*

China women's soccer beats Sweden, 2-1

Thursday, 7th August 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)

China's Olympic soccer team poses for a team photo
China's Olympic soccer team poses for a team photo
In the first preliminary match for China's women's football (soccer) team, China beat Sweden 2-1, and coach Shang Ruihua gave a little credit to the crowd in Tianjin.

"The home fans gave us great support," Shang said to Xinhua. "Maybe that is why so many countries would like to host Olympics."

The game's first goal came in the sixth minute when striker Xu Yuan followed up Zhang Na's shot, which had bounced off the left goalpost.

Xu, 23 years old, also assisted on China's other goal, punched in by Han Duan (韩端) in the 71st minute. Sweden's goal came from Lotta Schelin.

China plays its next game against Canada on August 9.

Tags: Beijing Olympics, football, Han Duan, Shang Ruihua, soccer, Tianjin, Xu Yuan

DPRK Win AFC Women's Cup, China Runners Up

Monday, 9th June 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)

Shang Ruihua
Shang Ruihua
The Chinese women's soccer (football) team fell to North Korea last night, 2-1, in the final of the AFC Women's Asian Cup in Vietnam. Bi Yan scored China's only goal, striking early in the game's 11th minute.

North Korea's Ri Kum-suk brought the game even with a header in the 58th minute. Kim Yong-ae got the game winner off a rebound in the 68th minute.

"This has been the best game for us in the Asian Cup," China coach Shang Ruihua told FIFA, the sport's international governing body. "Although before the game we had expected that we could defend our Asian title, DPR Korea proved to be the better side."


China had wins over Vietnam, Thailand and Japan in the tournament. The team is currently ranked 14th in the world.

Image: FIFA.com

Tags: Bi Yan, football, Shang Ruihua, soccer

Women's Soccer in AFC Final

Friday, 6th June 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)

Under new coach Shang Ruihua, China's women's soccer (football) team has played its way into an opportunity to defend the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Women's Asian Cup. The "Steel Roses" came back from a 1-0 start yesterday to beat Japan, 3-1. Wang Dandan came off the bench to score two goals in six minutes, and Han Duan scored the team's third goal.

China will face North Korea Sunday in the final in Ho Chi Minh City. China has won eight of the last 10 AFC Cups since 1986.
Wang Dandan gets some love from her teammates.
Wang Dandan gets some love from her teammates.


Image: Yahoo! Sports

Tags: football, Han Duan, national team, Shang Ruihua, soccer, Wang Dandan