体坛英语新闻：Spain, Canada clash for the title while China sit bottom in Group C at Algarve Cup

ALBUFEIRA, Portugal, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Spain and Canada will feature in 2017 Algarve Cup final after both nailed seven points in the group phase, while China were placed fourth in Group C after suffering a 2-1 loss at the hands of Australia here on Monday.

Spain and Canada already had one of their feet in the final with two wins in a row, and they both had goalless draws with Iceland and host Portugal respectively.

China and Australia recorded a 1-1 tie one year ago, both going through the Asian qualifications for the Rio Olympic Games.

The Steel Roses made one change to their starting line-up, bringing in Wu Haiyan as center-back Wang Yan withdrew due to a hamstring injury sustained in a game against Sweden three days ago.

China opened the scoring account at the tournament after consecutive passes among their attacking trio, before Wang Shanshan beat Australian goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold in the 36th minute.

Australia made several changes to their line-up in the second half, and began to get an upper hand. Substitute Emily Gielnik finished a brilliant volley past goalie Zhao Lina on 61 minutes.

China suffered another blow with less than 10 minutes remaining, when Ellie Carpenter headed in the game winner from a corner kick.

"Our players did well both on tactic and technique. We got many chances, but unfortunately, we did not get what we deserved," said Bruno Bini, China's head coach.

Wang, who helped China end the scoring drought in the 2017 edition, expressed her regret for wasting many chances.

"If you don't catch chances, they may be caught by your opponent," she pointed out.

Australian head coach Alen Stajcic, meanwhile, was deeply impressed by Wang's performance, hailing her as a world-class player.

"She is a world-class player, and she is always dangerous," commented Stajcic.

China, as the leading fourth-placed team, had the opportunity of vying for the ninth position with Iceland, who sit at 20th on the FIFA world rankings.

With two wins in hand, Australia bested the Netherlands, who upset Sweden 1-0 on Monday, to go atop Group C, thanks to a better record in the two teams' matchup.

However, with one point less than Spain and Canada, Australia was still subject to a third-place matchup with Denmark, who stood out among group runners-up with their goal difference advantage.

Also on the tournament's final game day, Japan and the Netherlands will compete for the fifth position, with Sweden and Russia for the seventh, while Norway and Portugal vie for the 11th.