Japan beat Sweden 3-1 in an enthralling semi-final match on Wednesday, putting them through to the final against the United States, who overcame France 3-1 earlier in the day. A rainy night in Frankfurt did nothing to dampen the spirits of either side, or the 45,434 fans in the stadium, as the teams battled for a place in Sunday's final. Sweden took an early lead after ten minutes but Japan responded nine minutes later with midfielder Kawasumi equalising after tussling with Swedish defender Oqvist to get a touch on a cross which eventually saw the ball go beyond goalkeeper Lindahl. After the break, the Nadeshiko - often described as being similar in their style of play to pass masters Barcelona - continued to pile the pressure on their European opponents and took the lead on the hour mark with a scrambled Sawa header. The final goal came again from Kawasumi who hit a pinpoint lob from 35 yards to beat the out-of-position Swedish goalkeeper.

The victory comes just over four months after the earthquake and tsunami on the northeastern coast and with 3 members of last night's line-up - Kumagai, Iwashimizu and Sameshima - hailing from the region affected by the disaster, the win is sure to raise a renewed sense of hope back in Japan . After last Saturday's victory in the quarter-finals over hosts Germany, coach Norio Sasaki said, "Our playing is to be an encouragement to the victims of the disaster."

Japan reach the World Cup final for the first time and face favourites and two-time winners USA in what is anticipated to be a thrilling finale to the tournament.

The match will be broadcast live on Sunday on BBC3 from 19:30.

FIFA match report - Japan v Sweden:
http://www.fifa.com/womensworldcup/matches/round=255993/match=300144455/summary.html