AFC Women’s Asian Cup began on 20th January and we all witnessed some entertaining matches. Also, there were some wonderful goals on the display from round 1 and round 2 fixtures of the group stage. Now we take a review of all the five games played in the 3rd round with exclusive match highlights and match reports of all the games played in the round.
Starting with Group A, this is how the table looks like at the end of Matchday Three.
CHINESE TAIPEI (5) – (0) IRAN
Chinese Taipei booked their place in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup quarterfinals after defeating the Islamic Republic of Iran 5-0 in their final Group A match at the DY Patil Stadium here on Wednesday.
MATCH REPORT
Both teams, having suffered defeats against China, went into the tie fully aware that their respective fates were in their own hands, with Chinese Taipei only needing a draw to pip Iran for a quarterfinal berth. Chinese Taipei, however, drew first blood when Lee Hsiu-Chin did well to muscle her way into the box to draw out the defenders, allowing Lai time to send her well-placed shot to the bottom left corner to open the scoring for the Taiwanese side. Chinese Taipei doubled their lead in the 31st minute when captain Lai’s intended cross sailed over Iran goalkeeper Zohreh Khodaei and into the back of the net.
With the momentum firmly in the East Asian team’s favor, Kazuo Echigo’s side added their third five minutes from the breakthrough Chen Yen-Ping’s close-range effort. Iran was under pressure again moments later as they conceded a penalty in the 63rd minute following Motevalli’s foul on Su Yu-Hsuan, with Lai sending Khodaei the wrong way to seal her hat-trick. Chinese Taipei made it 5-0 in the 78th minute through substitute Wang Hsiang-Huei, who picked up Su Yu-Hsuan’s through ball before slotting home to seal the emphatic win. Chinese Taipei are through to the quarterfinals.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Proceeding to group B now, this is how things stand after the end of Matchday Three.
AUSTRALIA (2) – (1) THAILAND
Australia completed a hat-trick of wins at the Women’s Asian Cup while confirming their status as Group B winners with a 2-1 victory over Thailand at Mumbai Football Arena on Thursday.
MATCH REPORT
While Thailand tasted defeat on the night, Miyo Okamoto’s side also advanced to the quarter-finals, where they will face Japan on Sunday, while Australia will cross paths with South Korea. A starting line-up filled with youngsters had the same dominance of possession enjoyed by the Matildas in their previous two matches, but Thailand offered fewer defensive deficiencies to exploit, remaining resolute and keeping the group leaders at bay for the first 30 minutes.
The Thais themselves were limited to ambitious long-range efforts on the counterattack, Australia began to build momentum as the half went on, and their efforts were rewarded six minutes before the interval when Egmond took her tally to five goals for the tournament by picking out the bottom corner of Tiffany Sornpao’s net from 20 yards following Remy Siemsen’s pass. With the score at 1-0 at the break, both teams looked good to advance to the knockout stage, but there were struggles for each of them early in the second half.
Instrumental for much of the night in keeping Thailand in the contest, it was Sornpao’s mistake that provided Australia’s second goal spilling Simon’s cross directly into the path of substitute Kerr in the 80th minute, with the Chelsea star never likely to pass up the chance to score her seventh goal of the tournament. Thailand had offered little going forward, but they celebrated their progression to the last eight in style with one of the final kicks of the match, with substitute Panyosuk lobbing an audacious 25-yard effort beyond Lydia Williams in the third minute of stoppage time.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
PHILIPPINES (6) – (0) INDONESIA
The Philippines booked their spot in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup quarter-finals after crushing Indonesia 6-0 to finish as the Group B runners-up here on Thursday.
MATCH REPORT
Eager to advance to the knockout stage for the second successive edition, the Philippines applied heavy pressure from the start and were awarded a penalty as early as the fourth minute when Vivi Oktavia Riski was fouled for a handball in the area, but Katrina Guillou sent the spot-kick against the left upright. Guillou, however, redeemed herself in the sixth minute when left unmarked at the edge of the box, she collected Carleigh Frilles’ cross before slotting past Indonesia goalkeeper Riska Aprilia to score her first Asian Cup goal. Indonesia, on their part, looked to hit on the counter-attack but failed to really trouble the Philippines backline.
Philippines doubled their lead in the 27th minute when Sarina Bolden out jumped her markers to head home. The Indonesian backline, however, was unable to cope with the Philippines pressure and in the 56th minute, a poor clearance allowed Tahnai Annis to convert the loose ball with a crackling strike into the bottom right corner and make the score 3-0 for the Filipinos. Philippines were awarded another penalty in the 73rd minute after Amiatun’s foul on Dominque Randle, and Jessica Miclat made no mistake to make it 4-0. Annis doubled her personal tally in the 83rd minute with a scorcher from 20 yards out and Malea Louise Cesar sealed the emphatic win with her goal in the fourth minute of the added time. Philippines are through to the quarterfinals after this big win over Indonesia.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Moving to group C, this is how the table appears like after the end of Matchday Three.
VIETNAM (2) – (2) MYANMAR
Vietnam and Myanmar played out a 2-2 draw in their final AFC Women’s Asian Cup Group C match at the DY Patil Stadium on Thursday as Vietnam came from behind twice to salvage a point.
MATCH REPORT
That stage was set between the two Southeast Asian rivals in a well-balanced game as both teams created opportunities. But it was Vietnam who conceded the first goal when Nguyen Thi Thanh Nha brought down an advancing Noe Khin Myat inside the box, with Tun making no mistake in converting the penalty. Vietnam fought back and after several missed opportunities, they finally leveled the score at the stroke of half-time, with Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung beating Nwe off a corner set-piece. Myanmar, however, edged ahead again in spectacular fashion in the 49th minute when Tun set up Tun Khin Marlar, who found space before smashing her effort into the back of the net.
Vietnam was given a lifeline when Myanmar’s Saw Thaw Thaw conceded a penalty in the 62nd minute after she brought down Nguyen Anh Thi My inside the six-yard box. Huynh Nhu made no mistake from the penalty spot, sending Nwe the wrong way to level the tie for a second time as both teams had to settle for a share of the points. After this result, both Myanmar and Vietnam will have to wait till the Group B matches concluded later on Thursday to know their knockout stage fate, with the two best third-placed teams to join the respective group winners and runners-up in the quarter-finals.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
JAPAN (1) – (1) KOREA REPUBLIC
Defending champions Japan secured top spot in Group C of the Women’s Asian Cup 2022 on Thursday despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Korea Republic at Pune’s Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex.
MATCH REPORT
Futoshi Ikeda’s side could not have asked for a better start as Ueki’s speed of thought and movement unlocked the Korean defense with barely seconds on the clock. The striker spun past her marker after receiving the ball from Shiori Miyake and found herself one-on-one with goalkeeper Kim Jung-mi, who offered little resistance as Ueki stroked the ball home. It was a blistering start from the champions, who should have taken a greater lead into the interval.
Yui Hasegawa’s footwork earned her the time and space to go for a goal 14 minutes into the game but her effort was too weak to trouble Kim Jung-mi. The goalkeeper denied the midfielder 13 minutes later when she used her feet to keep out a close-range attempt. Hasegawa caused the Korean defense more trouble after the half-hour mark when her ball from the right was spilled by Kim Jung-mi at the feet of Ueki. However, rather than double her side’s lead, the Tokyo Very Beleza forward saw her effort come back off a defender. Korean sorties into the final third of the field were few and far between in an opening half dominated by the holders.
Choo Hyo-Joo had a sight of goal from distance in the fifth minute, but it did little to trouble Japanese goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita and Cho So-Hyun sent an injury-time header over the bar. Moeka Minami went close to adding a second for the Japanese on the hour mark when she fired over the bar after the Korean defense had failed to clear a corner and, ultimately, Ikeda’s side were to regret not adding to their tally. With five minutes remaining, substitute Seo scored the goal, after a melee on the line caused by a failure from the Japanese defense to deal with Ji So-Yun’s corner and ensure a nervous end to the game for Japan.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
THE TEAMS THAT HAVE QUALIFIED FOR THE QUARTERFINALS AND IS AS FOLLOWS;
CHINA (GROUP A WINNERS)
CHINESE TAIPEI (GROUP A RUNNER-UP)
AUSTRALIA (GROUP B WINNERS)
PHILIPPINES (GROUP B RUNNER-UP)
JAPAN (GROUP C WINNERS)
KOREA REPUBLIC (GROUP C RUNNER-UP)
THAILAND (BEST 3RD PLACED TEAM)
VIETNAM (SECOND BEST 3RD PLACED TEAM)
HERE ARE THE FIXTURES FOR THE QUARTERFINAL STAGE
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