A 90th-minute goal from substitute Amalie Vangsgaard earned Denmark a dramatic 1-0 win over China in their Women's World Cup clash in Perth.

Vangsgaard's header from just inside the penalty area, from a Pernille Harder corner, was Denmark's only attempt on target as they marked their return to the World Cup finals after 16 years .

Denmark had twelve attempts to nine, though China had two more on target.

Danish goalkeeper Lene Christensen saved from Linyan Zhang in the first half and from halftime substitute Shuang Wang early in the second half.

It was the first opening-game win for Denmark at a World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1991.

Victory put Denmark level on top of group D with England, who earlier on Saturday scored a 1-0 win over Haiti.

The hard-fought match at HBF Park was a reflection of the two teams' world rankings, with Denmark at 13th, just one spot above China.

It was the first of the nine matches in the tournament so far not to have a penalty awarded.

In a cagey affair, China settled quickest, pushing forward more effectively and having the first two shots on goal.

Denmark gradually worked their way into the match, stringing together more passes after a sloppy start.

After a dull first half, both teams showed more attacking urgency after the break.

Denmark's Josefine Hasbo twice went close and should have scored with a close-range header after finding herself unmarked six metres out.

Prior to the goal, China captain Wang Shanshan came as close as anyone to scoring, albeit at the wrong end, as her 74th minute header narrowly missed the goal.

Danish captain and superstar Harder struggled to impose herself on the game until her accurate corner set up the decisive goal.

In the second round of group D matches next Friday, England play Denmark in Sydney and China face Haiti in Adelaide.