The title favorites for the Athens Olympic women soccer tournament, including Germany and the United States, will have to fight it out under great pressures for their semi-final berths with the knock-out phase slated for Friday evening.

Germany, the reigning world champion, who showed its momentum for the title by stunning China 8-0 and beating Mexico 2-0 in the group stage, will face the Nigerian Super Falcons, who won their African Women's Nations Cup three times in a row in 2002, 2000 and 1998.

The Super Falcons, who stopped in the first round at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, might justify their conclusion that speed and flexibility work on the pitch.

However, Germany is clearly enjoying an upperhand, with striker Birgit Prinz proving to be a super star by topping the scorers' list with five goals.

At Kaftantzoglio Stadium, the United States, another Olympic title favorite, will take on the Japanese, who scored a morale-boosting victory over Sweden 1-0 before losing to Nigeria 1-0 in their final group match.

While the Americans will likely be feeling the pressure as a hot favorite, their Japanese peers can hope for a major upset without any bound.

The United States, winner in 1996 Atlanta Games and runner-up four years later in Sydney, is eagerly looking for another gold with powerful strikers Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach who have combined to score four goals in the group stage.

Sweden, who ranked fourth in the world, is likely to knock out Australia with the help of its forward Hanna Ljungberg, the best women's player in 2003, as the latter, who ranked 10th, only made its second Olympic show.

The Brazil-Mexico battle might be the most unpredictable to be unfolded the same day, as both sides are rising powers in the women soccer world.

Brazil stunned host Greece 7-0 and beat Australia 1-0, while Mexico managed a 1-1 tie with China, whose veteran players finished runner-up twice in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the 1999 Women's World Cup.

Source: Xinhua