One more game to go for the World Cup Championship and it is  no surprise we are facing Japan  yet again for the finals. There’s no doubt that since the last Olympic Games in  2004, Japan  has been one of the biggest, if not the biggest rivalry for our team.

In 2005 they won the first annual World Cup, beating us in  the finals and also went on to beat us in their own Japan Cup. Last year we  took back both titles in the same tournaments, playing them in both championships,  before losing to them at the World Championships in Beijing, and having to come  back to beat them for the championship the next day.

We have been to their country five times in the last six  years, played in front of their home crowds, toured different parts of their  country, appeared on their TV sports stations and have pretty much tried every  type of Japanese food there is -- even their version of a McDonald's  quarter-pounder with cheese.

It is a great rivalry and one that I look forward to every  time we play them. One of the most interesting parts of the rivalry is that in  all of the interactions there is always an inability to communicate because of  the language barrier. But through the sign language and the funny giggles,  there is always an understanding of respect and competition.

We have had many close games, with each team walking away  with a loss. But as we get closer to the Olympics in Beijing next year, and  tonight being one of the last times we will face Japan before the Olympics,  our team needs to make sure those losses stay on the other side of the Pacific.