¡¡¡¡PORTLAND, United States, Oct. 1 (Xinhuanet) -- Han Wenxia will start for China between the posts in its World Cup quarter-final match against Canada at Portland's PGE Park on Thursday.

¡¡¡¡Han rewarded head coach Ma Liangxing's trust in her international debut last Sunday in China's 1-0 win over Russia, making several good saves and proving dominant in the air.

¡¡¡¡The 27-year-old's outstanding performance will leave Zhao Yan on the bench for the second consecutive match. The former first-choice 'keeper lost her starting position for making a naive mistake to let in a goal when Australia held China to a 1-1 draw.

¡¡¡¡"I think I can start on Thursday," Han said after Wednesday's training. "I am in a superb form."

¡¡¡¡But the 31-year-old Zhao claimed that she will fight for her place and will soon return to the starting lineup.

¡¡¡¡"I can blame nobody for losing my place," she said. "I made a serious mistake in the China-Australia game. But I will work hard to win back my place." Enditem