体坛英语资讯：Embattled Chinese womens coach tries to keep grip_娱乐

体坛英语资讯：Embattled Chinese womens coach tries to keep grip

Embattled Chinese women's coach Elisabeth Loisel has no time to feel relieved after her team's hard-fought victory over the Republic of Korea (ROK) on Monday. She still has plenty to prove in the ongoing East Asian Championship as the team faces Japan today and Asia's No 1 Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Saturday.

体坛英语资讯：Embattled Chinese womens coach tries to keep grip1

Photographers takes pictures of China's French coach Elisabeth Loisel (R) as she listens to the national Anthem before their round robin match against South Korea, in the East Asian Women's Football Championships, taking place in Chongqing, on February 18. [Agencies]

Dalian striker Han Duan scored twice as China squeaked past ROK in Monday's match. But China, playing with no apparent tactics and sloppy passing, fell to a 2-1 deficit in the second half and relied on Han's strong individual performance and a bit of luck to escape with the win.

Many have their doubts about the sluggish Chinese team and its chances of competing with an emerging team like Japan, which upset DPRK 3-2 earlier on Monday.

"There is no reason to celebrate such a victory," said former women's soccer star Sun Wen. "I did not see any improvement from this team. We had so many errors during the transition from defense to offense."

Amid questions about China's lack of teamwork and dependence on free kicks, Loisel shrugged.

"Luck is very important in a match. This is how football is played in every match," she insisted. "We did not do very well in the teamwork but our players showed very good form individually.