Rio de Janeiro: All you need to know about the China women’s team gunning for glory at this summer’s Olympic Games in Brazil.
Road to Rio
Asian football’s first women’s Olympic medalist, and an ever-present in the first four women’s Olympic tournaments, China missed out on London 2012 after failing to qualify. They weren’t expected to be in Rio either, and arrived in Japan as the fourth ranked team in the qualifying tournament, with only two places up for grabs.
Chin opened the tournament with a solid 2-0 win over competition minnows Vietnam, but had to wait until the 93rd minute to secure an equaliser in the second match against DPR Korea, with Wang Shuang’s penalty earning a crucial point.
China’s most important victory was against pre-tournament favourites Japan. The Nadeshiko had already lost to Australia, and needed to win to stay in contention for Brazil, but China didn’t look back after Zhang Rui’s early goal and held on for a 2-1 win which eliminated the world number four ranked Japan with two matches still to play.
A 1-0 win over Korea Republic mathematically guaranteed qualification for China.
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Facts and Figures
Current head coach: Bruno Bini
Previous appearances: 4 (2008, 2004, 2000, 1996)
Best finish: Silver medal (1996)
Matches played: 14
All-time record (W-D-L): 6 - 4 - 4
Goals scored: 22
Goals conceded: 22
Best result: 5-1 (versus Denmark in 1996)
This Time Around
China, silver medalists at the inaugural tournament in Atlanta in 1996, take on hosts Brazil, Sweden, and South Africa in a decidedly difficult Group E.
August 3 13:00 Sweden v South Africa (Rio de Janeiro*)
August 3 16:00 Brazil v China (Rio de Janeiro*)
August 6 19:00 South Africa v China (Rio de Janeiro*)
August 6 22:00 Brazil v Sweden (Rio de Janeiro*)
August 9 21:00 South Africa v Brazil (Manaus)
August 9 21:00 China v Sweden (Brasilia)
Note: There are two venues in Rio de Janeiro > (*) Estádio OlÃmpico João Havelange
Source: the-afc.com