ADELAIDE, Australia, July 28 (silubaba) -- Wang Shuang successfully converted a crucial penalty as China weathered Zhang Rui's early dismissal to defeat Haiti 1-0 in the second round of Group D at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup here on Friday.
In the 74th minute, Wang, a second-half substitute, slotted into the left corner, securing China's first victory in the tournament. This followed an incident where Zhang Linyan was fouled in the penalty area during a counterattack.
"I am very excited to score at my third World Cup. We were confident and resilient despite playing with 10 players for 60 minutes. I don't mind to start or not, and I just want to help the team. We fought for every ball possession," said Wang, who was named player of the match.
Following 1-0 losses to Denmark and England in their opening matches, both China and Haiti were desperately seeking a win to keep their chances of advancing to the knockout stage alive.
China's head coach Shui Qingxia shifted to a more aggressive 4-3-3 formation in lieu of her usual 4-4-2, while Haiti notably benched their star forward Melchie Dumonay.
The Steel Roses dominated the first third of the match, making three attempts and not allowing Haiti a single shot. However, the momentum dramatically shifted in the 29th minute when Chinese midfielder Zhang Rui was sent off for a violent foul, confirmed after a VAR check.
Capitalizing on their numerical advantage, Haiti ramped up their attack and found the back of the net in the 42nd minute through Nerilia Mondesir, but the goal was disallowed due to offside.
Haiti's head coach Nicolas Delepine brought Dumonay onto the field in the second half, and the 19-year-old came close to scoring in the 53rd minute, but her close-range strike was deflected by goalkeeper Zhu Yu.
"Dumonay was injured in the first game against England. We decided with her together yesterday that she could only play for 45 minutes in the second half. We want to protect the young player," Delepine explained.
Following Wang's goal, both teams had a potential penalty opportunity overturned by VAR. Haiti posed several threats during the extended stoppage time but couldn't secure an equalizer.
"We played well, but the luck wasn't on our side. China is a good team and is more experienced than us. The No. 19 [Zhang Linyan] played an excellent game tonight. We accept the result," Delepine added.
China will face England in their final group match next Tuesday. Earlier on Friday, England beat Denmark 1-0 to top the group with six points. China and Denmark are both on three points, while Haiti sit bottom in the group after suffering two consecutive losses.
"[In the half break] I just asked my players to calm down and be well-prepared for a more difficult second half. That was our tactic to bring Wang Shuang on the field in the second half, and she displayed a high-level performance," Shui said. "England is a very competitive team. I hope we can play our own football and try our best to qualify for the last 16." ■
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