WUHAN, China -- Katrine Pedersen and Cathrine Paaske
Sorensen scored off set plays to lead Denmark to a 2-0 win over New
Zealand on Saturday in a match between the two teams at the bottom
half of Group D.
Denmark controlled the pace and the ball for most of the game,
but did not score until a free kick in the 61st minute after Maiken
Pape was taken down at the top of the box as she charged the goal.
New Zealand goalkeeper Jenny Bindon got her hand on the ball as
she leaped to make a save, but was not able to block Pedersen's
shot into the top-left corner.
Paaske Sorensen added another five minutes later, using her head
to knock in a free kick that Pedersen sent across the penalty box.
The game got off to a slow start, with neither team able to
string together more than a few passes for the first 15 minutes.
But Denmark took control soon after, repeatedly attacking with long
passes toward the goal.
Denmark's best chance of scoring in the first half came in the
18th minute, when Paaske Sorensen's long-range shot ricocheted off
the crossbar. The midfielder's leaping header seven minutes later
sailed over the goal.
New Zealand, which had three teenagers on its starting roster,
was unable to create any significant offensive threat and the game
was mostly played in the Kiwis' half of the field.
Like in its 5-0 loss to Brazil, New Zealand successfully
defended its quicker opponents for the first part of the game. But
the team eventually ran out of gas and gave up the late goals.
Denmark plays Brazil on Wednesday in a must-win game to have any
chance of advancing to the quarterfinals. New Zealand is eliminated
and takes on China.
Denmark played without head coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller. FIFA,
soccer's world governing body, announced hours before the game that
he was suspended for two games for "physical contact" with an
assistant referee at the end of the match against China on
Wednesday.
Denmark 2 - 0 New Zealand