China freezes out USA 2-0 in Four Nations Tournament

January 26, 2003 - Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA)
San Jose CyberRays News Release


WUHAN, China (Jan. 26, 2003) – China, which will host the Women's World Cup in September and October, warmed up for international soccer's biggest event by shutting out the defending world champion United States 2-0 in a frigid match before 40,000 fans Sunday afternoon.

It was a rematch of the 1999 World Cup final, won by the United States on CyberRays captain Brandi Chastain's [link to bio] penalty kick, and perhaps a preview of what's in store this fall. Six of China's starters play in the WUSA.

``The crowd lived up to its reputation,'' Chastain said of the throng, which jeered every U.S. attack. ``It was a World Cup-like environment. We were under a lot of pressure, but the positive was that we battled for 90 minutes and also put pressure on China. We had a fairly young lineup out there in the second half and they performed well.''

The game was part of the second doubleheader of the Four Nations Tournament, which is being played in the venues to be used in the World Cup, and the outcome means China can clinch the tournament title with a victory Wednesday over Norway in Shanghai. Coming off a 3-1 victory over Norway in the tournament opener, the United States needs a victory over Germany on Thursday plus a tie or loss by China to win the tournament.

Norway and Germany tied at 2-all in the first match of the afternoon.

Rain fell the entire match, which was played in windy, 38-degree weather.

``These are some of the most difficult conditions that I've seen our women's national team face,'' coach April Heinrichs said. ``As many as 10 players got sick, we are playing China in China in front of 40,000 screaming fans, the temperatures were cold, but

worsened by the rain and wind. Giving up two goals is hard to overcome, but our effort in the second half was phenomenal. We did everything we could in that second half to get a goal and a make it difficult for China.''

Fan Yunjie of the San Diego Spirit put China up 1-0 in the 19th minute when she headed in a corner kick. The Atlanta Beat's Sun Wen struck from 28 yards out in the 36th minute.

``On the whole, I am still very pleased about this tournament, and we are in a position to win it in our last game,'' Heinrichs said. ``We have given a lot of players playing time, and we have been able to evaluate almost every player on this roster in a World Cup-like environment. The challenge for us is to bounce back from the disappointment of losing.''



Women's United Soccer Association Stories from January 26, 2003


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