U.S. has grudge match tonight in Foxboro against Norwegians

Norway is the only nation with a winning record against the defending champions.
FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) -- The Norwegians did the dance they'd earned, and the Americans seethed while watching it.
In 1995, after Norway beat the United States in the World Cup semifinals, the winners celebrated. It was the only U.S. loss in World Cup history and it has not been forgotten.
Tonight, in an unusually early meeting at such a prestigious event, the United States plays Norway in the World Cup quarterfinals.
Etched in memory
"That moment is burning in my memory for probably the rest of my life," U.S. goalie Briana Scurry said Tuesday of the '95 defeat. "I was a split-second late, and I think about that all the time. Hopefully, I won't be a split-second late any time again."
Scurry shouldn't blame herself for Ann Kristin Aarones' goal, but she still does. It is a measure of how intense this rivalry is.
But in a good way, U.S. star Mia Hamm insisted.
"It is intense and it brings out the best in all of us," said Hamm, soccer's career goals leader with 144. "It's a healthy rivalry, not kind of marred in controversy or anything.
"They won in '95 and deserved to be celebrating. We came out flat and they took advantage and deserved to win that game."
If either side is flat in Foxboro, it will mean an early exit. Norway struggled in a 4-1 first-round loss to Brazil and hopes it got such poor play out of the way for good. The Americans were very sharp in the first round and even got to rest veterans Hamm -- she sat out Sunday's 3-0 win over North Korea -- Julie Foudy and Kristine Lilly.
Dismissing past?
Both teams claim the past -- which also includes Norway's overtime victory for the gold medal in the 2000 Olympics -- can be dismissed. But can it?
Norway has an 18-16-2 head-to-head edge over the Americans, the only nation with a winning record against the defending champions. And Norway has beaten the American eight times on U.S. soil.
On the other hand, the United States has won the last three meetings.
Most of the matches have been close, which engenders even more respect on each side.
"They look strong," said Norway midfielder Hege Riise, coming off knee surgery and limited to, by her estimate, about 30 minutes per game. "We need to do everything on a very high level or else we will get eliminated."
Added Dagny Mellgren, Norway's top attacker: "At some point, we felt we had to play the U.S. to win a gold medal. It's hard to meet them as soon as now, and we have to deal with it."
They've always dealt well with the United States. Riise said that dates back to the days of previous coach Evan Pellerud (now with Canada), whose in-depth analyses of U.S. tapes provided Norway an early edge in the rivalry.
Coach convincing
"He had us believe in this team's ability to play against the U.S. and he convinced us over many years we can go out and play well against them," Riise said. "He looked at the U.S. team to find their weakness and tell us how to play to use their weakness.
"It's getting harder to beat the U.S. They are getting stronger."
This Norway team might not be as strong as the 2000 squad. There has been something of a transition to younger players, goalkeeper Bente Nordby had to be talked out of retirement to play in the World Cup, and Riise isn't close to 100 percent fit.