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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -The U.S. women's soccer team embarks on its final warmup ahead of regional World Cup qualifiers when it faces Denmark in the inaugural Peace Queen Cup on Sunday in Seoul.
With five weeks before qualifiers get under way at the 2006 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup in California, head coach Greg Ryan said he was also looking forward to facing Australia on Tuesday and the Netherlands two days later.
"We didn't want to go a month and a half without any matches, and these are great matches," Ryan said during practice Friday at Jamsil Stadium in southern Seoul.
"The competition is fantastic. We've got two teams that have already qualified for the World Cup - Denmark and Australia. We've adjusted to the climate and the team's playing well," he said. "If we reach the final, we'll get a chance to play Brazil."
Having won two of the last three Olympics, two of four World Cups and its last nine matches, the U.S. is the most favored side this week.
The U.S. is second only to Germany in world rankings, while Brazil ranks fourth. At the final of the 2004 Athens Olympics against Brazil, the U.S. walked away 2-1 victors. A friendly rematch next Saturday is possible, but the two won't meet before then as they are in separate groups at the tournament.
The tournament divides eight teams into two groups, with the group winners vying for the title and US$200,000 (?158,000) on Nov. 4. Host South Korea will not play in the 2007 World Cup in China, neither will the Netherlands.
Brazil is the Group A favorite ahead of Italy, Canada and South Korea. In Group B, the U.S. faces Denmark, Australia and the Netherlands - a last minute call-up after North Korea backed out following the communist nation's nuclear test on Oct. 9.
Organized by the Sunmoon Peace Football Federation, the event ran as a club-level men's tournament in 2003 and 2005, featuring powerhouses like Boca Juniors of Argentina and English Premiership team Tottenham Hotspur, which won last year.
North Korea, which recently swept the U19 World Championship in Russia, wrote a letter to the body's chairman apologizing for its cancellation, Kim said.
"One of our main tasks is to reunite South Korea and North Korea," he said. "I'm quite sure if there wasn't this nuclear issue they would come. They promised us in the future they would surely cooperate."
