China defeated South Korea 1-0 Tuesday in the bronze match at
the Asian U-19 women's championship, acquiring the last Asian
ticket to FIFA U-20 women's World Cup to be held in Chile next
year.
The only goal came in the 77th minute as China's Ruan Xiaoqing
found the net with a header, sealing victory for the host.
China's Ma Zixiang (L) vies
with Ji So Yun (C) of South Korea at the AFC U-19 Women's
Championships in Chongqing, southwest China, Oct. 16, 2007. China
took the third place in the championships by beating South Korea
1-0 and booked berth for the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup held in
Chile next year.
"Today's tournament went on rather fiercely and placed my
players under tremendous pressure. Nevertheless, my players kept a
strong will to fight in persevering style all through the game,"
Gao Rongming, coach of Chinese team said in the post-match press
conference.
"Although we lost the game, the two teams' morale and physical
strength are almost the same, so it doesn't necessarily come to
which team is stronger," said Lee Young Ki, head coach of the South
Korean team.
"Chinese team performed better in implementing their strategies
and tactics, therefore they won the game."
In Tuesday's AFC U-19 women's championship final, DPR Korea beat
Japan 1-0 with the help of Ra Un Sim.
DPR Korea's Ra Un Sim got the title of "the Most Valuable
Player" and "the Best Shooter", and the Japanese team got "the Fair
Play Award", AFC officials said in the award ceremony.
According to the AFC rules, the top 3 teams-- DPR Korea, Japan
and China in the U-19 women's championship qualify for the FIFA
U-20 women's World Cup.
China's Liu Shukun (L) vies
with a player of South Korea at the AFC U-19 Women's Championships
in Chongqing, southwest China, Oct. 16, 2007.?
China's Li Dongna (R) vies
with Shim Seo Yeon of South Korea at the AFC U-19 Women's
Championships in Chongqing, southwest China, Oct. 16,
2007.
China's players celebrate
after the match against South Korea at the AFC U-19 Women's
Championships in Chongqing, southwest China, Oct. 16,
2007.
(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2007)
