Pu Wei Lifts China to 3-0 Win over Brazil in Universiade SoccerPu Wei scored twice and assisted on the other to lift China to a 3-0 win over Brazil in the women's soccer tournament of the 21st University Games on Saturday.The Chinese, who won Group A with two wins in two games, will play the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. Ren Liping opened the scoring for China off a long pass from Pu, member of the Chinese team who finished second to the United States in the World Cup in 1999, near the end of first half. Pu, who had two goals to her name in China's 6-1 win over Finland that secured their place in the quarter-finals, converted a penalty shot in the 65th minute after Liu Ying was brought down in the box. After 76 minutes, Pu found the net again with a close-range shot to seal the victory for China. "We should take every opponent in front of us seriously," said the head coach Ma Yuan'an, who led China to runners-up at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and the World Cup in 1999. "It's too early to talk about the championship now." The Chinese women, who won the title at the Buffalo Universiade in 1993 when women's soccer was still optional, are considered top favorites for the first championship of the event after it became a regular sport of the Universiade. Brazil, who placed second in the group before winless Finland after one win and one loss, will face the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in Monday's quarter-finals. DPR Korea blanked Mexico 5-0 Saturday for a top finish from Group D. Mexico, who fell to 6-0 on Tuesday, go to the ninth-12th play- offs of the 12-squad tournament. |
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