U.S. Women’s National Team seeks fourth gold when it faces Japan in Olympic finale on Thursday

The U.S. Women’s National Team is shooting for its fourth gold medal and third straight when it takes on 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Japan at 2:45 p.m. ET on Thursday, Aug. 9, at Wembley Stadium in London. The match will be broadcast live on the NBC Sports Network, NBC Olympic Soccer Channel and streamed on NBC Live Extra. NBC Sports will begin its pre-game coverage at 2:15 p.m. ET.  The USA is coming off a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory against Canada on Monday, while Japan defeated France 2-1 in the other semifinal match.

On the Air: Dial Global Radio Network will air live play-by-play coverage of the gold medal game between the U.S. Women’s National Team and Japan, with coverage starting at 2:30 p.m. ET and carried on affiliate stations across the country, as well as Sirius/XM satellite radio (Sirius 93/XM 209). For a list of Dial Global affiliates, visit dialglobalsports.com.

GOLD MEDAL MATCH PRE-GAME QUOTES:
U.S. Women’s National Team head coach PIA SUNDHAGE
On getting another chance at Japan:
“It’s a game and it’s a final. It’s against an opponent that we’ve played a couple of times this year. I’m not looking back to 2011 when we played against Japan and tied the game but lost in penalty kicks. I look at it as: we’re playing against a technical team and we’re playing a team that struggled quite a bit against France in the last 20 minutes. I look at the way the coach took out [Mizuho] Sakaguchi. That’s interesting to me. That’s intriguing, and the name of the country doesn’t matter.”

U.S. forward ALEX MORGAN
On how much interest the team has gained in the United States:
“I think interest has definitely been high in the last couple of days. I think everyone was watching the game (against Canada) and we turned peoples’ heads and we made people pay attention to us in a positive way. With the unfortunate folding of the (women’s professional) league, it kind of made people realize what had just happened in the last year with us getting the silver medal (at the World Cup) and now being in the gold medal match of the Olympics and not even having a league to support the U.S. players. There will hopefully be a change in the next couple months.”

U.S. forward ABBY WAMBACH
On going up against her friend and former club teammate Homare Sawa against Japan:
“I think that Homare Sawa has proven herself to be one of the best players in the world. She led her team to a world championship. I have the greatest respect for her. She came to play in the United States a couple of times and took what she learned back to her country and they’ve done an extraordinary job over the last couple of years putting it together. I do think that we also have a great team. We’re at a place that I think is solid. I think the fact that we lost the World Cup and the way that we did gives us even more passion and desire to go out and perform tomorrow. We saw each other in the Village. We told each other that we’re both glad that the other had won because we believe that we’re the top two teams in the world and our fans deserve to see a great final. This gold medal match is going to be nothing short of that.”

U.S. midfielder MEGAN RAPINOE
On the feelings between Japan and the U.S. WNT:
“I think that both teams have the utmost respect for one another on a lot of different levels. We’ve played with quite a few of the players and we’ve played against them quite a few times. We definitely respect the way that they play and they respect the way that we play. We just know that it’s going to be a good game. There is no animosity. They snatched our dream last year and still we have that respect for them. There’s nothing off the field, there’s no antics. All that matters is that we play an entertaining style of game tomorrow.”

For more Olympic gold medal pre-game comments from the U.S. WNT, visit ussoccer.com .

2012 U.S. WNT Schedule

* CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying tournament
^ Algarve Cup
** Kirin Challenge Cup
^^ Volvo Winners Cup
~ 2012 London Olympics

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION – Detailed Roster
GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Hope Solo, 18-Nicole Barnhart
DEFENDERS (6): 2-Heather Mitts, 3-Christie Rampone, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 5-Kelley O’Hara, 6-Amy LePeilbet, 16-Rachel Buehler
MIDFIELDERS (6): 7-Shannon Boxx, 8-Amy Rodriguez, 9-Heather O’Reilly, 10-Carli Lloyd, 15-Megan Rapinoe, 17-Tobin Heath
FORWARDS (4): 11-Sydney Leroux, 12-Lauren Cheney, 13-Alex Morgan, 14-Abby Wambach

2012 Olympic Schedule

USA OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL GAME REWIND:
The USA has advanced to its fifth Olympic gold medal game. Here is a look back at the team’s four previous appearances at this stage:

• Aug. 24, 2008: USA 1, Brazil 0 (OT): The U.S. held Brazil scoreless for 120 minutes and Carli Lloyd took the spotlight with a game-winning goal in the sixth minute of overtime in front of 51,612 at Worker’s Stadium in Beijing. Lloyd’s left-footed strike from just outside the box was the finishing touch for the USA’s third gold medal in four Olympic Games. Goalkeeper Hope Solo made six saves for the clean sheet. – Carli Lloyd: “It was definitely the finest moment of my career. It was the biggest goal I had scored in my life, besides the other goal in the Olympics against Japan. It was a surreal moment.”
• Aug. 26, 2004: USA 2, Brazil 1 (OT): Abby Wambach’s snap header from about 12 yards out in the 112th minute flew past Brazil goalkeeper Andreia for the winner as the young Wambach capitalized on Kristine Lilly’s corner kick. Lindsay Tarpley gave the USA a first-half lead in the 39th minute and Brazil’s Pretinha equalized in the 73rd minute. The Athens Olympics served as the final international championship for retiring players such as Joy Fawcett, Julie Foudy and Mia Hamm. – Abby Wambach: “This is for them. It is for these players going through their last world championship: Brandi Chastain, Kristine Lilly, Joy Fawcett, Julie Foudy, Briana Scurry, Mia Hamm … all these players that have done so much for this team. This is for them.”
• Sept. 28, 2000: Norway 3, USA 2 (OT): Tiffeny Milbrett scored the game’s first goal and forced overtime with a clutch tally two minutes into second-half stoppage time. But Norway had the final say with Dagny Mellgren’s winner in the 102nd minute, albeit a goal that had some controversy attached to it as replays showed that Mellgren knocked the ball down with a portion of her arm before striking the golden goal. It marked the only time the USA has not captured gold in the Olympics. – Head coach April Heinrichs: We may have won the silver medal, but their game was golden tonight. I’m incredibly proud of each one and incredibly proud of their achievements. … We couldn’t have started better and it was a coach’s dream to push the ball around the way we did and have as much possession as we did.”
• Aug. 1, 1996: USA 2, China PR 1: Tiffeny Milbrett scored off of a strong run and pass from Joy Fawcett in the 68th minute to give the USA its first gold medal in front of 76,481 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga. Fawcett attacked down the right side into the penalty area, drew a China defender and slid the ball to a wide open Milbrett. Shannon MacMillan scored the first goal in the 19th minute, rebounding Mia Hamm’s initial shot that was saved by China goalkeeper Hong Gao and deflected off the post. China’s Lihong Zhao tied the score at 1-1 in the 32nd minute.

2012 OLYMPIC SEMIFINALS RECAP:

• USA 4, Canada 3 (OT): Alex Morgan’s 123rd-minute header in the closing seconds of stoppage time in the second 15-minute overtime catapulted the U.S. past Canada in Monday’s semifinal and into the gold medal match. The U.S. trailed at three different stages as Canada’s Christine Sinclair fueled her team’s scoring punch with all three tallies. The USA had the answer each time, with Megan Rapinoe scoring the team’s first two goals and Abby Wambach notching her fifth tally in five games in this year’s Olympics – a penalty kick in the 80th minute to tie the score at 3-3 and force overtime. Wambach and Sinclair are tied for second in international goals in the history of soccer with 143 each, trailing only U.S. legend Mia Hamm (158). Wambach has nine career Olympic goals.
• Japan 2, France 1: Yuki Ogimi and Mizuho Sakaguchi each scored a goal to take a 2-0 lead through 49 minutes and Japan held on for a one-goal victory on Monday. France’s Eugenie Le Sommer cut into the team’s deficit with a 76th-minute goal. The backbreaker for France was a penalty kick opportunity minutes later to earn the chance for an equalizer. Sakaguchi knocked down Le Sommer in the penalty box, awarding France the PK chance. But France captain Elise Bussaglia missed the goal completely, pushing her shot wide right as Japan goalkeeper Miho Fukumoto anticipated Bussaglia shooting the opposite direction.

U.S. ROSTER NOTES:

• Five players on the U.S. roster have scored in this Olympics and seven total players have scored in an Olympics: Abby Wambach (4 goals in 2004; 5 goals in 2012), Carli Lloyd (2 goals in 2008; 2 goals in 2012), Heather O’Reilly (1 goal in 2004; 2 goals in 2008), Shannon Boxx (1 goal in 2004), Amy Rodriguez (1 goal in 2008), Alex Morgan (3 goals in 2012), Megan Rapinoe (3 goals in 2012) and Sydney Leroux (1 goal in 2012).
• Morgan, Tobin Heath and Rapinoe are tied for the team lead with three assists apiece in this year’s Olympics.
• Heath earned her 50th career international cap during Monday’s win against Canada. There are now 14 players on the USA’s 2012 Olympic roster who have played in 50 or more career matches.
• Only three U.S. WNT players have been on the field for all 480 minutes in the 2012 Olympics: Solo, defender and team captain Christie Rampone and 24-year-old defender Kelley O’Hara.
• Morgan leads the U.S. WNT with 20 goals in 20 games, and she has seven multi-goal games this year.
• Morgan’s game-winning goal against Canada on Aug. 6 is now the latest tally ever by a U.S. WNT team. Her strike hit the back of the net at 122 minutes, 23 seconds. Wambach’s memorable game-tying header against Brazil in the quarterfinals of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup crossed the goal line at 121 minutes, 19 seconds.
• The USA’s 4-2 win against France marked the first time in Olympic play that the team had come back to win from a two-goal deficit. In all previous Olympic competition, the USA allowed more than one goal only three times – a 3-2 loss to Norway in the 2000 gold medal game, a 2-0 loss to Norway in the opening game of the 2008 Olympics and a 4-2 victory against Japan in the semifinal match in 2008 (the USA was down 1-0 before scoring four straight).

USA vs. JAPAN SERIES

• The U.S. is 1-1-1 against Japan this year, most recently coming off a 4-1 victory on June 18 in the Volvo Winners Cup in Halmstad, Sweden. Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan each scored twice during the team’s second-to-last tune-up match for the 2012 Olympics.
• The USA played Japan to a 1-1 draw on April 1 in the Kirin Challenge Cup at Yurtec Stadium in Sendai, Japan. It marked a rare occurrence for the USA, failing to beat Japan in three consecutive games. Morgan had the game-tying goal in the 73rd minute to salvage a stalemate. The U.S. has been on a roll since that game, posting a perfect 10-0-0 stretch heading into Thursday’s Olympic gold medal game.
• The U.S. and Japan have played each other 29 previous times, with the USA posting a 23-1-5 record. One of those ties included the eventual penalty kick shootout loss to Japan on July 17, 2011, in the FIFA Women’s World Cup after playing to a 2-2 draw through regulation and overtime.
• The USA and Japan have faced each other three times in Olympic competition, with the U.S. winning all three meetings.
• The USA topped Japan 2-1 on Aug. 20, 2004, in Thessaloniki, Greece, in the quarterfinals of the Olympics. Then the U.S. won twice against Japan during the 2008 Olympics in China – a 1-0 victory on Aug. 9 during the group stage, followed by a 4-2 win on Aug. 18 in the semifinals to advance to the gold medal match against Brazil. In that semifinal game, Angela Hucles scored twice for the U.S. and Heather O’Reilly’s 70th-minute tally for a 3-1 lead proved to be the game-winning goal.
• The 2011 FIFA World Cup Final, played in Frankfurt, Germany, included two different U.S. leads when Morgan notched a 69th-minute goal and Wambach a 104th-minute goal in the first of two 15-minute overtimes. But Japan’s Aya Miyama (80th minute) and Homare Sawa (117th minute) had the answers, and Japan pulled through in the game-ending shootout for its first World Cup crown.
• The USA suffered its first regulation loss against Japan on March 5, 2012, as Japan earned a 1-0 win and finished atop Group B at the 2012 Algarve Cup. The U.S. had to settle for the tournament’s third-place match, and the U.S. Women rebounded well with a strong 4-0 victory against Sweden.

IN THE RECORD BOOKS

• Abby Wambach scored her ninth career Olympic goal during the USA’s 4-3 overtime win against Canada on Aug. 6. She is atop the U.S. leaderboard in career Olympic goals, having surpassed the previous record of five held by Mia Hamm and Tiffeny Milbrett. Wambach has five goals in the 2012 Olympics alone, and her five goals in five consecutive games in this year’s Summer Games is an Olympic record.
• Wambach is one goal away from matching the career Olympic goals record set by Germany’s Birgit Prinz (10).
• Sydney Leroux’s second-half goal against New Zealand on Aug. 3 was her eighth of the year. All eight goals have come off the bench, matching teammate Amy Rodriguez’s 2012 total as a sub. Leroux and Rodriguez are the best off-the-bench duo in U.S. WNT history with their combined 16 goals in 2012, easily surpassing the previous 12-goal record from Debbie Keller and Tisha Venturini in 1998. Keller still holds the WNT record with nine goals off the bench in 1998, but Leroux and Rodriguez are within one goal of matching a mark that has stood for nearly 14 years.
• Veteran U.S. defender Christie Rampone became the USA’s all-time leader in Olympic appearances with 17 during the team’s 4-2 win against France on July 25. Rampone now has 21 career Olympic games following the team’s victory against Canada on Aug. 3 and she is now five ahead of previous USA record holders of Joy Fawcett, Julie Foudy, Kristine Lilly and Kate Markgraf.
• Alex Morgan is tied for 15th all-time in career goals with 30, matching Brandi Chastain’s career mark. Morgan also is tied for fourth place on the all-time list for goals during a calendar year with 20, matching Hamm (1998), Lilly (1999) and Wambach (2007), who all had 20 goals in their respective campaigns.
• Morgan’s 51 points this year (20 goals, 11 assists) are the most for a WNT player in a calendar year since 2004, when Wambach had 75 (31 goals, 13 assists).

BY THE NUMBERS:

• 0: FIFA Women’s World Cup winners have won Olympic gold the year after their world title
• 1: USA’s FIFA ranking
• 3: Japan’s FIFA ranking
• 4: USA players who have scored at least two goals in this year’s Olympics: Carli Lloyd (2), Alex Morgan (3), Megan Rapinoe (3) and Abby Wambach (5)
• 5: Goals scored in a game by Sydney Leroux (Jan. 22, 2012), Amy Rodriguez (Jan. 20, 2012), Abby Wambach (Oct. 23, 2004), Tiffeny Milbrett (Nov. 2, 2002), Michelle Akers (Nov. 24, 1991) and Brandi Chastain (April 18, 1991)
• 9: Career Olympic goals by Wambach, a U.S. WNT record
• 9: Games this year in which Morgan and Wambach both contributed at least one goal (9-0-0 record)
• 10: Straight wins for the U.S. (USA drew Japan 1-1 on April 1, 2012, before 10 consecutive wins)
• 16: Combined goals off the bench this year by Amy Rodriguez (8) and Sydney Leroux (8)
• 21: Career Olympic appearances by U.S. captain Christie Rampone
• 93: U.S. victories when Abby Wambach scores a goal (93-2-5 overall)
• 194: Players who have earned a cap for the U.S. Women’s National Team since the program’s inception in 1985, the most recent being Whitney Engen, who earned her first cap against Norway at the Algarve Cup on March 4, 2011
• 500: Games played by the U.S. WNT since team began play in 1985 (389-57-54 record)

PIA SUNDHAGE FACT FILE: Head coach Pia Sundhage is in the midst of her fourth full year in charge of the U.S. Women’s National Team. Below are some of her accomplishments as a player and coach.

• Sundhage is the sixth official coach and second female coach in the history of the U.S. Women’s National Team program.
• Sundhage’s record as head coach of the Women’s National Team is 87-6-10, with 266 goals for and 56 against.
• As a player, Sundhage was one of the game’s best-ever players, finishing sixth in the voting for FIFA Women’s Player of the Century. A legendary player in Sweden, she played for her country in the 1991 and 1995 Women’s World Cups and 1996 Olympics. She scored four goals for Sweden at the 1991 Women’s World Cup, helping the Swedes to a third-place finish. She scored one goal in the 1995 Women’s World Cup (against Germany) and played every minute of all three matches at the Atlanta Olympics.
• Sundhage started her coaching career while still playing, serving as player-coach for Hammarby from 1992-1994. She also coached Sweden’s Youth National Teams for 11 years from 1990-2001, coaching the U-16s, U-19s and U-21s.
• After her retirement from the international game in 1996, she became head coach of the Sweden Under-19 Women’s National Team, leading the team to one gold medal and two bronze medals at the European Championships. She served as a scout for Sweden during the 1997 European Championships, the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2000 Olympics. Sundhage has also worked for FIFA on its Technical Study Group staff for the 2004 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship in Thailand.
• Since taking over as head coach, Sundhage has given 17 players their first senior team caps.

IN FOCUS: JAPAN

• Nippon Sakkā Kyōkai (Japan Soccer Association)
• Founded: 1921 (Joined FIFA in 1929)
• Head Coach: Norio Sasaki
• FIFA World Ranking: 3
• Best FIFA World Cup Finish: First Place (2011)
• Best Olympics Finish: 2012 Gold Medal Game; Previous Best: Fourth Place (2008)

JAPAN ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Miho Fukimoto, 18-Ayumi Kaihori
DEFENDERS (5): 2-Yukari Kinga, 3-Azusa Iwashimizu, 4-Saki Kumagai, 5-Aya Sameshima, 12-Kyoko Yano
MIDFIELDERS (5): 6-Mizuho Sakaguchi, 8-Aya Miyama, 9-Nahomi Kawasumi, 10-Homare Sawa, 14-Asuna Tanaka
FORWARDS (6): 7-Kozue Ando, 11-Shinobu Ohno, 13-Karina Maruyama, 15-Megumi Takase, 16-Mana Iwabuchi, 17-Yuki Nagasato

JAPAN ROSTER NOTES:

• Japan has relied on its defense throughout the 2012 Olympics, allowing only one goal while scoring a modest six goals in five games.
• Yuki Ogimi leads the team with two goals and Nahomi Kawasumi, Aya Miyama, Shinobu Ohno and Mizuho Sakaguchi each have one goal in this year’s Olympics. Ogimi now has 38 career goals.
• Goalkeeper Miho Fukumoto has started in four of Japan’s five Olympic matches this year. She was the backup to Ayumi Kaihori during the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup as Japan won the title against the U.S.
• Kaihori has played in one match during the 2012 Olympics. During her 2011 World Cup starting role, she came up big by saving penalty kick attempts against the USA’s Shannon Boxx and Tobin Heath during the championship game shootout.
• Defender Saki Kumagai scored the game-winning PK in the 2011 World Cup final.
• Midfielder Aya Miyama, who had a goal and the first penalty kick during the shootout of Japan’s World Cup win in 2011, played for Women’s Professional Soccer sides Los Angeles Sol (2009), St. Louis Athletica (2010) and the Atlanta Beat (2010).
• Defenders Yukari Kinga, Azusa Iwashimizu and Kumagai are the only Japan players to have logged a full 450 minutes during the 2012 Olympics.
• Japan’s all-time greatest player Sawa, who won the Golden Ball as the best player at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup and was the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, had missed some time earlier this year to recover from a bout of vertigo.
• Sawa leads Japan with 183 international appearances and 80 goals. She has yet to score a goal in this year’s Olympics.

LAST TIME
On the field for the USA:
Aug. 6, 2012 – Old Trafford – Manchester, England – 2012 London Olympics, Semifinal
USA       4   Megan Rapinoe 54, 70; Abby Wambach 80; Alex Morgan 120+3
Canada 3   Christine Sinclair 22, 67, 73

Lineups:
USA: 1-Hope Solo; 6-Amy LePeilbet (11-Sydney Leroux, 76), 3-Christie Rampone (capt.), 16-Rachel Buehler (4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 110), 5-Kelley O’Hara; 15-Megan Rapinoe, 10-Carli Lloyd, 12-Lauren Cheney (9-Heather O’Reilly, 101), 17-Tobin Heath; 13-Alex Morgan, 14-Abby Wambach
Subs not used: 2-Heather Mitts, 7-Shannon Boxx, 8-Amy Rodriguez, 18-Nicole Barnhart
Head coach: Pia Sundhage

CAN: 18-Erin McLeod; 7-Rhian Wilkinson, 4-Carmelina Moscato, 10-Lauren Sesselmann, 20-Marie-Eve Nault (3-Chelsea Stewart, 101); 8-Diana Matheson, 11-Desiree Scott, 13-Sophie Schmidt; 12-Christine Sinclair, 14-Melissa Tancredi, 16-Jonelle Filigno (6-Kaylyn Kyle, 67)
Subs not used: 1-Karina LeBlanc, 2-Emily Zurrer, 5-Robyn Gayle, 9-Candace Chapman, 15-Kelly Parker, 17-Brittany Timko
Head coach: John Herdman

Vs. Japan for the USA:
June 18, 2012 – Örjans Vall Stadium – Halmstad, Sweden – Volvo Winners Cup
USA    4   Alex Morgan 3, 61; Abby Wambach 10, 90+2
Japan  1   Yuki Nagasato 28

Lineups:
USA: 1-Hope Solo; 6-Amy LePeilbet (2-Heather Mitts, 69), 3-Christie Rampone (capt.), 19-Rachel Buehler (4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 46), 5-Kelley O’Hara (11-Sydney Leroux, 81); 15-Megan Rapinoe (10-Carli Lloyd, 46), 7-Shannon Boxx, 12-Lauren Cheney (9-Heather O’Reilly, 68), 17-Tobin Heath; 13-Alex Morgan (8-Amy Rodriguez, 69), 20-Abby Wambach
Subs not used: 14-Meghan Klingenberg, 16-Lori Lindsey, 18-Nicole Barnhart, 21-Jill Loyden, 22-Christen Press
Head coach: Pia Sundhage

JPN: 1-Ayumi Kaihori; 2-Yukari Kinga, 5-Aya Sameshima, 6-Mizuho Sakaguchi, 16-Kyoko Yano (14-Asuna Tanaka, 83); 8-Aya Miyama (capt.), 9-Nahomi Kawasumi (22-Karina Maruyama, 71), 10-Homare Sawa (4-Saki Kumagai, 57), 13-Rumi Utsugi (19-Megumi Takase, 79); 11-Shinobu Ohno (7-Kozue Ando, 58), 17-Yuki Nagasato
Subs not used: 12-Miho Fukimoto, 15-Saori Ariyoshi, 18-Megumi Kamionobe, 20-Ami Ohtaki
Head coach: Norio Sasaki