FRANKFURT, Germany (AFP) - With Japan set to face two-time winners the USA in Sunday's women's World Cup final, coach Norio Sasaki said his team cannot expect a bumper bonus if they win but maybe a watch instead.
Despite their nickname Nadeshiko—a pink flower symbolising grace and beauty—the Japanese are the giant-killers of Germany 2011 having beaten the hosts in the quarter-finals and Sweden in the last four.
They are in a World Cup final for the first time in their history and take on a buoyant USA team which brushed aside France 3-1 in their semi-final on Wednesday.
While hosts Germany would have received a bonus of 60,000 euros if they had won a third straight title in the final, Sasaki said his Japanese cannot expect the same financial reward if they lift the title.
Having conceded an early goal to Sweden in the semi-final, Japan roared back to dominate the Scandinavians with a 3-1 victory.
But Sasaki said Junji Ogura, the president of the Japan Football Association, has the final say on whether the Nadeshiko's heroic exploits at Germany 2011 will be rewarded.
"The president was there and I would have to ask him. For us it's not about money, it's about being part of this World Cup," Sasaki replied, when asked by a German journalist if his team would get the same bonus the Germans were offered.
"We haven't talked about money, but now we have reached the final, a watch would be a nice thing, that is what I would expect.
"The president may think about that, we will not however get what they would have got in Germany."
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