China earns first ticket to 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup

Chinese women's national soccer team earned the first ticket to attend the FIFA Women's World Cup finals to be held in Canada next year by beating Myanmar 3:0 Saturday evening in their second group match in the ongoing Women's Asian Cup.

The Chinese made four changes in their starting lineup with Zhang Xin and Wang Chen replacing Xu Yanlu and Huang Yini in the midfield, Wang Lingling replacing Liu Shanshan as left-back and forward Gu Yasha replacing Yang Li who scored four goals in the first game.

At Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam, midfielder Ren Guixin opened the scoring with an acrobatic effort just ten minutes after the kick-off of the match in Group B.

In their first match, Myanmar surrendered two early goals to Republic of Korea in the opening 10 minutes, and the same fate threatened as Ren met Gu Yasha's left-wing cross with an athletic bicycle kick that arced over goalkeeper Mya Phun Ngon and into the net.

However, there had been no deluge of goals in the rest of the first half. Zhang Xin was benched after 35 minutes by China's head coach Hao Wei who threw on striker Yang Li. But the Chinese girls' attempts were fruitless until second-half substitute Ma Xiaoxu doubled China's lead a minute before the hour-mark.

Just before the final whistle, Yang Li succeeded to net her tournament-leading fifth goal as she headed home with three minutes of the tie remaining, helping China qualified for the semi- finals despite the result of the following match between the Koreans and the Thai.

With the win coming on the backs of a comprehensive 7:0 victory over Thailand in the group opener, eight-times continental champions China maintain their 100 percent record in this tournament to advance to the final four with a game to spare.

The tempo began to drop in the closing minutes of the game as China appeared content with the three points and a place in the knockout stages, while Myanmar seemed satisfied with a respectable result against the East Asian powerhouses and conserving themselves for their crucial final group stage clash with Thailand on next Monday and a place at stake in the fifth-place play-off.

AFC media officer Chetan Kulkarni congratulated China's progress into the FIFA Women's World Cup next year, confirming that it was the first ticket among qualifiers in all continents around the world.

According to the qualifying rule of the 2015 Women's World Cup, the top five finishers of the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup will automatically advance to Canada.

"I'd like to congratulate my team for achieving the basic goal of our side which was to qualify for the semi-final of this tournament and the World Cup," said head coach Hao Wei said at a press conference after the match.

Canada will be the sixth World Cup finals tour for Chinese " Steel Roses" after missing out on the 2011 tournament.

"Myanmar made it very difficult for us with their ultra- defensive style and it was very hard for my players to break them down and perform their attacking combinations with, at times, 21 players in one half of the field.

"We tried to rotate our players a little in this game and my aim was to give different players a chance to perform on the field, so I am not too worried about the margin of victory, simply that we achieved it." Hao said.

After China's beating Myanmar match, Republic of Korea gave a 4: 0 defeat to Thailand in a performance of power and pace that the Thais were unable to live with. The Koreans also qualified for the tournament's semi-finals and the World Cup.