China are set to face off against Denmark, New Zealand and Brazil in the group stage of the women's World Cup after the draw was made public on Sunday in Wuhan, the largest city of central China. China, the hosts, have been seeded as the top team in Group D but are under no illusions about the difficulty of the challenge lying ahead.

"It is a tough draw, Denmark seem to be unbeatable in Europe of late while Brazil were the runners-up at the Olympic Games three years ago," said Domanski-Lyfors, the newly appointed coach of the Chinese team. "But I think the semi-finals are open to us if we work hard.

Domanski's appointment is hoped to bring to a close a difficult chapter in Chinese women's soccer, which saw the squad disgraced after losing six games in a row at the Algarve Cup in Portugal last month.

The pressure is being firmly placed on Domanski's shoulder with Chinese sports officials demanding a semi-final appearance at the very least.

However, their opponents are also fearing China during the group stage.

"I was there to watch the all-star game yesterday and China played a fantastic match. They are skillful and technically strong. To beat them, we have a lot of work to do," said Kenneth Heiner-Muller, head coach of Denmark, who finished second in the Algarve Cup, losing 2-0 to the US in the final.

New Zealand, having never won a competitive women's soccer match, are approaching the game cautiously.

"We have played against China before, technically they are a better team and we hope to find a way to beat them in September," said Maia Jackman, New Zealand's all-star player who played in the world stars game on Saturday.

The Women's World Cup, the leading competition in the sport will have sixteen teams competing, with games played in Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Tianjin and Wuhan from 10 to 30 September 2007.

Defending champions Germany have been placed in Group A with Japan, England and Argentina while the United States, North Korea, Sweden and Nigeria will be in Group B, dubbed the Group of Death. Norway will be thanking their lucky stars with an easier time of it against Ghana, Australia and Canada in Group C.

(Xinhua News Agency April 23, 2007)