccer analyst and "Men in Blazers" co-host Roger Bennett called the next and last game a "dream matchup."
"They're not just playing the Japanese, they're really fighting history," Bennett said Friday on "CBS This Morning."
In the 2011 World Cup, Japan dealt the U.S. a devastating blow, winning the final on penalty kicks. A year later, America got revenge, beating them in the Olympics.
The Americans are coming off a mental high after their stirring 2-0 victory over top-ranked Germany Tuesday.
"Are you kidding me? We're going to the World Cup final. That's awesome," said Kelly O'Hara, who scored the second goal in the game.
But veteran forward Abby Wambach wasn't ready to celebrate just yet.
"A lot of people were saying 'This was the final.' We still have one game left," she said.
Carli Lloyd wasn't ready to claim victory either.
"No one's going to remember a team that gets second, so we want to win this thing," Lloyd said Wednesday on "CBS This Morning."
Amy Lawrence of CBS Sports Radio echoed Bennett, saying the final match is what Team USA has been competing for.
"There is the revenge factor for Team USA. Thirteen members of Team USA were part of that team four years ago that lost in penalty kicks including all four women who took the penalty kicks for Team USA," Lawrence said.
But according to Bennett, they'll have to play better than they have for much of the tournament.
"(They) started off absolutely flaccid, impotent. They changed their tactics, they changed their formations, they found these young stars, they benched that woman, Abby Wambach, their giant striker, their iconic striker. It's like kicking out Kobe Bryant with the Lakers going on into the NBA finals," Bennett said.
The Americans may not have played like World Cup finalists in their first few games, but coach Jill Ellis and the players have had something of a mantra all along: It's not where you start, but where you finish.
Both USA and Japan arrive in the final having had more than a little luck.
A questionable call against Germany gave Lloyd the chance to drill the penalty kick that sent America on its way.
Japan got the ultimate gift when England's Laura Bassett accidentally kicked the ball in her own goal.
"I keep telling myself, 'It could be worse, we could be Greek,'" Bennett, an Englishman himself, said, referencing the Greece debt crisis.
Team USA also has battled its share of setbacks.
USA midfielder Morgan Brian suffered a head-to-head collision with German striker Alexandra Popp while defending a German free kick.
"You watch world soccer players play [such as] Ronaldo - you only have to graze molecules,and he falls over and is injured and needs medical care. These women, unbelievable athletes, unbelievable dominance," Bennett said.
In their game against China, USA was out midfielders Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday, both suspended for yellow card accumulation, but momentum carried them through for a 1-0 win.
"You gotta play well and you gotta finish your chances to call yourself a world champion, so we can't take anything for granted. We can't take one moment off," Wambach said. "Can't stop believing and never doubt that it's gonna happen."
Japan is going for its second straight title. The only team to win consecutive Women's World Cups is Germany in 2003 and 2007.
Bennett said that FIFA president Sepp Blatter will not be awarding the tournament trophy in Canada, despite the longstanding tradition.
"He said he has 'personal reasons.' I think he's allergic to handcuffs," Bennett said, referencing the U.S. Department of Justice's ongoing criminal investigation into FIFA corruption.
Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, will lead a U.S. delegation that includes two-time world cup winner Mia Hamm and former U.S. men's player Cobi Jones.