TIANJIN, North China, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- China edged European powerhouse Sweden 2-1 in front of some 38,000 home fans in their opening match of the Olympic women's soccer tournament here on Wednesday. The Chinese Steel Roses opened the scoring in the 6th minute when striker Xu Yuan steered the ball into the empty net after midfielder Zhang Na's powerful long shot bounced off the left post.

Sweden equalized in the 38th minute when striker Lotta Schelin beat Chinese goalkeeper Zhang Yanru in a counterattack and dominated the second half with their physical advantage.

However, striker Han Duan scored in the 71st minute to seal the victory for China. The 25-year-old sent a powerful shot at the edge of the box off a pass from striking partner Xu.

"We know each other very well," Han said. "So I could play some one-twos with Xu to beat defenders."

The 23-year-old Xu attended the press conference after the match for the first time. "I need to gift the goal to my parents," she told Xinhua.

"I really appreciate the two scorers," Chinese coach Shang Rihua said. "But I also need to thank our defenders for the hard work."

"The home fans gave us great support," Shang said. "Maybe that is why so many countries would like to host Olympics."

Sweden coach Thomas Dennelby was disappointed at the loss, but believed his team could still advance to the quarterfinals.

"I will forget the game quickly," he said. "I think we still have good chance to reach the knock-out stage."

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