Australia Secure Spot in the Women’s Asian Cup Final

Australia Secure Spot in the Women's Asian Cup Final
Clare Wheeler of Australia and Liu Jing of China battle for the ball during the AFC Womens Asian Cup Semi Final at Perth Stadium Photo by Paul KaneGetty Images

Australia defeated defending AFC Women’s Asian Cup holders China with a 2-1 semi-final success.

The Matildas opened the scoring after Mary Fowler combined with Ellie Carpenter to lay off a cutback for Caitlin Foord to sweep home.

China were behind for just seven minutes, as Zhang Linyan rounded Mackenzie Arnold and the goalkeeper brought her down, conceding a penalty and a yellow card, with Linyan stepping up to convert.

Australia grabbed the winner before the hour mark, as Sam Kerr received a return pass from Foord, went past keeper Peng Shimeng, and scored from a tight angle.

Joe Montemurro’s side will play the winner of the tie between South Korea and Japan on Saturday, 21 March.

Semi-final:
Wednesday 18 March – South Korea v Japan (9am GMT)

Play-in matches for World Cup and inter-confederation play-offs:
Thursday 19 March – Uzbekistan v Philippines (3am GMT)
North Korea v Chinese Taipei (9am GMT)

All streamed live at www.youtube.com/@AFCAsianCup

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