Alex Morgan: American Superstar Will Lead USA Past Japan to Win Gold

Retribution is a beautiful thing.

The United States women's soccer team has come up short against Japan in the past, but on Thursday they will get another opportunity to flip the script. 

Alex Morgan's late stoppage-time goal to defeat Canada pushed the Americans to the gold-medal game. But her heroics aren't done yet. 

Here are two reasons why she's destined to lead the Americans to a gold-medal victory: 

Confidence

One goal is just one goal, right? Wrong. One goal lifts the pressure from her shoulders. One goal proves that she's ready to take the moment at its peak. One goal is all it takes in one game of soccer. One goal and she is the hero for her home country.

Morgan scored that one goal when her confidence was low, even for her. But now that she picked up that goal and the recognition that followed, Morgan will be brewing with confidence in the gold-medal game.

Morgan is Clutch

Morgan has scored some big goals in her young career. She loves the moment and embraces it with her style of play.

Against Canada, even throughout her scoreless minutes streak, she still elevated high enough to deliver a perfect header from a well-placed cross.

Her goal took confidence to go get the ball first, belief that she was capable of doing that and a mentality that no matter what happened in the games prior, she has what it takes to make something great happen.

Morgan is clutch. She has proved it before and she proved it again against Canada. She will prove it one more time against Japan on Thursday. 

Prediction

Morgan scores the lone goal in a 1-0 United States victory.