Not only was China PR's 4-0 defeat by Brazil their heaviest
in the history of the FIFA Women's World Cup, it also dealt a
significant blow to the host nation's prospects of progressing
to the last eight. With two wins out of two and a plus-nine goal
difference, Brazil already have a quarter-final place effectively
assured, leaving China and Denmark to contest Group D's second
qualifying berth in Thursday's final games.
The Steel Roses, who have relocated from Wuhan to Tianjin for
their meeting with New Zealand, will reassess their tactical
approach and come back fighting and, despite the setback on
Saturday, everyone in the China camp is confident of securing
qualification. After all, no host team in the history of the FIFA
Women's World Cup has ever suffered the ignominy of a
first-round exit.
The game
China PR-New Zealand, Tianjin, Thursday 20 September, 20:00
(local time)
The stakes
Despite an opening victory over Denmark, China now find
themselves behind the Danes on goal difference. The hosts will be
hoping Brazil do them a favour by denying Denmark three points,
although they must then keep their side of the bargain against a
New Zealand team who, without a point, need a small miracle to
stand any chance of advancing. In the event of both sides winning,
China must achieve a victory margin five goals better than
Denmark's.
The past
China have enjoyed overwhelming superiority against
New Zealand in the past, winning all six previous encounters. The
teams met in the first round of the inaugural FIFA Women's
World Cup in 1991, when China romped to a 4-1 victory on home
territory.
The birthday girl
On 15 September, the day before she turned 24, New
Zealand's Zoe Thompson could only watch from the
substitutes' bench as her team-mates faltered to a 2-0 defeat
at the hands of Denmark. Not only will the forward be aiming to put
in an appearance against China PR on Thursday, victory over the
host nation would be the perfect belated birthday gift.
The players
Neither of the teams have players missing through injury or
suspension. In the Kiwi camp, Jenny Bindon, Ria Percival, Abby
Erceg and Maya Jackman all collected bookings earlier in the
tournament, while three members of the China PR squad - Xie Caixia,
Pu Wei, and Zhang Tong - are also on a yellow card.
The words
"There's no shame in losing to a world-class team
such as Brazil. Although we've suffered a setback, we still
have a chance. We have to increase our goal difference against New
Zealand while hoping that Brazil are at their best against Denmark
and go all-out for the win -
Marika Domanski-Lyfors, China PR coach
At least theoretically, we can still qualify. If Brazil beat
Denmark and we beat China by enough goals, we may progress to the
quarter-finals together with Brazil. We'll be doing our
homework on the China team and you can be certain that we'll
make life extremely difficult for them. This next game promises to
be extremely tough -
John Herdman, New Zealand coach
