Women’s World Cup: Denmark beat China after last-gasp winner

Denmark needed a late winner to beat China in their opening game of the Women’s World Cup.

Amalie Vangsgaard came off the bench to score in the 89th minute to give Denmark a win on their return from a 16-year absence at the tournament.

China were the better side in the opening stages but were limited to long-range strikes from Chen Qiaozhu and Zhang Linyab.

Wang Shuang forced a save from Denmark goalkeeper Lene Christensen after the break but Denmark grew into the game after that.

Josefine Hasbo had a great chance to open the scoring but she headed over the bar from Nicoline Sorensen’s cross, before Wang Shanshan nearly scored an own goal when trying to clear a corner.

The breakthrough finally came as the game was going into stoppage time. Pernille Harder’s corner found the head of Paris Saint-Germain striker Vangsgaard to seal all three points for the Danes.

Denmark have joined England at the top of Group D, after the Lionesses matched their 1-0 result against Haiti.

Cover Photo: “Denmark Flag” by José Carlos Cortizo Pérez is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0