The members of the Chinese women's football team participating in the 2017 Algarve Cup (Photo : Twitter)
China remained winless while Spain and Canada go head to head in the finals of the Algarve Women's Football Cup being held in Albufeira, Portugal.
Outgunned
Despite their early lead, the Chinese women's football team succumbed to Australia 1-2, putting them in fourth place in Group C of the tournament, China.org reported. This is the second straight loss for the team in the competition.
China made their charge early in the match, with Wu Haiyan being at the center. Wang Shanshan made the team's only goal in the 36th minute after breaking through Australian goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold's defense.
However, the Australians made changes to their lineup and stepped up the pressure during the second half of the match. Forward Emily Gielnik, who was brought in on a substitution, rode off a volley pass to get past Chinese goalie Zhao Lina for Australia's first goal in the 61st minute.
Just ten minutes later, the Matildas scored their second goal thanks to Ellie Carpenter, who took the shot from the corner, sealing the victory.
Chinese team coach Bruno Bini admitted that they have many opportunities to come back but ultimately fell short of the goal. However, Australian head coach Alex Stajcic praised Wang for her performance. Stajcic said that she has the makings of a world-class player in her.
This is the second loss of China after succumbing to The Netherlands 0-1 in their opening match.
Spain, Canada face off in finals
Meanwhile, Spain and Canada set up their finals match after getting two wins each during their earlier matches, Xinhua reported. The two teams have also managed to get scoreless draws in their matches against Iceland and Portugal respectively, allowing them to maintain their lead.
On the other hand, Australia will be having a third place match against Denmark. The Aussies won two games after securing a victory against the Netherlands and China. However, they were down a single point from the top two teams, settling for a possible bronze.
