China earned their first victory at the 2023 Women’s World Cup by beating Haiti in Group D, despite playing for more than an hour with only 10 players.
The win for China means England, who beat Denmark 1-0 earlier on Friday, have not qualified for the last 16 yet.
Midfielder Zhang Rui was sent off after 29 minutes for a dangerous knee-high challenge on Haiti’s Sherly Jeudy.
But Wang Shuang scored the only goal, converting a 74th-minute penalty after Ruthny Mathurin fouled Zhang Linyan.
England would have advanced to the knockout stages with a match to spare if China had drawn or lost to a Haiti side ranked 53rd in the world.
The last matches in the group take place on Tuesday, with leaders England, on six points, playing against China, while Denmark face Haiti at the same time.
China and Denmark both have three points, while Haiti, playing at their first World Cup, have zero points but can still qualify if they beat Denmark and China lose to the Lionesses.
This was a missed opportunity for Haiti to capitalise on their player advantage and secure what would have been the country’s first World Cup point at their debut finals.
Melchie Dumornay’s shot was tipped over by Zhu Yu as they pushed for a goal, and that proved to be the Caribbean nation’s only shot on target in the 90 minutes, but there was almost a dramatic twist.
In the second minute of additional time at the end of the second half, referee Marta Huerta de Aza awarded Haiti a penalty following what looked like a clear foul by Wu Chengshu on Roseline Eloissaint.
But, following a check from the video assistant referee, Huerta De Aza reviewed that decision on a pitchside monitor and changed her mind.
Haiti’s frustrations were evident and they had another shout for a penalty when Dumornay was blocked off by Li Mengwen, only for the referee to again not give the decision Haiti’s way.
In the 13th minute of added time, Haiti coach Nicolas Delepine was booked for disputing the decisions against his team.
China, World Cup runners-up in 1999, had lost 1-0 to Denmark in their opening match but will now be hoping to beat England on 1 August.
If China and Denmark both win, they along with England will each have six points, with goal difference deciding which two teams advance to the knockout stage.
