Li Jie, captain of the Chinese women's soccer team, shrugged off
home pressure ahead of the all-star game and vowed to snap the
team's six-match losing streak from Europe.
"It will be a hard-fought and exciting match. We have been
preparing for it for a month and without question we want to show
our progress in such a world-class international game," center back
Li told FIFA's official website.
"We were disappointed in ourselves at the Algarve Cup recently,
but the team have been working harder since then and we will prove
that we are still a team capable of playing well against the
best.
"It hard to predict the result, but I believe we can win," she
said.
The gala all-star match on the eve before the April 22 draw in
Wuhan, central China's Hubei province, will feature the Chinese
women's national team and a FIFA Women's World Stars team.
The world stars team, regretfully playing without Marta (Brazil,
FIFA Women's World Player of the Year for 2006) and Birgit Prinz
(Germany, a three-time winner of the same award) due to their
important league matches, will be put through their paces by
current England coach Hope Powell and the former coach of Germany,
Tina Theune-Meyer, who led Germany to FIFA World Cup glory in
2003.
Playing in the FIFA Women's World Cup Stadium and in front of
the Chinese supporters, Li said it was a good chance to get a taste
of the atmosphere for September's tournament.
"For us, it is a good opportunity to play such a great match in
Wuhan, as we are going to play the opening two matches during the
Women's World Cup on the same pitch.
"The fans from Wuhan are also well known for rooting for women's
football, and now it is time to repay their support," Li said.
The women's World Cup will run from Setp. 10-30 in the Chinese
cities of Chengdu, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Tianjin and Wuhan. The draw
will be held at Wuhan on April 22.
Extra spice has been added to the encounter at Wuhan's Sports
Center Stadium, one of the five tournament venues, by the fact that
it will witness Marika Domanski-Lyfors, the newly-appointed Steel
Roses' coach from the sidelines as caretaker coach Wang Haiming
will still guide China through the challenge that could hardly be
any more imposing.
Domanski's appointment is aimed at ending a tumultuous period
for Chinese women's soccer, which saw the squad return from Europe
last month in disgrace having lost six games in a row, including an
embarrassing 4-1 loss to underdog Iceland during the annual Algarve
Cup in Portugal.
(Xinhua News Agency April 21, 2007)