Taiwan yesterday lost 4-0 to a dominant North Korea in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup playoffs, closing off an avenue to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Hong Song-ok scored a hat-trick in the match to determine the last of the confederation’s qualifiers from the tournament for next year’s World Cup in Brazil.
With their victory over Taiwan, North Korea has qualified for the first time since a doping saga in 2011 led to their long absence from top-tier international tournaments.
Photo: EPA
Angela Beard and Jaclyn Sawicki scored in a six-minute span to help the Philippines secure a World Cup spot with a 2-0 victory over Uzbekistan in the afternoon game.
There were six guaranteed World Cup spots on offer at the continental championship, with Australia, Japan, China and South Korea assured places as quarter-final winners. The quarter-final losers went into playoffs at the Gold Coast for the fifth and sixth spots.
Taiwan and Uzbekistan still have another chance to qualify for Brazil via inter-confederation playoffs, which would offer an additional two tickets. Uzbekistan have never been to a World Cup and Taiwan just once, back in 1991.
Photo: EPA
The Women’s Asian Cup concludes tomorrow with the final between Australia and Japan.
North Korea officials in 2011 blamed traditional medicines based on deer glands for causing the squad’s five positive tests for steroids at the Women’s World Cup.
After two players were caught during the tournament, FIFA tested the rest of the North Korean squad and found three more positive results.
A subsequent ban resulted in North Korea missing the 2014 Asian Cup. They failed to qualify for 2018 and missed the 2022 tournament because of travel restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Head coach Ri Song-ho’s young North Korea squad in Australia included players he guided to the Under-20 Women’s World Cup title in 2024.
The three-time champions were playing at the Women’s Asian Cup for the first time since losing the 2010 final to Australia, and narrowly lost to the Matildas in the quarter-finals after placing second to 2022 champion China in Group B.
“We’ll play harder to become champions next time,” the 22-year-old Hong said in comments translated for a tournament social media post.
The Philippines had nine shots at goal in the first half without being able to break the deadlock, but Beard needed only two minutes following the interval to make it 1-0.
The ex-Australia youth international perfectly timed her run to the edge of the box and leaped to drive a left-foot volley into the net after Jael-Marie Guy’s long, high cross from the right.
Guy crossed from the right again for Sawicki to double the lead with a header in the 52nd to ensure the win.
The Philippines bench cleared at the full-time whistle as the substitute players sprinted onto the pitch and joined their teammates to celebrate back-to-back World Cup qualification.
With a view to World Cup qualifying, Philippines coach Mark Torcaso rotated his team in the quarter-finals, which resulted in a 7-0 loss to Japan, Asia’s top-ranked women’s team.
With a first-choice starting lineup restored, the Philippines had too much fire power for Uzbekistan.
“It’s another step in the right direction for Philippines women’s football, and just shows that we belong on the world stage,” defender Hali Long said.
Australia and two-time champions Japan are to meet in the final for the third time in four Women’s Asian Cups.
Japan on Wednesday beat South Korea 4-1 in Sydney in the semi-final, a night after Sam Kerr’s Australia edged defending champion China 2-1 in Perth.
Japan beat Australia in back-to-back finals in 2014 and 2018.
Separately, the Iranian women’s team, whose plight has become embroiled in the Middle East war, on Wednesday returned to Iran where they were promised a welcome ceremony in Tehran.
Seven members of the delegation had sought asylum in Australia last week after their decision not to sing the national anthem before their opening game at the Women’s Asian Cup. With their demands for protection an embarrassment for Iran’s leaders, but lauded by US President Donald Trump, five later changed their minds, including captain Zahra Ghanbari.
Activists have accused Iranian authorities of pressuring the women’s families — including summoning parents for interrogations — but Tehran has in turn alleged that Australia sought to force the athletes to defect.
Two members have remained in Australia, but the rest of the team completed a long journey back via Malaysia, Oman and then to Istanbul and Turkey’s overland Gurbulak-Bazargan border crossing with Iran.
Additional reporting by AFP
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