Carson, CA (My Sportsbook) - After scraping past Ghana 1-0 in their World Cup opener, China knows it must play better when they face Australia on Thursday in Group D action at the Home Depot Center.
China dominated the match against Ghana, except the score. Perhaps the pressure to avenge their loss to the U.S. in the 1999 World Cup final was weighing heavy on their minds.
"I was surprised that even the older players got anxious," said head coach Ma Liangxing on FIFA's web site.
But according to China Football Association press secretary Dong Hua, a win is a win.
"We're not worried about the 1-0 result," said Hua. "We still won, we still get our three points."
Ghana goalkeeper Memunatu Sulemana was near flawless in net on Sunday night and she certainly led a club that looked much different than the one that fell to the Chinese, 7-0 in the 1999 World Cup.
China's attack is one of the best in the world with Sun Wen, who scored the goal against Ghana, and Han Duan. Pu Wei also played well in the win, but the team as a whole must finish better to get past Australia with a chance to move on to the quarterfinals.
"We didn't play our best today, I think we were all a little nervous," said Wen. "We're in for a hard time if we continue playing like this."
China has started off slow in their last two World Cup campaigns as well. In 1995, they drew with the U.S., 3-3 and squeaked by Sweden, 2-1 in 1999. Hua believes that a slow start can force the team to concentrate harder on the ultimate goal.
"Starting off too fast, getting too excited too early is not good," said Hua. "The girls just have to keep working to get into the competition. Then they'll be at their best by the time they reach the Final."
Meanwhile, Australia lost a frustrating match to Russia, 2-1.
Dianne Alagich scored an own goal, which helped Russia bring the match level minutes before halftime.
Then Russia's Elena Fomina scored in the 89th minute to steal a win from the Matildas.
Kelly Golebiowski scored for Australia and looks to be in top form early on.
