What to Watch For in Women's World Cup Final

With their semifinal game tied 1-1 and France repeatedly threatening, it looked like the United States' previous "back-from-the-dead" win against Brazil was destined to be only a dramatic footnote and not part of a championship drive. But another Abbey Wambach header put the U.S. team in front and propelled it into Sunday’s 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup final against Japan.

With no major sporting events to compete against, Sunday’s 11:45 a.m. final is the biggest game around. To help break down the match, Patch spoke with Emily Scheese, assistant women’s soccer coach at UC Santa Cruz. Her responses, lightly edited, follow:

Patch: How do you feel about the United States chances?

Scheese: I wasn't sure at first, because it has been a while since 1999, when they last won the World Cup, but they have displayed great resilience once out of group play and in the knock-out rounds, which of course is when resilience matters most.

Patch: What are some of the match-ups and players people should watch for?

Scheese: I am interested in how Japan will match physically with the United States. Japan is supposedly one of the shortest teams in the tourney, though they had no problem knocking out host Germany, one of the tallest and back-to-back winner. Japan has scored on several set pieces via headers, despite their lack of height. They also play the ball well on the ground. I am interested in how they handle the physical game of the U.S., with Wambach, #20, being an obvious threat in the box. The U.S. will have to do well to contain Japan's technical prowess on the ball.

Patch: How does something like the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan affect your opinion about them as a team and what they’ve done so far in this tournament?

Scheese: I think the fact that Japan, as a squad, has battled their way into the final match is a brilliant success story already. Several players were directly affected by the massive tragedy that hit Japan. They have proven a similar resilience to the U.S. squad. They pulled themselves out of a 0-0 game with the superpower Germany to beat the two-time reigning champions at home in a packed stadium. They nicked the goal in extra time to make it 1-0 and then defended beautifully, with tenacity, for dear life. Japan has played some of the most beautiful and well-executed combination football in the tournament. Whatever the result, the Japanese squad can return home knowing they already exceeded everyone's expectations and that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the years to come on the world's stage.

Patch: Are you going out to watch the game or watching at home?

Scheese: I will either project it at my house or join a group somewhere. I am kind of a nerd and like to watch games closely. A bar atmosphere can interrupt with that, but the public atmosphere also brings a level of excitement to the game you can't get at home alone.

Watch on ESPN, online at ESPN3, or head to one of the locations listed below.

Watsonville

• , 1934 Main St., Watsonville, 831-761-2161
• , 1819 Freedom Blvd., Freedom, 831-724-2600 ‎

Santa Cruz

• 99 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall Restaurant & Pub, 110 Walnut Ave., Santa Cruz, 831-459-9999 ‎

Scotts Valley

• Maya, 3115 Scotts Valley Dr., Scotts Valley, 831-438-7004 ‎
• Malone's, 4402 Scotts Valley Dr., Scotts Valley, 831-438-2244 ‎

Capitola/Soquel

• J J's Saloon, 4714 Soquel Dr., Soquel, 831-462-1631 ‎