I think even Australian players will not be impressed with themselves after the rewatch... Genetics working against Korea here.That silky smooth hair saved Carpenter from a red card. pic.twitter.com/ZuYVzQox9t— Katina McStenius โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ๐ (@Iagoonerbeach) March 8, 2026 Good Loord๐ณ pic.twitter.com/kMo1oC7kZd— Katina McStenius โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ๐ (@Iagoonerbeach) March 8, 2026 (after refs call about no corner for Aussies) What the Ellie? pic.twitter.com/MyVWlE8K00— Katina McStenius โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ๐ (@Iagoonerbeach) March 8, 2026
waou !! The assault on the Korean goalkeeper must be a red card. Think it was Catling Foord, she didn't even receive a yellow . Australia should be eliminated soon (unless it benefits from home refereeing).
On the other hand, Australia and South Korea will likely win their respective games and finish level on points. Since their direct clash was a draw, what's the next tie-breaker? Goal difference? If that's the case, it's worth noticing that South Korea's advantage over Australia is just +1 at the moment. Of course, it's quite likely that South Korea will beat Iran with a much better score than Australia's vs Philippines, but we're anyway talking quite small margins: aren't we going a little ahead of ourselves in predicting the top of Group A for South Korea as a lock-in? South Korea should have stuck to their 2-3 advantage vs Australia through all of the additional time: now, their work is far from done.
Not only for blissett as I in Nadeshiko thread had thought that Australia is group winner but I think it's at least correct that a third-placed team from group stage will qualify for World Cup.
It's all the fault of the AFC, which couldn't care less about women's football. The prize pool is exactly the same as it was four years ago โ $1.8 million โ which basically does not motivate national federations to invest in and develop women's football. The AFC Women's Asian Cup should either be a 16-team tournament divided into four groups, where Thailand, Myanmar, Hong Kong and Jordan could easily be added to the current tourney, or a 10 team tournament in a round robin format but with a tougher qualifiers.
Well, ok. Since the group stage hadn't finished for Japan, I assumed for some reason that it hadn't ended for anyone. I'll stick to the Nadeshiko Japan Thread to avoid embarassment.
HT NK 1 - 2 China A messy match from both teams, who relied too heavily on long balls and aerial play. China seemed more experienced, while North Korea still appeared to be a young team. However, an enjoyable match to watch. China scored their second goal in stoppage time, a goal that looked offside, but VAR allowed it. In the VAR footage, a Chinese player appeared to be covered by few centimeters, but the ball hadn't yet been played, and when it was, at least three Chinese players were offside. The Korean players and their staff were furious and argued with the referees for several minutes, without success.
FT : NK 1 - 2 China China has won by few centimeters (and as always, it depends on when the VAR stops taking its picture), but anyway deserved as they have been more talented in the game. Well, NK always impressed at youth level but they still miss skill and tactics at senior level. Quarter final : Australia - North Korea
At this stage of the competition, the 2 teams that I found to be head and shoulders above the rest are: Japan, by far, and South Korea, to a lesser extent.
Five players from the Iranian women's national football team have left the teamโs training camp and successfully sought refuge in Australia, according to the former shah's son. Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran's ousted shah, had joined calls for the women's safety to be ensured by the Australian government. He named the footballers who he said had fled the team for safety as Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh and Mona Hamoudi. https://www.itv.com/news/2026-03-09/five-iranian-womens-footballers-seek-refuge-in-australia
Group B - round 3 KOREA DPR --------- 3m ----- 6p ----- 9-2 CHINA --------------- 3m ----- 9p ----- 7-1 UZBEKISTAN -------- 3m ----- 3p ----- 4-6 BANGLADESH ------ 3m ----- 0p ----- 0-11 KOREA DPR 1 - 2 CHINA Kyong-yong Kim 32' --- Q.Chen 34', Sh.Wang 45'+1 (att: 9 093) BANGLADESH 0 - 4 UZBEKISTAN Khabibullaeva 10', Nozimova 62' 66', Kudratova 88' (att: 1 117) Top Scorers 4 Alanna Kennedy (AUS) 4 Yu-jong Myong (DPK) 3 Hinata Miyazawa (JPN) 3 Kiko Seike (JPN) 3 Riko Ueki (JPN) 3 Kyong-yong Kim (DPK)
The sporting history of this tournament is the Uzbekistan team. This is their debut in the AFC Women's Asian Cup. They reached the quarter-finals of this tournament. They are a hair's breadth away from qualifying for the World Cup. Impressive. And no, this is no coincidence. The UFA is one of the few football associations in Asia that is actively developing women's football (within the limits of its resources). "๐๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ๐ด, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ." ๐บ๐ฟ On the eve of their first AFC Women's Asian Cup in 23 years, 33-year-old Kotryna Kulbytฤ has Uzbekistan dreaming big.https://t.co/GhjWvV5Fqb— The Asian Game (@TheAsianGame) February 27, 2026
This story is about to blow up. Relevant minister has flown to Gold Coast to intervene personally. The 5 are being looked after by the Federal Police. Anyone that wants to stay WILL BE OFFERED ASYLUM. Trump has called our PM to make sure of this. Local Iranian community are doing what they can, bringing attention to this matter. What a horrible situation for these players.
AFC Women's Asian Cup ๐ China win Group B Wang Shuang scoring the winner on 45+4, DPR face Australia in the QF. Bangladesh 0-4 UzbekistanKhabibullaeva 10Nozimova 62 66Kudratova 88Korea DPR 1-2 China Kim Kyong-Yong 32Chen Qiaozhu 34Wang Shuang 45+5 pic.twitter.com/jr1m5NG8Dg— Wosoworld (@karlyboy71) March 9, 2026
I hope they do NOT trust the Trumpster. There is no one in history more willing to jump on a bandwagon for personal gain or more willing to betray trusts if he sees an advantage there. He will do or say anything if he sees it will advantage him. He is no fan of any women's movement unless the women involved will bow down and worship him. It would be better for these brave women to seek help from almost anyone but Trump.
Don't stress. The players that decide to stay behind and seek asylum will be looked after by the Australian government. We're good at stuff like that. It's an our issue now, not Trump's. This is as genuine as it comes.
I have good memories of Australia and the people thereof. If I needed to seek asylum that would be one of the three countries i would choose (More countries if we also include the smaller ones like Costa Rica.) I trust Australia, although they are not perfect, and would actually enjoy being there again. I was just saying that the promises of Trump are not to be trusted and his call in support has many meaning but not one of them is good for the ladies involved. BTW: This post is NOT political as it is Trump I say don't trust, not the office of president. They are very VERY different things, thankfully.
No. But they are among the smaller countries I mentioned as New Zealand has about the same population as Costa Rica. I should not have been so mysterious as there was no good reason. The other two larger countries are Japan and Germany because I understand the languages and culture of those two and I have spent time in both. My choice would be Japan over the other two simply because I know more people there than any other country except the USA.