Wednesday, September 20, 2000, updated at 11:25(GMT+8)
Sports
US, China Expected to Advance to Semi-final
The United States and China are expected to wrap up the top two places in Group F and progress to the semi-final of the Sydney Olympic 2000 women's football tournament after the last round of matches on Wednesday.
The US has, on paper at least, by far the easier task. The main concern for US coach April Heinrichs will be to guard against overconfidence in their game at the Melboure Cricket Ground against the erratic Nigerians, who have so far been unable to score a point.
Players such as Mercy Akide and Eberechi Opara are quite capable of turning a game on its head but as a team, Nigeria lacks cohesion and consistency.
China faces a stronger opponent in Norway at Bruce Stadium, Canberra, but the Europeans have not shown anything in their first two games to suggest they can live with one of the best teams in the competition. While individual players such as midfielder Hege Riise and striker Dagny Mellgren have produced flashes of form, the team's overall performance has been uninspired.
The United States and China are expected to wrap up the top two places in Group F and progress to the semi-final of the Sydney Olympic 2000 women's football tournament after the last round of matches on Wednesday.