in the group, setting up a winner-take-all scenario in their match against each other. Canada earned its first quarterfinal berth by defeating Japan 3–1 in their final group stage match, despite conceding to Japan's star midfielder Homare Sawa in the 20th minute. Latham equalized with her chipped shot in the 36th minute and Canada took the lead after halftime with a header by Christine Sinclair and a strike by Kara Lang in the 72nd minute. Germany finished atop the group with three wins following their 6–1 rout of Argentina, including four goals scored in the first half. The team lost defender Steffi Jones to a knee injury in the second half and conceded a consolation goal to Argentina before scoring twice at the end of the match to extend their lead. Group D Original hosts and 1999 runners-up China were seeded into Group D, where they would play alongside African runners-up Ghana, Oceania champions Australia, and 1999 quarter-finalist Russia. Australia continued their Women's World Cup winless streak by losing 2–1 to Russia in the opening match, despite taking a 1–0 lead in the 38th minute through a goal from Kelly Golebiowski. Russia tied the match a minute later with an own goal from Dianne Alagich and Elena Fomina scored their second in the 89th minute with a strike from the edge of the penalty area. China, considered the favorites to top the group, won 1–0 in their opener against Ghana with a goal by Sun Wen, who was the top goalscorer in the 1999 World Cup. Russia secured its quarterfinal berth by defeating Ghana 3–0 in their second match, which took them to first place in the group. They opened the scoring in the 36th minute with a free kick taken by Marina Saenko, which was followed by a pair of close-range shots in the second half from Natalia Barbashina and Olga Letyushova. Group favorites China had unexpectedly conceded to Australia in the first half of their match, with a goal in the 28th minute for midfielder Heather Garriock, that would have snapped a winless World Cup record for the Matildas. A potential equalizer in the first half from Sun Wen was saved off the line by Cheryl Salisbury, but Bai Jie was able to score shortly after halftime to earn a draw for China and prevent an upset victory for Australia. Australia continued its winless streak in World Cup