10-woman Chinese soccer team sees off Brazil 2-1 in overtime, into military games final

Zhang Rui (R) of China vies with Fernanda Licen of Brazil during the women's football semifinal between China and Brazil at the 7th International Military Sports Council (CISM) Military World Games in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, Oct. 24, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Jinhai)

WUHAN, Oct. 24 -- China won the nail-biting women's soccer semifinal over Brazil 2-1 in overtime at the Military World Games here on Thursday, advancing to the final against the DPR Korea.

After the match ended with a 1-1 tie in 90 minutes, Xu Zhan came off the bench to score the winner for the host after Yao Wei was sent off in the overtime.

China had an early lead as 28-year-old forward Yang Li scored her fourth goal in four matches here in the 12th minute. In the stoppage time of the first half, the Chinese side conceded the first goal of tournament after Raiza Silva headed home a corner, helping Brazil level the score 1-1.

Both sides had chances in the seesaw battle of the second half to score but just missed them all, and the game went into overtime. In the extra 30 minutes of the match, midfielder Yao Wei received her second yellow card and was sent off the pitch in the 102nd minute.

Despite being one player less, Xu Zhan, who was pitched on as a substitute in the 103rd minute, contributed the winning goal for China to seal the 2-1 victory.

"We tried our best in 120 minutes and we are happy we won the match. Brazilian players are better than us in physical conditions and individual skills, but we launched counterattack very well after Yao got the red card," said China's center back Lin Yuping.

The other semifinal saw a symbolic handshake involving the CISM president Herve Piccirillo, the CISM secretary general Mamby Koita, and captains of both the DPR Korea and South Korea, before the DPR Korea beat South Korea 2-0 to get the other ticket to the final.

China will take on the DPR Korea in the final to decide the trophy on Saturday.