Players of China celebrate during the women's football semifinal match between China and Chinese Taipei at the 18th Asian Games in Palembang, Indonesia, Aug. 28, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)
PALEMBANG, Indonesia, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Forward Wang Shanshan scored the lone goal to pace China into the women's soccer final at the Asian Games here on Tuesday evening.
With the 1-0 victory over Chinese Taipei, China will vie against Japan in the final slated on Friday.
Wang scored the winner in the 51st minute, following a sequence of passes in front of the Chinese Taipei goal line.
China's players were apparently dominating the semifinal match from the very beginning, with most of the play executed around the box of Chinese Taipei throughout the match. And players from Chinese Taipei had little chance to dribble past the halfline.
However, China failed to make more goals from numerous opportunities.
"We got a lesson from today's match. We had so many chances but our players did not make it more goals. More efforts are needed to improve their performance for the final," China team head coach Jia Xiuquan said on the sidelines of the match held in Jakabaring Sport City (JSC) stadium.
Jia said that his team would be better prepared for the final against Japan.
"We would play with our style, we're not afraid of any opponent," Jia said.
China had 72 percent of ball possession, made 41 shots with 12 on goals, while Chinese Taipei only tried one attempt against the goalkeeper with no shot on goal.
Earlier, Japan qualified for the final after beating South Korea 2-1.
