TIANJIN, China - FIFA Women's World Cup hosts China fought hard to beat underdogs New Zealand 2-0, roaring into the quarter-finals here on Thursday night, following Group D leader Brazil who edged Denmark 1-0 simultaneously to earn nine points from three matches.

Denmark, who lost 3-2 to China but beat New Zealand 2-0, had to pack home, so did the Kiwis who lost all their three group matches without scoring a goal and conceding nine.

China have won all the seven encounters with New Zealand up to now.

In the breath-taking China-New Zealand game tonight, Chinese defender Li Jie broke the deadlock in the 57th minute with a brilliant backward slip header in the box.

Midfielder Xie Caixia sealed the crucial win for China on 79 minutes when she earned a clear run into the box, danced past the last defender and scored on a flash low shot.

Xie was named the Player of the Match.

Domanski-Lyfors said, "We were eager to win and we did it under a fair play. After a 0-0 first half, I asked my players to keep calm and reduce long passes."

"I asked them to make full use of the space in the wing and it worked well in the second half," said the Swede, who led Sweden to runners-up in 2003 World Cup and took over the Chinese team in March this year.

"When I was a player, I played against Norway many times. The China-Norway clash in the quarter-finals will be very tough, and we will do everything to win," she said.

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