Women's World Cup 2015: England Looks to Dictate the Pace Against Japan in Semis

With the chance to compete in the FIFA Women's World Cup final against the United States on the line, Japan will take on England at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday and it should be a good semifinal match. 

Japan, which defeated the U.S. in the 2011 World Cup final, is eyeing to repeat as champions. Though each game has been decided by one goal, Japan is 5-0 in tournament play entering this semifinal.

England, meanwhile, finished 4-1 in the group stage, displaying resiliency after a tournament opening 1-0 defeat at the hands of France.

Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images

The Lionesses of England have never reached the World Cup final, nevermind won the whole thing, adding to the significance of this game for winger Toni Duggan and her team, according to TheFA.com's Glenn Lavery.

"

If we got to the World Cup final I'd be speechless. The girls are on a high getting this far. To get to a World Cup final would be more than a dream come true. It will be the biggest night of our lives and we are going to give it everything.

"

But if experience becomes a factor in the game, England's hopes of winning the Cup could fade away Wednesday night.

Consider that Japan has 17 players on the roster from the 2011 championship team, per Laura Vecsey of Fox Sports, namely midfielders Aya Miyama, Rumi Utsugi and Mizuho Sakaguchi.

Even USWNT fans are aware of how much more of a threat Japan would be in the final because it has gone all the way before:

Japan's cohesiveness as a unit allows it to execute plays that other teams, which haven't been on the field together as much just wouldn't be able to complete.

Check out the teamwork on this goal against the Netherlands earlier in the World Cup:

"

Watching the Women's World Cup tonight? You could see a few more goals like this beaut from Japan: https://t.co/vP02QKCLn9

— LiveFootball (@livefootball) June 27, 2015"

It's not that Japan is going to overwhelm England with its offensive attack—it hasn't scored more than two goals in any of its five games. It controls the tempo, however, and makes it difficult for opponents to create opportunities for themselves.

What England fans should be concerned about is Japan wearing the Lionesses out with its style of play, then taking advantage once fatigue sets in, proceeding to convert on scoring chances.

It would be quite impressive if England head coach Mark Sampson generates a gameplan that forces Japan to play at the Lionesses' pace, because no other team has successfully done so to this point.

This is what England did in 2011 when it was the only team to defeat the eventual World Cup champion.

Four years ago, everything went England's way, as Japan failed to convert on possible goals and the Lionesses played sound defense:

Since that day, Japan has yet to lose a World Cup game, but Sampson is confident that England can pull off the upset again, according to DailyMail.co.uk:

"

We've been very adaptable in this tournament. We've seen an England team work the ball through the thirds and create goal scoring chances, we've seen an England team play from back to front quickly, we've seen an England team press flat out but also, when we need to, to defend our goal. And of course there's that element of the set-piece as well. We're not going to be a one-trick pony. We've upset the apple cart so far and that'll be our intention again.

"

Yes, England has made the most of scoring opportunities, but those are going to be harder to come by against Japan.

In their last game against Canada, the Lionesses lost the time of possession battle 58-42. They can't get by like that on Wednesday night. Norway and France also kept the ball out of England's possession for most of their games against the Lionesses. 

For comparisons sake, Japan dominated the ball for 60 percent of the game in its last match against Australia. When facing Ecuador, Japan had the ball two-thirds of the time.

England probably won't allow that kind of command of the match, but in the end, Japan's chemistry will enable it to play the way it has throughout the tournament, earning the squad a spot in the final and setting up a rematch of the 2011 game.