By Scott French, Senior Editor
in Providence, R.I.

Wielding its depth, versatility and dynamism like a scythe, the United States cut down its foes in the ''Group of Death'' with relative ease, notching emphatic triumphs over Sweden, Nigeria and North Korea en route to the Women's World Cup's knockout phase.

Norway, winner of the two major world competitions not claimed by the Americans, has looked far from brilliant while booking its trip to the final eight, outlasting France in a lackluster opener, stumbling in a one-sided loss to Brazil, then taking out its frustrations on a poor South Korean side.

What may be the finest U.S. women's team ever assembled meets what is clearly not a great Norway side in Wednesday's quarterfinals at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., but history suggests none of that should matter a whole lot.

It's women's soccer's most storied rivalry, and the teams' relative strengths and current form only weigh so much when the United States and Norway tangle.

''When they play against us, they bring it,'' U.S. goalkeeper Briana Scurry says. ''How you've done previously doesn't matter when we play each other.''

Norway is the only nation with a winning record against the United States, an 18-16-1 mark that includes victories in the 1995 World Cup semifinals, en route to the title, and in the gold-medal game of the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

The Americans won showdowns in the 1991 World Cup final and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics semifinals, and they've captured the past three meetings, including a 3-1 triumph at China's Four Nations tournament in January and a 1-0 victory at the Algarve Cup in Portugal in March.

Neither goalkeeper Bente Nordby nor forward Marianne Pettersen, whose returns from retirement brought needed leadership to a young, transitory squad, were with the Norwegians in either competition. Nordby provides confidence behind a mostly inexperienced, problematic back line; Pettersen, teamed up front with WUSA career goalscoring leader Dagny Mellgren, gives the Norwegians one of the best 1-2 attacking punches in the tournament.

The Norwegians have struggled because of lax defending and the status of playmaker Hege Riise, who played only 28 minutes in the first three matches after a stunning comeback from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Riise is a magical player, and Norway's attack hasn't looked the least bit magical — except against the vastly overmatched Koreans — without her.

The Americans, meantime, have been (with likely semifinal opponent Germany) one of two outstanding teams in the tournament. Anchored by Scurry and Joy Fawcett in the back and Shannon Boxx in midfield, relying on the inventiveness of, especially, Mia Hamm, and capitalizing on the size/skill combination possessed by forwards Abby Wambach and Cindy Parlow, the U.S. women's wealth of weaponry has enabled it to dominate three teams Coach April Heinrichs ranked among the world's 10 best prior to the tournament.

Continued success, and that anticipated showdown with the Germans, may depend on how well they can penetrate an expected Norwegian bunker and deny service to Mellgren and Pettersen on the counterattack. Norway's physical style of play and affinity for the long-ball game have historically provided advantages over the Americans, but it may not be enough this time to overcome the talent gap between the teams.

Sweden, which has looked very strong after a dismal first half against the United States in its Cup opener, will meet Group B winner in the first game of the doubleheader, beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET and televised live on ESPN2 and TeleFutura.

The quarterfinals will conclude Thursday with a doubleheader at PGE Park in Portland, Ore., with tournament co-favorite Germany facing Russia at 4:30 p.m. PT and China taking on Canada at 7:30 p.m. PT, both on ESPN2 and TeleFutura.

USA vs. NORWAY (Oct. 1 at Gillette Stadium, Foxboro)

Women's World Cup quarterfinal
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET.
TV: ESPN2, Galavision (live).
Referee: Nicole Petignat (Switzerland)

Projected Starting Lineups:
USA — Scurry, Pearce, Fawcett, Reddick, Sobrero, Foudy, Boxx, Lilly, Parlow, Wambach, Hamm.
Norway — Nordby, Folstad, Knudsen, Stangeland, Sandaune, Gulbrandsen, Ronning, Lehn, Rapp, Pettersen, Mellgren

USA
1 SCURRY Briana, 2 BIVENS Kylie, 3 PEARCE Christie, 4 REDDICK Cat, 5 ROBERTS Tiffany, 6 CHASTAIN Brandi, 7 BOXX Shannon, 8 MACMILLAN Shannon, 9 HAMM Mia, 10 WAGNER Aly, 11 FOUDY Julie, 12 PARLOW Cindy, 13 LILLY Kristine, 14 FAWCETT Joy, 15 SOBRERO Kate, 16 MILBRETT Tiffeny, 17 SLATON Danielle, 18 MULLINIX Siri, 19 HUCLES Angela, 20 WAMBACH Abby.

NORWAY
1 NORDBY Bente, 2 SANDAUNE Brit, 3 STANGELAND Ane, 4 KNUDSEN Monica, 5 BREDLAND Karin, 6 RIISE Hege, 7 RONNING Trine, 8 GULBRANDSEN Solveig, 9 RAPP Anita, 10 LEHN Unni, 11 PETTERSEN Marianne, 12 HJELMSETH Ingrid, 13 TONNESSEN Anne, 14 MELLGREN Dagny, 15 CHRISTENSEN Marit Fiane, 16 FOLSTAD Gunhild Bentzen, 17 ORMEN Linda, 18 FOSSE SAETHRE Ingrid Camilla, 19 EDNER Kristine, 20 KLAVENESS Lise.