Goalkeeper Zhang Yanru was China's penalty hero in a 5-4 win on spot kicks over the USA following 120 goalless minutes at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship early Friday morning Beijing time.

Zi Jingjing takes a penalty. (Photo: ce.cn)

Neither side at Moscow's Lokomotiv stadium found its rhythm during the tense opening exchanges illustrating the depth of mutual respect between the two. It was the Americans who threatened first, with Jessica Rostedt denied by Zhang from all of a few inches after China rushed to clear the corner.

With the incessant rain making the sodden pitch doubly treacherous, both goalkeepers needed those in front of them to be at their most vigilant. This was certainly the case a few minutes later when the Chinese defence crowded out Rostedt after Tina Di Martino created two successive impudent chances.

The US enjoyed the better of a largely forgettable first half, but China proved time and again how lethal they are on the counterattack. With Ma Xiaoxu leading the line, their rivals could never rest easy.

The US were given a timely reminder of this after 38 minutes when Ma suddenly elegantly turned at the left-hand edge of the box, burst towards goal at pace and rifled in a fizzing left-foot shot that Val Henderson successfully blocked.

As the rain continued to cascade down, there was a sharp intake of breath all around just before the one-hour mark when Ma was ushered off the field on a stretcher in the 53th minute after picking up a knock. This was her 10th competitive match in 40 days. After a short rest, the tournament's top scorer returned to the field just in time to see Zhang produce a vital reflex save at her post to deny Rostedt, who had raced clean through during a spell of sustained US pressure.

Though the United States possessed the ball most of the time, China's Zi Jingjing reminded everyone the Asian champions still packed a punch by heading wide from 12 yards with four minutes remaining.

Extra time was then called upon to decide matters, but neither side was able to change the score. China's Steel Rosebuds, though exhausted, managed to drag the match into a penalty shootout.

Then Chinese goalie Zhang held the limelight as she tipped over Lauren Cheney's weak final effort.

Zhang was later named the best player of the match.

"It was a hard battle," the keeper said afterwards, "but the players always play very hard to win. We'll do our best to play better and win the title in our next match."

"I knew beforehand what a hard battle this would be," coach Shang said, "so I adopted a tactic of defending and playing on the counterattack. The longer it went, the better our chances were of winning in a penalty shootout because we have a very good goalkeeper. I feel sorry for the US, but I'm proud of my players. I promise we will be better in the final."

China advances to an all-Asian final against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea at the same stadium on Sunday.

(Source: fifa.com)