Players of China share a light moment while training ahead of their 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinal match against the United states in Ottawa, Canada, June 23, 2015. (Photo: Xinhua/Zou Zheng)
It is the typical China-U.S. clash at the world best women's football tournament, and as usual, it is a game with any possibility.
On Friday, China will face the United States here at the quarter-finals of the 2015 Canada Women's World Cup. The game, undoubtedly, will be the eye-catching one as usual.
Tons of Chinese fans have poured in for the tickets, which are sold to 200 Canadian dollars, with the Chinese Ambassador Luo Zhaohui postponing his scheduled vocation of this week to witness the first clash between the two powerhourses in 16 years.
Few people expected China to enter the last eight after the former silver medalists failed to qualify for the 2011 Germany tournament, and finished last in a 12-team Algarve Cup in March, which traditionally served as a warm-up for the World Cup.
China finished second in a tough group with the hosts Canada, the Netherlands and New Zealand, and nailed down the only African team in the last 16, Cameroon, to get a chance to face the U.S..
This is the fourth time that China take on the U.S. at the World Cup, but the first since the pair fought out one of the best finals in the WC history in 1999.
The Chinese team won their fame as the Steel Roses with their bravery, resilience and personality after that game, which influnced a generation of the Chinese to follow their steps in the hunt for the top podium of the world.
Forward Wang Shanshan said she grew up with a dream of a member of the Steel Roses.
"I was in primary school when I watched the China-U.S. game in 1999. From that time, I dreamed of becoming one of them and play for my country at World Cup," she said.
China never won in previous three meetings with the U.S., including a 3-3 draw in the group stage and a 2-0 loss in the 3-4th finals in 1995 Sweden, and a 5-4 loss in penalty shoot-outs in 1999 U.S., but the Chinese were not intimidated by the 2012 Olympic champions.
Center back Tan Ruyin said, "The U.S. team wants to win the title, and same to us. But we're a younger team. We don't have much pressure to defend anything. We didn't make the World Cup four years ago and now we're in the top 8. We're going to enter the game with nothing to lose."
The Chinese team practiced in Ottawa three times after beating Cameroon 1-0 on June 20, and nine players have talked with the media before training. None of them showed any sign of pressure, fatigue or injuries, but enjoyment.
Midfielder Wang Shuang said, "The U.S. team is a physically better team, but they have weakness as well. There are some aspects in their defence that they are not doing very well and they turn a little bit slowly. Those are what we're going to focus on."
China are one of the best defensive teams in the tournament, which was highly praised by their opponents and fully recognized by the Americans.
"China are very good defensively. They have numbers behind the ball, keeping the space very compact. It's tough to break that down," Meghan Klingenberg said.
"They're an organized team, probably one of the best organized teams in this tournament, making it very very hard to break down," U.S. coach Jill Ellis said.
Lauren Holiday and Megan Rapinoe are suspended due to two yellow cards each in previous matches, which might prove to be crucial to Americans' attack.
"This is not about changing a shape. It's about how mobile we are, how committed we are in terms of how we want to play. And it's about selecing the right tools, which will be benifial to the match," Ellis said.
The Americans scored six goals after four matches, which is not impressive among the top 8 teams.
"We didn't score a lot of goals, but it is okay," Carli Lloyd said. "We need to attack more. When things are flowing you have chances to put away. You just focus on finishing those chances. We need one or two to seal the deal, so we just stay confident and find a way."
"We know we haven't played our best. We're working on it and getting better after each game. I think we can finally do our clicks and be very fearsome," said midfielder Becky Sauerbrunn.
