USA vs Japan: Top Players to Watch in Volvo Winners Cup Clash

The game itself may not mean anything, but how could you not get excited for a World Cup final rematch when the United States takes on Japan in the Volvo Winners Cup on Monday morning at 7:00 a.m. ET?

For each team, it's one of the last warm-ups before the 2012 Olympics in London and a chance for each side to gauge their play heading into the event.

With that in mind, let's take a look at a few players you should watch closely when these sides clash.

Alex Morgan

To say the young star has been on a tear recently for the national team would be an understatement. Morgan now has 15 goals in her last 13 games and has started her national career with 25 goals in 40 international appearances.

Not too shabby, huh?

Not since Mia Hamm netted 18 goals in a 16-game span in 1997 have we seen such prolific scoring on the US women's team. And Morgan is only 22, making the possibilities for her career very exciting.

Chances are pretty good that Morgan will find the back of the next against Japan. The new star of women's soccer in the United States is now primed to explode on the biggest stage once the Olympics roll around.

Abby Wambach

Morgan may be the new star of this US team, but Wambach still has some tricks up her sleeve, too. Such tricks come after 136 goals in 180 international appearances. Only Hamm has more goals for the US.

While Morgan is deadly at the end of runs given her speed and touch, Wambach is famous for her deadly finishes in the air. It's as though the ball is magnetically attracted to her head on crosses.

Between the two of them, the US has as potent an attack as you'll find. Look for at least one of them to find the back of the net against Japan.

Homare Sawa

What can you say about Sawa that hasn't already been said?

She has 80 goals in 177 appearances for Japan. She won the Golden Boot award at the 2011 World Cup, and later took home the prestigious FIFA Ballon d'Or award as the best female footballer in the world.

If she could cap off that run of success with an Olympic gold medal this summer, it would be one of the most amazing runs of success we've ever seen for a player.

Keep an eye for her on Monday morning against the United States. She's the key to this Japanese team and will factor in the outcome, one way or another.

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