By the CNN Wire Staff
July 17, 2011 -- Updated 1316 GMT (2116 HKT)
USA's midfielder Lori Lindsey, third from left, and her teammates warm up Saturday in Germany.
Frankfurt, Germany (CNN) -- The U.S. women's World Cup team will play against Japan on Sunday, a formidable opponent dubbed the "sentimental favorite" for helping lift spirits back home after a devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis.
The game starts at 2:45 p.m. ET.
If it can pull an upset against Japan in the finals, Team USA will become the first to win the women's World Cup three times.
The U.S. won the title in 1991 and 1999.
While the U.S. team is playing for bragging rights, Japanese players are hoping to give their citizens something to smile about after a March 11 earthquake that triggered a tsunami and a nuclear crisis.
"To be in the final is, to be honest, like a dream," Japanese player Homare Sawa told FIFA, adding that her teammates plan to capitalize on any weaknesses. "We know USA are a great and strong team, but they have weak points too and there's always a chance to score."
U.S. favored to win against Japan
But Japanese players have also won their share of fans, U.S. players said.
"Japan, they are the sentimental favorites in this tournament," U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo said in a conference call from Frankfurt, Germany, where the teams will compete.
"They're playing for something bigger and better than the game. When you are playing with so much heart, that's hard to play against."
The U.S. team has captured the hearts of Americans for its creativity, dazzling plays and free spirit. Their white-knuckle wins have kept fans engrossed and revamped interest years after the women's team last win in 1999.
In one of their most thrilling wins, the team came from behind to beat Brazil in the quarter-finals on July 10.
And on Wednesday, the U.S. advanced by beating France 3-1, a determined team that outplayed them everywhere but on the scoreboard.
Their energy is evident in the locker room, where the players are known to sing and dance.
On the field, Swedish-born head coach Pia Sundhage has trained them to play with freedom.
"I guess there's a reason they hired me from a foreign country," Sundhage said. "They wanted change. It was risky to make too big of a change because then (the team) would lose a lot of confidence."
A delegation that includes Jill Biden, wife of the U.S. vice president, and former first daughter Chelsea Clinton will be in the stands cheering them on.
The team faces a Japanese squad that is faster and more tactical, the Americans said.
"They are the biggest surprise in the tournament," U.S. defender Ali Krieger said of her opponents. "The game is going to be quicker and it's going to be a passing game."
Just as the 1999 team inspired a generation of young girls, the women are doing the same today.
"Respect has to be given to the women that came before," forward Abby Wambach said. "People are saying, 'Are you getting tired of the '99 story?' and if I say yes, it would be definitely slapping the face of the women who came before us, and I wouldn't do that."
However, they said, it is their era now, their legacy.
"We are a different team, and we are a different generation, and we are in a different time," Krieger said. "We're trying to write our own story and make this a new story for women's soccer and women's football around the world to enjoy."
Credit: CNN (www.cnn.com)
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