China beats Germany 1-0, revenging insult in Athens
By Cruz Fang (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-03-02 10:05

China grabbed a hard-fought 1-0 victory Wednesday over Germany, finally avenging their 8-0 loss to the European powerhouse in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Sun Wen controls the ball against Birgit Prinz. [Sina]

Midfielder Bai Lili curled home the only goal with a corner kick 11 minutes into the second half, which would hold up at the final whistle, ending Germany's 12-game winning streak.

China's 33-year-old veteran striker Sun Wen, starting in only her second game since her comeback from retirement, led China's attack with Han Duan before being substituted off 20 minutes before the end.

Sun retired in 2003 after China lost 1-0 to Canada in the World Cup quarterfinals. She was World Footballer of the Year in 1999 when China lost in a penalty shootout in the World Cup Final.

China and Germany played the international friendly to warm up for the upcoming Algrave Cup, scheduled to kick off on March 9.

German striker Brigit Printz, owner of three consecutive Female World Footballer of the Year awards, led the assault on China's defense throughout the game.

However, it was China who came away with the victory after a direct corner kick from Bai Lili, who also scored in China previous win over Germany, a 1-0 squeaker in March of 2004.

This was China's third time playing Germany since that debacle in Athens two years ago.

German won 2-0 in both of the previous draws, including a four-nation round-robin tournament in China just last month.

Germany, champions of the 2003 World Cup and Euro 2005, maintained an awesome winning streak in 2005, including sweeping all five games on the way to the top of the European Cup.

Before China's victory, the Germans' last defeat was a year ago when the United States edged them 1-0 in the final of the Algrave Cup.