The United States' women's soccer team is going for gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, and will play Brazil at 9 a.m. on Thursday.

 

Brazil has become a nemesis for the Americans. Two of the most explosive incidents involving the U.S. in recent years have occured against the Brazilians:

 

--

Hope Solo

. Ahh yes, it after the World Cup match against Brazil where Solo publicly blasted fellow goalkeeper

Briana Scurry

after not starting over her, saying "There's no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves. And the fact of the matter is it's not 2004 anymore. It’s 2007, and I think you have to live in the present. And you can't live by big names. You can't live in the past. It doesn't matter what somebody did in an Olympic gold medal game in the Olympics three years ago. Now is what matters, and that’s what I think."

Yikes. Her teammates were ticked off about the comments and Solo was sent home, though she's now back on the team. Solo wanted Brazil, and now she's got 'em.

--

Just last month

, the Americans' Olympic hopes were damaged by the loss of star forward

Abby Wambach

in a so-called friendly match against Brazil in San Diego. Wambach was handled aggressively the entire match by the Brazilian defense until a collision left her with a broken leg. Truly, this is an opportunity for the U.S. to cry, "Win Won For Wambach!" (I know I misspelled it, but c'mon. Alliteration is beautiful.)

 

Of course, the U.S. is doing just fine without Wambach, though they haven't played perfect soccer in China. A lot could come together on Thursday--Solo's vindication and the Americans revenge for last year's World Cup, mainly.

 

Or, Brazil could win. That would be a real punch in the gut.