At that final in Germany, the US were beaten on penalties by Japan following a 2-2 draw after extra time.

This was heartbreaking for the team as they had led twice during the match only to be pegged back by the gutsy Japanese.

"Because we got so close and lost in the most dramatic way you can lose a soccer tournament, it adds even more fuel to the fire," said striker Abby Wambach (pictured top), a gold medallist from Athens 2004.

"We have had a short period of time from the World Cup to now and I think it is really nice and important for the freshness of that loss to be stuck in our minds and honestly in our hearts.

"What is in the past, is in the past but this team still has something to prove.

"There is no better motivation than losing.

"I think that we did a lot of really cool things in Germany last summer, we got people excited about the women's game again and truthfully I wasn't sure if that was going to happen again in my career.

"This team has something to prove.

US women's football team with their gold medals at Beijing 2008

"I know that all of us are competitors through and through.

"We are competing when we are playing ping pong in our team floor, whatever it is we want to win."

The US take on North Korea and Colombia after meeting France in the group stage, and will likely have to overcome Japan to lift the Olympic title for the fourth time.

Brazil are also likely to push for their first ever Olympic gold in football.

Should the US claim victory, it will entrench their dominance of the Olympic tournament, which they have won in three of the four Games where the event has taken place.

It would also be their third football Olympic gold in a row.

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