Brazil's women dominate South Korea in World Cup

The Brazilians' 3-0 win showed how much they have improved.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- Brazil's women looked every bit as creative and powerful as its men in a 3-0 victory over South Korea at the World Cup on Sunday.
Katia scored two second-half goals, while Marta scored in the first period for the Brazilians, one of the world's most improved teams. While they aren't at the level of their celebrated men's squad, which has won an unmatched five world championships, the Brazilians were far too much for the Koreans to handle.
"This was the first game and everybody was new," coach Paulo Goncalves said. "But fortunately we put it together. It was a good win."
In moving to the top of Group B, Brazil repeatedly surged behind the Korean defense. Katia was the most dangerous weapon, and she probably could have had a handful of goals with better marksmanship.
Marta opened the scoring on a penalty kick in the 14th minute, which seemed to take the spark out of the Koreans.
Two goals in row
Just 10 minutes into the second period, Katia sent a 15-yard blast home for a 2-0 edge. She connected again seven minutes later, after breaking behind the defense on a nice pass from Simone.
Katia misplayed a feed in front late in the half with a gaping net in front of her, and remained on her hands and knees for several moments, bemoaning the missed opportunity for a hat trick.
"We practice a lot to cut off the midfield," Korean coach An Jong Goen said. "But today it did not work out. The players were nervous."
Brazil, ranked sixth in the world, never really was threatened by the 15th-ranked South Koreans.
"The first 10-12 minutes were very difficult," Goncalves said. "Then we read the game and got our soccer feet."
China 1, Ghana 0
Sun Wen, the MVP of the last Women's World Cup, scored on a header in the 29th minute to lift China past Ghana.
China, beaten by the United States in the 1999 final, was scheduled to host this year's tournament. But the SARS outbreak there led FIFA officials to shift the competition to the United States.
Russia 2, Australia 1
Russia's Elena Fomina atoned for a missed penalty kick by scoring the tie-breaking goal in the 89th minute.
Fomina's penalty kick in the 71st minute hit the crossbar.
Australia opened the scoring in the 38th minute on Kelly Golebiowski's goal, and Russia tied it a minute later on an own goal by Australian defender Dianne Alagich.