¡¡¡¡LOS ANGELES, Sept. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- China's dismal form continuedas the Steel Roses were held to a 1-1 draw by the unfancied Australia in Group D while Russia became the first team in the group to qualify for the quarterfinals at the Home Depot Center in Carson on Thursday.

¡¡¡¡The United States were on track to retain their World Cup championship after crushed three-time African champions Nigeria 5-0 in their Group A clash in Philadelphia.

¡¡¡¡Also in Group A, Sweden collected a full three points by beating DPR Korea 1-0. The two sides both gathered three points and will need the last games on Sunday to decide who will go through to the last eight.

¡¡¡¡Russia, who beat Australia 2-1 in their first game, blanked Ghana 3-0 to advance to the quarter-finals, joined by the United States and Germany.

¡¡¡¡Ghana, a 1-0 loser to China in their first battle, can only fight for honor when they take on Australia in their last Group D match.

¡¡¡¡Their African counterpart Nigeria can also book their flight home after losing both their matches.

¡¡¡¡Australia, who lost to Russia 2-1 in the first games, must win the game to avoid an early elimination.

¡¡¡¡The Australians surprisingly went ahead in the 27th minute. Heather Garriock made a solo run after receiving a small pass in the front, beating center-back Li Jie and a rushing Goalie Zhao Yan from close range.

¡¡¡¡The noisy Chinese fans, from the local Chinese communities and colleges, waving their national colors and chanting deafening "Jiayou (cheer up)", were abruptly sent to silence by the goal.

¡¡¡¡China, who beat Australia twice on an identical score of 2-0 inwarm-ups, were everywhere all of a sudden, launching attacks wave after wave.

¡¡¡¡They should have levelled the score in the 40th minute, when Zhao Lihong arched a perfect cross from the left, Australian 'keeper Cassandra Kell fumbled the ball, but captain Sun Wen's header was miraculously cleared before crossing the goal line by Cheryl Salisbury.

¡¡¡¡Only 40 seconds after the restart, the Chinese scored.

¡¡¡¡Zhang Ouying, who got her starting position after Pan Lina was seriously injured in the last games, proved she did not deserve to sit on the bench. The San Diego Spirit midfielder's cross spotted an unmarked Bai, who comfortably fired the ball into the unguarded goal.

¡¡¡¡China took command completely, restricted the Australian in their own half, and seemed that a second was just lying in wait.

¡¡¡¡But with a sea of Australian legs before the goalmouth, the match was more and more likely to head for a draw. And eventually Ma Liangxing's side had to wait for another four days to get their berth in the quarter-finals, should they get more satisfactory results from Russia.

¡¡¡¡China coach Ma Liangxing said afterwards that they can beat Russia to go through to the last eight.

¡¡¡¡"Everyone in the squad is confident that we can beat Russia to qualify as the group leader," Ma said.

¡¡¡¡But Ma surprised the press, saying that he was satisfied with the Steel Roses' performance.

¡¡¡¡"I am very satisfied with all of my players tonight and I thinkthat Australia played a very good defensive game," Ma told reporters. "I have the utmost confidence in them."

¡¡¡¡"The most difficult problem for any coach in the world to face is trying to break down a tight defense.

¡¡¡¡China skipper Sun Wen was also happy with the draw. "We played better than the first game against Ghana, although we failed to win," Sun said.

¡¡¡¡The 30-year-old added: "We created a lot of chances. I think wecan beat Russia in the next game if we maintain such good form."

¡¡¡¡As the Chinese showed they are far from what they were four years ago, their fellow finalists in the last World Cup four yearsago displayed superb form.

¡¡¡¡Mia Hamm scored two early goals and set up a third. Cindy Parlow, Abby Wambach and Julie Foudy were also on the score sheet.

¡¡¡¡The Americans have six points from their first two matches and will complete their Group A schedule against DPR Korea in Columbuson September 28.

¡¡¡¡U.S. head coach April Heinrichs said after the match: "Coming out of two games with six points is exactly what our goals were. Five goals, with four of them on set pieces, which has been a focus we have had for the last year and a half.

¡¡¡¡"We felt that our service had been inconsistent. To score five goals against a team whose number one strength is heading is a great achievement for us. It is a great position for us to be in."Enditem