China beats Chinese Taipei at East Asian women's football tournament in Korea

Chinese Taipei athletes in white uniform and a Japanese player fight for the ball during an East Asian Football Federation E-1 Women's Football Championship match at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. Yonhap

China defeated Chinese Taipei 4-2 for their first victory at the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Women's Football Championship in Korea on Sunday.

Shao Ziqin and Shen Mengyu each scored to give China an early 2-0 lead, before Su Yu-Hsuan and Chen Yu-Chin responded for Chinese Taipei in the second half. Wang Yanwen then netted the go-ahead goal for China in the 82nd minute, and then Shao scored her second goal during stoppage time at Hwaseong Stadium in Hwaseong, some 40 kilometers south of Seoul.

China improved to four points after two matches. They had begun this four-nation tournament with a 2-2 draw against the host country Korea on Wednesday. Chinese Taipei have dropped two straight matches, having earlier lost to Japan 4-0.

China are leading the tournament for the time being, with Japan in second place and Korea in third.

Korea will face Japan later Sunday at Hwaseong Stadium. Korea must beat Japan or at least hold them to a draw to keep their title hopes alive.

Beating Japan, the top-ranked Asian team at No. 7 in the FIFA rankings, will be a tall order for 21st-ranked Korea. The Taegeuk Ladies have had four wins, 11 draws and 19 losses against Nadeshiko Japan, with their last victory having come in August 2015.

If Korea can get past Japan, they will have a fairly winnable match against 42nd-ranked Chinese Taipei for the finale Wednesday. (Yonhap)