Shanghai, China (My Sportsbook) - The United States will try to move past a storm of controversy and avoid its worst finish in the Women's World Cup with a win over Norway in the third-place match on Sunday.

Following the United States' 4-0 loss to Brazil in the semifinals on Thursday, U.S. goalie Hope Solo criticized coach Greg Ryan for his decision to bench her in favor of veteran Brianna Scurry.

Solo, the team's top goalie, said "it was the wrong decision" to use Scurry.

"Anybody who knows anything about the game knows that," Solo said.

Ryan defended his decision after the game and again Friday, but also admitted "the players are concerned" about what's happened in the last couple days.

The controversy isn't likely to die down until after the World Cup, so the United States has to try and turn its focus to Norway.

"This team will come together," Ryan insisted Friday. "Sometimes opposition or frustration from different sources can help this team be even stronger."

Ryan still left the team in limbo Friday when he wouldn't announce who would start in goal for Sunday's match. Ryan could put Solo or Scurry back in the net, or inexperienced Nicole Barnhart.

Regardless of who starts in goal, the United States (3-1-1) will try to keep its record of finishing in the top three of every World Cup intact.

The United States won in 1991 and 1999, and was third in 1995 and 2003 (Scurry was the starter for the 1995, 1999 and 2003 teams).

In addition to the United States overcoming the distractions, 1995 World Cup champion Norway has been on top of its game in the tournament. Although the Norwegians lost 3-0 to Germany in the semifinals, it was a game similar to the United States' loss to Brazil.

Both the United States and Norway conceded an own goal to fall behind by one and never recovered.

Although the United States, ranked No. 1 in the world, came up short of its goal of reaching the final, leading scorer Abby Wambach believes the loss can help the team grow.

"The thing about this team that I've always loved is that we've learned something from every mistake that we've made: '95, '03 and hopefully now moving forward we can learn from this," said Wambach, who has four goals.

The United States and Norway have a long history (the U.S. leads the all-time series 20-18-2) and will meet for the fourth time in five World Cups.

The United States defeated Norway in the 1991 final, 2-1, on a pair of goals from Michelle Akers. Norway got revenge in the 1995 semifinals with a 1-0 win on its way to the title.

The teams didn't meet in the 1999 World Cup but crossed paths again in 2003 when the United States defeated Norway, 1-0, in the quarterfinals on a goal from Wambach.

The victory in 2003 is part of a seven-game winning streak against Norway for the United States, including a 1-0 win in June.

If the United States is going to extend that streak, one of the players it has to contain is Norway's Ragnhild Gulbrandsen. She has five goals, which is tied with Brazil's Cristiane for second in the tournament.

"With a team like this you come into a semi and come up short you have one more game left to end on a win in a big tournament like this," U.S. captain Kristine Lilly said. "The U.S. will come back on Sunday and make the country proud."