Germany, still recovering from the shock of losing to Canada on Tuesday, struggled to break down a well-drilled Chinese defence in Salvador but ultimately prevailed to reach the last four of the competition. The forays of attacking left back Tabea Kemme proved to be their most dangerous weapon in a poor first half that they dominated. It was from her cross, that Alexandra Popp’s header stretched Chinese goalkeeper, Zhao Lina.

When the otherwise excellent Zhao fumbled Marozsán’s corner in the 53rd minute, Kemme’s goalbound shot from three yards was chested off the line by Tan Ruyin. The match turned in the 57th minute when Annike Krahn was caught on the chin by Wang Shanshan’s boot, a second yellow card offence which reduced the Asians to ten players.

It was now one-way traffic, from an another Marozsán corner, an unmarked Popp headed across the goal and over. Melanie Behringer, and then Kemme tested Zhao from long range but Germany were no more incisive against ten players than they had been against eleven.

It needed something special to break the deadlock, and it finally came in the 76th minute. Inevitably, Kemme began the move overlapping down the left and exchanging passes with Popp. Her cross was touched back by substitute Svenja Huth to Behringer who lashed a first-time shot beyond Zhao from 25 yards.

That seemed to have settled the match, but in the 83rd minute, from their first attack of the second half, Wang Shaung outwitted Krahn down the left, put the ball one side of Leonie Maier, ran the other and was caught by Maier’s flailing arm to earn a penalty. Wang kissed the ball before placing it on the spot but luck deserted her as she sent Schult the wrong way but saw her kick come back off the inside of the post. That was to prove China’s one and only chance. Substitute Lena Goessling might have done better then steer her shot wide after being released by Huth and Anya Mittag forced one more fine save from Zhao in stoppage time but the European champions comfortably held out and will travel south to Belo Horizonte for a semi-final against either Canada or France.