China beat Iceland 1- 0 in their last group match on Monday to gain the first victory at Algarve Women's Football Cup.

The central defender Zeng Ying headed the corner to the net 18 minutes after the restart, which ensured China remain the third place in Group B.

It's the third straight encounter between the duo in this yearly tournament where Iceland had won the last two.

China, having earned a 1-1 draw with Sweden and suffered a 5-0 defeat against the United States, will fight for a fifth finish of the Cup against Japan, who stood third in Group A with one win after two straight defeats.

The USA will play against Group A leader Germany in the final. Sweden will fight for a third place against Norway.

China, captained by Pu Wei, the only current player who had been a member of the 1999 World Cup runners-up, took the upper hand in first half with more open chances.

The best opportunity for the two-time cup winner came after 11 minutes. Ma Xiaoxu, the former Women Footballer of the Year in Asia, picked up a through pass and dashed into the area from the left flank.

However, the central forward failed to beat a diving save from Iceland's keeper Thorab Helgadottir, only seeing her low shot parried away.

Iceland also wasted a golden chance in the first 45 minutes as their striker struck the ball wide in front of an empty net after one Chinese defender made a faulty pass just near the edge of box.

With a starting 4-2-3-1 formation, China tried to control the ball with a possession-domination style. They did well in some period but found it hard to push forward further about 30 meters to the goal.

That meant they could have more time with ball but lack creative mind and team work to threaten Iceland's gate.

With one goal behind, Iceland repressed the opponent's passes with a high defensive line. China then found hard to link the back four with the front line.

But they fought to the last minute and sealed the victory with determined defence, ending their two straight defeats to Iceland in the tournament. Endi

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