China lost to the United States 2-1 in their opening game of the
Algarve Cup Women's football tournament on Wednesday.
Midfielder Carli Lloyd scored the winner in the 38th minute when
she shunned two sluggish tackles by the Chinese players before
releasing a powerful right-footer.
The United States' veteran striker Kristine Lilly opened the
scoring from the spot in the 18th minute after her striking partnet
Abby Wambach was fouled by Chinese defender Li Jie inside the
penalty area.
China equalised three minutes later through forward Han Duan who
met a cross from teammate Liu Yali and headed the ball past the
United States goalkeeper Hope Solo.
The United States, a physically and technically superior team,
were on attack throughout the game forcing a lot of saves from
Chinese keeper Zhang Yanru.
Wang Haiming, China's acting head coach accepted the loss with
no complaints.
"The United States deserved to win the game as they are a better
team," he said.
"But I am satisfied with my players' performance, they showed
signs of maturing. They need to hone their skill to make up their
physical disadvantage," he said.
Greg Ryan, head coach of the United States, also perceived
China' s progress since they lost to his team 2-0 in a tournament
in January.
"They are a better team than in January, they have made
improvements in every aspects including attack, defence and
physical play," he said.?
(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2007)