Ever heard of Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach, America, or any combination of the aforementioned? Then dawn your best red, white, and blue attire to work Tuesday in preparation for a historic Women's World Cup semifinal match up you won’t want to miss. Germany are set to take on the U.S. Women’s national team Tuesday night for a coveted spot in the World Cup finals.

In a memorable quarterfinal round, Australia, China, France, and host nation Canada all made their tournament exit. This now leaves Germany to play the USA, and Japan to play England.

Focusing on the left side of the bracket in the quarterfinal round, the U.S. defeated China 1-0. Was it the best performance by the Americans? No. Did it have to be? No.

Germany on the other hand played to a heart-wrenching 1-1 tie with France for an exhausting 120 minutes. German star goalkeeper and 2013 FIFA Women’s Player of the Year Nadine Angerer saved the fifth penalty kick and earned her side a spot in the World Cup semifinals against the United States.

In an ironic turn of events, Germany finds itself in a similar position to the USWNT at the last World Cup. Back in 2011, at the time world ranked number one, U.S. played, then number three Brazil in an exhausting 122 minute plus contest. It was that storied game where Wambach scored in the 122th minute of extra time and sent the game into penalty kicks. The State won the shootout and then advanced to the semifinals against France.

When the U.S. defeated Brazil in the quarterfinals, the national hype led many Americans to believe that the Women's team had actually won the World Cup. What a roller coaster of emotions that was; this was the problem. The players took an emotional toll and the 30 minutes of additional time only added to team fatigue.

One could argue that perhaps if the U.S. had not played the extra minutes against Brazil that they would have had enough energy left in the tank for the World Cup final against Japan. It will be interesting to see how Germany responds to their physical and emotional fatigue.

After all, the Germans have endured the fiercest competition out of all twenty-four teams in the tournament. They finished first in their group, defeated fifth ranked Sweden, then number three France, and now must play the number two USA—and this is all before they even reach the World Cup finals; talk about tough luck.

While there is no doubt that the U.S. and Germany are two of the most elite Women’s soccer teams in the game, this semifinal will require a fair amount of energy that may be difficult for the Germans to maintain for another 90 minutes or even 120 minutes.

The United States are better rested than Germany and have not been playing to the same caliber nor the same level of competition as Germany. With the all-elusive World Cup trophy just out of reach, both teams must leave everything on the line.

For all practical purposes, Tuesday’s contest is a World Cup final, and both sides are well prepared to prove themselves on the world’s largest stage.