China seek credibility on return to world stage

By Ian Ransom REUTERS - Rich in potential but poor in experience, China's women are targeting a berth in the knockout rounds at the World Cup in Canada to atone for the humiliation of failing to qualify for the last tournament in 2011. Sixteenth-ranked China face an uphill battle to advance, however, having been drawn in Group A with hosts Canada, Netherlands and New Zealand, none of whom are pushovers. Breaking through to the last 16 would be a sparkling achievement for head coach Hao Wei, who has put his faith in youth since taking over a demoralised team in 2011. China's women have been known as the "Steel Roses" by home media since their brave run to the final of the 1999 tournament but showed little backbone in the aftermath of their quarter-final exit in 2007. Having featured at all five previous tournaments, their failure to qualify for the 2011 finals in Germany was considered a national disgrace. Tasked with restoring China's reputation, young coach Hao cleaned out the ranks and his rejuvenated side reached the semi-finals of the Asian Cup last year to qualify automatically for Canada. Hao has now notched up four years in charge, an eternity in the unforgiving world of elite Chinese soccer. The period of stability has galvanised the side and seen a number of talents blossom, including goalkeeper Wang Fei, who became the first Chinese to play in Germany's women's Bundesliga when she was recruited by Turbine Potsdam late last year. Though lacking the fire-power of the top European sides, China boast ample stamina and will hope to pinch goals on the counter-attack if their much-improved defence can hold firm. Up forward, the Steel Roses suffered a major blow in the lead-up with striker Yang Li omitted from the final squad of 23 due to injury. Yang scored six goals in the Asian Cup last year to be dubbed the "Young Sun Wen" by Chinese media, a nod to the country's finest woman player and Golden Boot winner at the 1999 World Cup. With Yang out of the picture, the burden of China's scoring will fall to forwards Li Ying, Wang Shuang and Zhao Rong. Perhaps more important for China than firepower is how they perform with the expectations of home fans, with local media clamouring for a credible return to the world stage. Assistant coach Liu Yu believes the team is as ready as it can be but is under no illusion about the task at hand. "There's some distance between us and the strongest teams in the world," he told Chinese media this week. "We're now facing this reality. "(Our) work must be meticulous, there can no amount of negligence." (Writing by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)