China Has No Trouble With Norway
With a coach’s critical eye, Ma Yuanan insisted his Chinese team can play even better than it did Sunday in its stunning 5-0 semifinal rout of defending Women’s World Cup champion Norway at Foxboro Stadium.
“After the lead was 2-0, some of the team’s players are still making constant errors and mistakes,” Ma said. “According to my standards, those errors must be reduced.”
Those miscues were invisible to everyone else who witnessed the shockingly easy victory that thrust China into Saturday’s final against the U.S. at the Rose Bowl. Norway, which took a 10-game World Cup winning streak into Sunday’s game, will face Brazil in the third-place game Saturday morning.
China is 5-11-5 against the U.S. but has won two of the teams’ last three meetings, all of which have been 2-1 decisions.
“If China plays like they did today, with as much speed up front and always looking for No. 9 [Sun Wen] and having people come inside the box, I think China can beat the U.S.,” three-time World Cup veteran Helge Riise said after her team’s reign ended in a loss Norwegian soccer officials believe matched its worst margin of defeat in history.
“I think they can get many chances against the U.S. team because its defense is sometimes shaky,” Riise added. “No. 9 is a good player. . . . Maybe we were really bad today, but I think not. They were very good.”
Sun scored two goals, matching Brazil’s Sissi for the tournament lead with seven, and Liu Ailing scored twice to vault China close to the pinnacle of women’s soccer. Norway failed to take a shot in the first half and didn’t muster a shot on goal until the 63rd minute, when goalkeeper Gao Hong parried a long shot by Solveig Gulbrandsen.
“When we looked at China’s last three matches, I didn’t think they would be so strong today,” Norway Coach Per-Mathias Hogmo said. “They impressed me a lot. They have a strong defense, they play good attacking football and have good individual players with great skills and speed. . . . China has beaten the USA twice already this year, so I think they will be a favorite in the final, but they will face a very enthusiastic U.S. team.”
Buoyed by loud cheers from flag-waving supporters in the crowd of 28,986, China asserted its dominance with two quick goals. Sun, China’s field general, scored in the third minute. Liu Ailing began the play with a long service to Jin Yan, who shot as she lunged. Goalkeeper Bente Nordby stopped that shot with her feet but was helpless on the rebound, allowing Sun time to turn and take a left-footed shot that found the net.
Playing a smart game that resembled the “total football” espoused by Holland’s men’s teams in the 1970s, China created many chances before scoring again, in the 14th minute. Liu Ying took a corner kick that Monica Knudsen deflected, and the ball came back to Liu Ailing for a blistering shot in the penalty arc. “The solidarity of the team and the united effort, the team spirit and teamwork have been the most motivating factors in our success so far,” Liu Ailing said.
She scored her second goal in the 51st minute. Liu Ying delivered another dangerous corner kick into the area, but it was headed out by Goril Kringen. However, the ball bounced to Liu Ailing, who volleyed it up and over Nordby for her third tournament goal.
“Lu Ailing was the best player today,” Norway captain Linda Medalen said. “She was the game-maker. She made all the others good.”
Fan Yunjie made it 4-0 in the 65th minute, and Sun added the final flourish in the 72nd minute when she outguessed Nordby on a penalty kick China was awarded after a Norwegian defender inadvertently handled the ball in the penalty box. Nordby lunged to the right and Sun booted the ball to the left.
“I have never thought about that,” Sun said of the goal-scoring title. “My whole concentration is on playing with the team.”
Playing, perhaps, with the winning team. However, she insisted Sunday’s game is neither a blueprint for the final nor an indication of how China will fare. “The Norway team and the American teams are very different in their way of playing,” she said. “The Norwegian team seems always to play long passes and the American team is not like that. The U.S. team is almost the same like the China team, making short passes.
“It will be a very wonderful game between the U.S. and China.”
