¡¡¡¡PORTLAND, United States, Sept. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- China coach Ma Liangxing said a defeat had never crossed his mind in the first two Group D matches at the Women's World Cup.

¡¡¡¡But he must fear the worst before the final group match with Russia kicks off at the PGE Park here Sunday night.

¡¡¡¡A defeat could send the Steel Roses packing -- the first time in World Cup history that they would have failed to reach the knockout stage.

¡¡¡¡And the possibility is very big, although you can say Ma is a confident man. You just cannot let your heart rule the head.

¡¡¡¡Ma said he believed China could rout the lowly Ghana, because the 7-0 victory scored in the last World Cup was just four years away.

¡¡¡¡But China narrowly won 1-0 in their first Group D games.

¡¡¡¡He also said Australia could pose some threat to their defense,but China were almost sure winners because China had defeated themtwice in the friendliest four weeks before.

¡¡¡¡His side survived a first half scare, fighting from a 1-0 deficit to manage a 1-1 draw.

¡¡¡¡So how about next?

¡¡¡¡A win or draw in the Russia game can send them through to the last eight. And a defeat might be also enough should no hopers Ghana upset Australia.

¡¡¡¡Ma, who took over as head coach of the aging side, is soberly aware of his position and pressure is just massive, with hundreds of millions of Chinese fans expecting the squad repeating the featachieved in the epic finale with the United States four years ago.

¡¡¡¡"Every player and coach know that it will be a difficult match," Ma said. "This is a big test for all of us."

¡¡¡¡"I never said we could beat the Russians and I don't know how big the chance is to win the match," he told over 90 Chinese journalists after a training session in the stadium. "The situation in Group D is very complicated. We want to enter the last eight. Let's see after tomorrow match."

¡¡¡¡China defeated Russia 2-0 in the last World Cup and won their last encounter 2-1 in the four-nation competition in Wuhan, central China, last year.

¡¡¡¡"The past can never precisely represent the future," he said.

¡¡¡¡Midfielder Pu Wei, who scored a goal against Russia four years ago, admitted that the players had felt the mounting pressure since the opening of the World Cup.

¡¡¡¡"But everybody has burning desire to win the game," said the 23-year-old, who had her right foot injured and is still doubtful forSunday's match. Enditem