The U.S. women's soccer team still feels the sting from that shootout loss to Japan in the World Cup last July.

On Thursday night, they get another chance against the Japanese for Olympic gold.

"It's definitely redemption, but it's also an opportunity," midfielder Carli Lloyd says. "And an opportunity to show the world that we're the No. 1 team and this game is going to be different."

Abby Wambach ran into Japanese midfielder Homare Sawa in the athletes village, and they spoke briefly.

"We told each other that we were glad the other had won, because we believe that we're the top two teams in the world and we believe our fans deserve to see a great final," Wambach says.

— Janie McCauley — Twitter http://twitter.com/janiemccAP

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EDITOR'S NOTE — "Eyes on London" shows you the Olympics through the eyes of Associated Press journalists across the 2012 Olympic city and around the world. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.