Taiwan on Sunday punched their ticket for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with a 2-0 victory over Bahrain in the final match of the qualifiers at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Manama, making a return to the continental showpiece for the first time in 14 years.
The triumph in the curtain-raiser booked Taiwan’s slot in the tournament for the first time since 2008, as they prepare to join 10 other nations, as well as hosts India, in matches in Navi Mumbai and Pune from Jan. 20 to Feb. 6 next year.
Sunday’s match started with Taiwan working hard to wear down Bahrain’s defense, with waves of attacks in the first half. Bahrain managed to halt the offensive, making several crucial saves.
Photo courtesy of CTFA
After the break, Taiwan turned up the heat, recording the first goal of the match, when in the 61st minute a free-kick by forward Lai Li-chin flew over the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Huda Ali Salman and into the back of the net.
A veteran of Taiwan’s 2008 qualifying campaign, it was Lai’s third international goal in the past week, after she on Monday last week scored back-to-back goals against Laos.
Taiwan further increased their lead to 2-0 in the 77th minute, after forward Chen Yen-ping nodded in a loose ball that deflected off the crossbar after Salman blocked an initial penalty area shot by defender Pan Yen-shin.
It was Chen’s second international goal over the past week after opening the scoring in the match against Laos.
After the match, Taiwan head coach Kazuo Echigo thanked the players for their hard work in qualifying for the tournament.
The opponents in the finals would be stronger teams than those they downed in the qualifiers, he said, adding that strengthening and correcting weaknesses remain priorities.
The draw for the tournament’s group stage would be held in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, when the 12 teams would be split into three groups.
In addition to Taiwan and India, next year’s tournament is to include Australia, China, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Myanmar, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
Taiwan’s women’s national team are three-time Asian Cup champions, winning the title in 1977, 1979 and 1981.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
RSS