 |
 |
 |
|
GUANGZHOU, China (AP) -Defending World Cup champion Germany had most of the chances but settled for a 0-0 draw with China Sunday on the second day of the Four Nations women's soccer tournament.
No. 12-ranked England faced the No. 2 United States in the second game.
The match was overshadowed hours earlier by an injury to Germany's No. 1 goalkeeper Silke Rottenberg. She twisted her left knee in practice Saturday, which could put her in doubt for the World Cup in 7 1/2 months in China. If the injury is serious, she could be out for six months.
"We were totally shocked by the injury," Germany coach Silvia Neid said. "We think that she will be ready for the World Cup, and she has time to recover."
Rottenberg, 35, is one of the world's best keepers. She has played 123 times for Germany and played in Friday's 0-0 draw with the United States.
Stephanie Ullrich, the only other goalkeeper to make the trip to China, played the entire game against China - her first game for the national team.
The No. 2 keeper for Germany is Nadine Angerer, who has not made the trip to China.
Germany players Martina Muller, Conny Pohlers and Fatmire Bajramaj all had chances to win the game, but were stopped by China goalkeeper Han Wenxia.
Han made several sparkling saves, including a diving stop late in the match. They all drew wild cheers from about 20,000 fans, dwarfed in Guangdong's 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium.
"I was pleased with our game," Neid said. "The only thing I'm not happy about is the way they failed to finish our chances. We had three, four or five chances to score."
China, which defeated England on Friday 2-0, had a few shots in counterattack, but spent much of the game defending.
China's best chance probably came midway through the second half when Liu Sa rushed the area but crashed into Ullrich just before shooting.
"Germany is one of the best teams in the world, and we have narrowed the difference between them and us," assistant coach Wang Haiming said.
Wang is coaching the team in the absence of Ma Liangyu, who is missing from the tournament with what Chinese team officials say is a heart problem.
The tournament's final games are set for Tuesday with England playing Germany and China facing the United States.
This tournament is about experimenting.
No. 1-ranked Germany and the No 2-ranked Americans have left a half-dozen key players at home. China, hoping to regain its international stature, has called in well-traveled German coach Eckhard Krautzun as a consultant.
Krautzun arrived a few days ago with a German trainer.
