WORLD CUP FINAL PREVIEW: NEWCOMERS IN SPOTLIGHT GERMANY, SWEDEN ENTERING NEW GROUND IN TITLE MATCH.

Byline: Fred J. Robledo Staff Writer

CARSON - This was the Women's World Cup that was supposed to force China to avenge its 1999 defeat against the United States.

But the sequel fell far short of materializing.

Instead, a couple of newcomers, Germany and Sweden, will compete for the crown of women's soccer when the World Cup final is contested this morning at the Home Depot Center.

The Germans aren't going without notice back home, already receiving a visit from German World Cup legend Jurgen Klinsmann, who lives in Orange County and left a nearby training session with the Galaxy to congratulate the women's team on reaching the final.

The Swedes, meanwhile, also seem to be enjoying their moment in the spotlight, soaking up all the amenities that Los Angeles and Hollywood have to offer by skipping training sessions for such places as Universal Studios.

This is welcomed uncharted territory for both.

Neither has previously advanced to the final, let alone won it. After all, the tournament is being contested for only the fourth time, with the U.S. winning twice (1991, '99) and Norway ('95) once.

The Germans are playing the best soccer of the tournament, going 5-0 with a tournament-leading 23 goals and reaching the final with a 3-0 semifinal victory over the defending champion and host U.S. team last Sunday in Portand.

German standouts Maren Meinert and Birgit Prinz are worthy of being called the best players in the world after dynamic showings.

And German goalkeeper Silke Rottenberg has been superb in protecting the net.

But German coach Tina Theune-Meyer thinks it's all meaningless once the whistle blows today.

The Swedes' only setback came in a tournament-opening 3-1 loss to the United States, and they are riding the momentum of a late, come-from-behind victory over Canada in the semifinals.

Both expect a fierce match, and the team that scores first could have a huge advantage, given the low-scoring nature of most past games between the two countries.

``I think the first goal will decide the game,'' Swedish midfielder Malin Andersson said. ``It won't mean the game is over if Germany scores, but it will make it very difficult to win.

``If we can score first, then we can really use our speed to counter them and find the space. If they score first, then we have to keep our heads and still use our speed to get in behind their defense and score.''

The Swedish answer to Meinert and Prinz comes from forwards Hanna Ljungberg and Victoria Svensson, who have five goals and eight assists between them.

With Germany playing so well, the Swedes are looking for every advantage, noting they have a mental edge after defeating Germany in their last encounter. The won 2-1 in the third-place match at the Algarve Cup in March of 2002 to trim Germany's lead in the all-time series to 6-5.

The Swedes also point to the UEFA Women's Cup last year, when Swedish club team Umea IK, made up mostly of Swedish national-team players, defeated German club team FFC Frankfurt, made up mostly of German national-team players.

``I think that when we beat them at the Algarve Cup and in the UEFA Women's Cup, it proved that we can beat them,'' Ljungberg. ``We know we can beat them now, and we know every time we play them that we have the chance to beat them.''

But all the fuss over which team is playing better or which team has had had a better tournament means little to the Germans, who know what happens in today's 90 minutes will outweigh everything that has happened before.

``This is completely different,'' German midfielder Pia Wunderlich said. ``I don't think it gives anyone an advantage. The World Cup is totally different from the Women's Cup or anything else.''

Regardless of prior history, both teams seem to have mutual respect for one another.