FOXBORO, Mass. -- China showed Saturday it can destroy a team as well as
-- or better than -- the United States. It will be a lot closer if those rivals
meet for the women's Gold Cup championship.
China routed Guatemala 14-0. Beaten goalkeeper Susana De Leon gasped for
breath and hobbled on a sprained ankle. Chinese coach Ma Yuanan anticipated a
possible meeting with the Americans.
"I will give you my opinion of who's better after the final," he said,
"if we meet in that game."
The United States blasted Trinidad and Tobago 11-0 Friday on the
tournament's opening night in Hershey, Pa. The Americans had it much tougher in
last year's World Cup final in the Rose Bowl, beating the Chinese on penalty
kicks.
If they play for the title of the inaugural, eight-team Gold Cup, it will be
July 3 on the same field where China cruised Saturday. Each team plays three
games to determine the four semifinalists.
The United States would face an offensive machine that amassed amazing
numbers Saturday: a shot advantage of 45-1, four goals and four assists by
Zhang Ouying, three goals by Shui Qingxia, and one player who was more
spectator than goalkeeper.
Gao Hong spent most of the hot, sunny day standing at the top of the arc,
some 20 yards in front of her goal, observing the assault. She easily handled
Guatemala's only shot, a soft popup from 25 yards by Claudia Galvez in the 24th
minute.
"The opposition was not very strong," China captain Liu Ailing said, "but
we were playing our utmost to make it an interesting game."
In the second game, Canada won 4-3 when Charmaine Hooper drove a direct kick in the 87th minute from just outside the penalty area over a wall of Mexican players after Christine Latham had been taken down.
"It's very difficult to be that close and lose," Mexico coach Leonardo Cuellar said.
Canada coach Even Pellerud was upset with the close game after his team had beaten China on June 8 in the Pacific Cup in Australia and finished third in that tournament.
"It's a big disappointment," he said. "We hoped we would take one step forward. We took two steps back."
On Monday night, Canada faces China and Mexico meets Guatemala in Hershey.
Most of what little noise made by the small crowd, announced at 6,223, in
the first half came from one end of the field. The end China was shooting at.
The end the ball rarely left. The end for Guatemala.
The country that played its first international match in July 1998 did stop
the Chinese for the first 20 minutes. Then fatigue and poor positioning set in.
Jin Yan's goal in the 21st minute -- heading in a corner kick by Zhao Lihong --
began the target practice on De Leon.
She allowed seven more goals in the half and two in the first three minutes
of the second. Abandoned by her sluggish defense, she couldn't stop the
onslaught single-handedly.
"I was exhausted. For a minute I had to breathe deeply," she said with a
smile, her ankle still hurting. "I jumped and came down in a hole when I got
hurt but I'm standing up again."
Guatemala knew it would be knocked down.
"We knew we were playing one of the top teams in the world," Guatemala
coach Graco Lopez said. "That game was a learning experience."
He already knew the huge gap between the haves and have-nots in women's
soccer. China beat Guam 15-0 and Hong Kong 12-0 four days apart last November
in winning its sixth Asian Cup in the last seven tournaments.
Saturday's score was just 4-0 going into the 40th minute. China then scored
six goals in the next eight minutes, capped by Zhang's third goal of the game.
"It was," a smiling De Leon said, "a little bit difficult."
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