Julie Rydahl Bukh (R) of Denmark vies for the ball during a Group D match against New Zealand at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, yesterday. Denmark won 2-0.-Xinhua

Desperate Denmark, who lost 3-2 to World Cup hosts China in their Group D opener, beat the underdogs New Zealand 2-0 yesterday, keeping alive in the women's soccer tournament.

The Kiwis, who were whitewashed by Athens Olympics runners-up Brazil 5-0 on Wednesday, had little hope to survive the group after their second loss.

Midfielder Anne Dot eggers Nielsen, who scored a goal in the China-Denmark game on Wednesday, was named the Player of the Match today despite no scoring.

Nielsen said after the match, "It was crucial win for us. We played well and we deserved the win."

"Our head coach was suspended by FIFA for two matches. But it did not have any serious impact on us. We met our coach in the locker room in the interval."

"We will fight hard in our last game against Brazil. And we have a chance to beat them," she noted.

The Danes, who boast advantage in techniques and tactics, dominated the match from the very beginning, almost laying siege on the opponents in the lopsided game.

After a lackluster first half, Denmark captain and defender Katrine Pedersen broke the deadlock on 60 minutes through a curling free kick just outside the box.

Midfielder Cathrine Paaske Sorensen headed a free kick home in the 66th minute to seal the win. It was the second goal collected by Sorensen in the 2007 World Cup. She scored the equalizer in the87th minute in the Denmark-China duel on Wednesday.

Denmark forward Merete Pedersen nearly widened the gap to 3-0 in the 74th minute when she took use of Kiwis goalkeeper's error to shoot on open goal. The ball went a bit wide.

New Zealand coach John Herdman said, "We played very well in the first half. But the Danes beat us through a world-class free kick in the second half."

The Danes got 58 percent of ball possession and made 15 shots (seven on target) against the Kiwis' three shots only (none on target).

The two met each other once in world arena before today's clash. Denmark crushed New Zealand 3-0 in the group stage of the 1991 World Cup finals in China.