China can be strong contender at FIFA Women's World Cup: Australian coach

GOLD COAST, Australia - The Chinese women's football team has improved technically and is more disciplined and organized, said the coach and skipper from W-League (Australian top-flight league) side Newcastle Jets on Sunday following a training match.

"They are much more improved from when they played in Melbourne last year," said Craig Deans, coach of Newcastle Jets Women.

The Chinese women's football team battered Australian club Newcastle Jets Women in Gold Coast on Sunday, extending their victory streak to five during their one-month training in Australia for the upcoming 2019 World Cup in France.

Deans said that he was quite impressed by No 10 and No 11, forwards Wang Shanshan and Li Ying, who scored a total of three goals at the match. He also talked about center backs No 5 and No 8, Wu Haiyan and Li Jiayue, saying that they "are very strong with good communication and organization".

"China obviously is a very good team," said Emily van Egmond, captain of the Australian club and a core player of the Matildas (Australian women's national team).

"China has improved technically and they are very disciplined. They go to World Cup with great ambition. They definitely look forward to making out of the group," she added.

But the road for China's women football team is likely to be bumpy. It is placed in Group B, along with South Africa, two-time world champion Germany, and rising contender Spain.

"They have another six months to prepare," Deans said. "If they keep improving like they had in the last six months, I think they can make it difficult for all those teams in the World Cup."

"With tactics and speed, they will make quite a lot of difference," he continued. "If they stick together and work hard like what they did, they can upset somebody like Germany and Spain for sure."