China look like a power-to-be
(AP)
Updated: 2003-09-25 14:52

Sun Wen and China are a force again at the Women's World Cup.

Beaten by the United States on penalty kicks four years ago in the final, the Chinese won their opener at this World Cup but know they must improve.

Sun, MVP of the 1999 World Cup, scored on a header in the 29th minute in a 1-0 victory over Ghana on Sunday night.

"We were not in as good a shape for tonight's game," Sun said through an interpreter. "The first game is always the hardest. We can't say this was the real performance of the team.

"We can't make it if we play like we played tonight. It takes time to get better."

Ghana was outshot 15-3 but its gritty defense and goalkeeper Memunatu Sulemana kept the score close. Ghana lost 7-0 to China in the World Cup four years ago and is ranked No. 53 to China's No. 4.

"The aim was to improve on the 1999 performance and we achieved that," Ghana coach Okoe Aryee said.

China, heavily favored to win Group D, next plays Australia, which lost 2-1 to Russia.

"Aggressive attacking is one of the points I deliver to my players," China coach Ma Liangxiang said. "I can say the game on Thursday will be more entertaining and exciting. I expect the team will be better prepared, psychologically prepared."

China, one of the top teams the past decade, may have been the tournament favorite if the World Cup had not been moved from its country because of the SARS outbreak.

Back home, the Chinese team is having trouble drawing a following. During the men's World Cup in South Korea and Japan, fans crowded Beijing shopping areas to watch the games on big-screen TVs. That wasn't the case for the women's opener.

Helen Wang was tending bar at the Club Football Football Club, where two patrons stayed for the first half before drifting out.

"The men are terrible and the women are good," the bartender said. "But no one watches the women. I don't know why."

In California, a stadium crowd of 10,027 watched goalkeeper Zhao Yan record the shutout as China's midfielders and defense kept Ghana from mounting serious threats.

The 30-year-old Sun, who has said she is retiring after the World Cup, posed a constant threat with her dribbling and passing.

She also blocked a free kick by Alberta Sackey from just outside the box in the 57th minute, one of Ghana's few opportunities. The ball struck Sun in the face, and she fell to the turf and lay there motionless for a moment before springing up and chasing the play downfield.

Her goal punctuated a well-executed sequence. Bai Jie took a throw-in outside the box, whirled toward the goal line and sent a high pass toward the far post. Sulemana jumped and the ball sailed just beyond her reach. Sun, in perfect position, leaped and knocked the ball into the net.

Wen led the tournament with seven goals in the 1999 when the Americans beat the Chinese 5-4 on penalty kicks for the title at the nearby Rose Bowl.

This latest goal was the 106th of her career and 11th in World Cup play, one shy of Michelle Akers' Cup record.

"I thought the far post would be the best choice," Sun said. "It was a very good cross."