China rolls into final with rout

Wen, Ailing each score two goals in 5-0 win over Norway

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Posted: Sunday July 04, 1999 09:58 PM

Sun Wen scored two of China's five goals on Sunday to tie Sissi of Brazil for the tournament lead. AP

FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) -- It will be a rematch of the 1996 Olympic gold medal game -- China vs. the United States for the Women's World Cup championship.

China used its speed on a steamy Sunday night -- scoring early and rushing past slower Norway -- and ran into the final with a 5-0 win over the defending champions, the biggest semifinal margin in World Cup history.

Next stop for the Chinese in their coast-to-coast quest for their first World Cup title: the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., next Saturday.

Norway will be there, too, for the third-place game. For the first time in the three World Cups, it failed to reach the final. Instead, it will play Brazil, a 2-0 loser to the United States in Sunday's other semifinal in San Jose, Calif.

China's victory, sparked by two goals each by Sun Wen and Liu Ailing, set up a rematch of the Olympic title game, won by the United States 2-1 in Athens, Ga.

The Americans will have a tough time if China dominates the ball as it did Sunday. Norway, whose 10-game World Cup winning streak ended, didn't get a shot on goal until the 63rd minute, by Solveig Gulbrandsen.

Chinese goalkeeper Gao Hong was rarely tested as Norway was outshot 11-0 in the first half, although she made several good saves in the final minutes. In going 5-0 so far, China has outscored opponents 19-2.

China, meanwhile, closed in often on Norwegian goalie Bente Nordby.

Sun scored in the third minute and Liu connected in the 14th minute. Six minutes into the second half, Liu scored again with a 12-yard left-footed volley after a Norwegian defender tried to clear a corner kick into the box. Fan Yunjie made it 4-0 in the 65th minute.

Sun then tied Sissi of Brazil for the tournament lead with seven goals as she scored on a penalty kick after a defender touched the ball with her hand in the box in the 72nd minute.

Sunday's game matched the teams who played in the opening game of the first World Cup in China in 1991. The Chinese won that, 4-0, but Norway reached the final, losing to the United States 2-1. In 1995, Norway beat Germany 2-0 for the title.

The crowd of 28,986 in 58,868-seat Foxboro Stadium was largely subdued on a hot night. As the game began, the temperature was 87 degrees with a relative humidity of 67 percent.

That didn't bother China, which scored twice before the heat could take its toll.

Liu kicked the ball from about 35 yards, leading Jin Yan into the box. Nordby made a kick save on Jin's 12-yard shot and went to the ground. She got up but was beaten by Sun's left-footer for a 1-0 lead.

China's next goal came off a corner kick. It was knocked down in the box by Monica Knudsen, but went to Liu about 20 yards in front of the goal line. She fired a hard shot past Nordby.

The Chinese, spurred by Zhao Lihong's sprint with the ball down the left wing, continued to attack in the first half, and Nordby made several outstanding saves, some at pointblank range, to keep the score 2-0 at halftime.

 

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