China coach Shang Ruihua believes stamina will be the key to the AFC Women's Asian Cup.

HO CHI MINH CITY – China coach Shang Ruihua believes stamina will be key as his side look to make a successful defence of their AFC Women’s Asian Cup title when they meet DPR Korea in the final at Thong Nat Stadium on Sunday.

The Steel Roses edged Australia on penalties to win the tournament in 2006 and have been in fine form on the road to the final this year with three wins and just one defeat.

That loss, however, came in their final Group A game against DPR Korea, when Ri Un-gyong’s strike proved the difference between the two sides.

Things looked bad when Japan took the lead in the semi-final but China’s better fitness told as they scored three goals in less than 15 minutes to secure the win.

And Shang feels a similar performance could see his side retain the trophy.

“I am very happy that we have reached the final,” he said.

“It will be a tough game and we will need to be at our best while exploiting DPR Korea’s weaknesses.

“In our last game against Japan we had a better stamina and this could be good for us against the Koreans.”

A win for China would set them up nicely for their participation in the Olympics in August and Shang has been pleased with his side’s overall performances so far.

“The game represents a great chance for us to prepare for the Olympic Games in two months and we will try our best to win,” he added.

“I am satisfied with the players performance so far. We are heading in the right direction although we still have some work to do before we are ready for the Olympics.”

DPR Korea coach Kim Kwang-min, meanwhile, has been working hard preparing his side for the game.
However, he conceded that it could all come down to which side has the best spirit to secure the win.

“The match is our last and most important game of the competition so far,” he said.

“We have been preparing to overcome the Chinese by working on playing fast football and with a lot of technical skill.

“The game will be between two very evenly matched sides and whoever has the best spirit will win.

“It will be hard but we will do our best.”