China beaten 3-0 at Algarve Cup (updated)

Four-time Algarve Cup winners Sweden eased past their final Group A rivals China 3-0 here on Monday with three first-half goals at the annual women's soccer tournament.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Kosovare Asllani opened scoring for the world No. 5 team in the fourth minute after a group effort in front of the Chinese goalmouth sliced open the space for goal.

The Nordic side's skipper Lotta Schelin enlarged the lead in the 32nd minute with a penalty kick after midfielder Hanna Folkesson was tackled down at the right edge of the area while trying to break through a defence of five Chinese players.

Just seven minutes later, Sofia Jakobsson took advantage of an error from China's goalie Wang Fei, tapping in a corner kick from Elin Rubensson for Sweden's third goal.

Throughout the game, China were tied with Sweden on seven shots each, but 5-10 on corner kicks and 1-5 on free kicks.

"I'm not satisfied with the result but my players have given it all. We had a quicker pace in attacking and created more chances than in the previous two games," said Chinese head coach Hao Wei.

"It's just an invitational tournament and we still have chance to improve on tactics," he added.

Swedish boss Pia Sundhage was obviously happy with the three-goal victory, though she admitted that her players didn't play as well as she had expected after the break.

"I would be happier if we had done better in the second half," she said. "The Chinese team is a technical one, with many new players though. They caused some troubles to us, especially in the opening minutes."

The victory lifted Sweden to the top of Group A on six points, beating Germany to the second place on goal difference. Endi