2012 Olympic Gymnastics Team: Breaking Down USA's Top Challengers in Men's Final

The United States men's gymnastics team is the favorite to win gold today, but taking home the top prize will be no easy task.

Aside from the incredible physical difficulties they will face throughout the team competition, the American's will also be pushed by several other countries. In particular, there are a couple of perennial powerhouses in the field, as well as some surprising upstarts who are looking to dash Team USA's hopes.

Expect the following teams to be the United States' toughest challengers when the finals kick off at 11:30 a.m. ET on Monday.

China

Roster: Zou Kai, Chenglong Zhang, Weiyang Guo, Zhe Feng, Yibing Chen

The Chinese finished in sixth place during Saturday's qualifying, but it would be a huge mistake to count them out in the finals.

China won the team gold in Beijing, and with 24-year-old Zou Kai returning after a triumphant 2008 Olympic campaign, they will be a top contender once again.

Kai burst onto the scene in Beijing, winning individual gold in the floor exercise and horizontal bar, in addition to his gold in the team event. If he delivers the performance he's capable of and his teammates feed off his success, the Chinese will be very dangerous.

Japan

Roster: Ryohei Kato, Kazuhito Tanaka, Yusuke Tanaka, Kohei Uchimura, Koji Yamamuro

Like the Chinese, Japan surprisingly struggled in Saturday's qualifying, finishing in fifth place. They made many errors, including a few shocking ones from star Kohei Uchimura.

Uchimura won the all-around silver medal in Beijing, and he's won the all-around final at the last three World Championships as well. The 23-year-old is the only male gymnast in history to do this, so don't be shocked at all if he leads his team to gold in London.

If the Japanese clean up their routines, they will be very dangerous on Monday.

Russia

Roster: Denis Ablyazin, Aleksandr Balandin, David Belyavskiy, Emin Garibov, Igor Pakhomenko

After finishing fourth in the 2011 World Championships, the Russians carried their strong performance over to Saturday's qualifying, where they finished second to the U.S.

Russia isn't typically a gymnastics powerhouse, but they are more than capable of winning the gold in London. Belyavskiy finished sixth in the individual all-around competition in the last World Championships, and Garibov finished 15th.

If those two can inspire their teammates today, the Russians will be a force to be reckoned with.