Australia 2-1 China ( att : 35,170 ) – 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup

March 17, 2026

The 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup had now reached the semi-final stage as host nation Australia played China in Perth.

Tournament Update

These diaries had reported on one match in the Women’s Asian Cup so far, covering South Korea’s 3-0 victory over Iran, where nearly all of the mainstream media coverage focused on the Iranian team and coaches not signing the national anthem. The anthem was then sung and saluted in Iran’s two subsequent matches, although there was much speculation that this had been under duress from the Iranian authorities.

Following their exit from the competition, six Iranian players, Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramezanisadeh, Mona Hamoudi and Mohaddeseh Zolfi, five of whom appeared against South Korea, plus a member of the admin staff, had accepted the offer from the Australian Government for visas to stay in the country. However, with suggestions that all had subsequently been subjected to pressure from the Iranian authorities over threats to their families, five of the refusniks changed their minds and flew back to Iran amid much concern over how they would be treated upon their return. This left just Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh remaining in Australia.

Group A saw South Korea and Australia finish level on 7 points but South Korea topped the group on goal difference after the two sides played out a thrilling 3-3 draw in the final fixture. The home support for The Matildas had been superb, with 44,379 turning up in Perth, 22,398 in Gold Coast, and a fantastic 60,279 in Sydney for the game against South Korea. No other group game in the tournament had attracted more than 10,000.

In Group B, China won their three matches, with North Korea being runners-up. China came out 2-1 winners in the meeting between the two sides, after North Korea had a late equaliser disallowed by VAR for offside.

Group C saw Japan easily win all three of their matches, including an 11-0 victory over India, but there was a slight surprise when Taiwan beat Vietnam 1-0 to take second place. Vietnam were four places higher in the FIFA rankings.

The two best third placed qualifiers were Uzbekistan, who won their final game 4-0 over Bangladesh and Philippines, who beat Iran 2-0, both of whom had a better goal difference than Vietnam, who lost their final game 0-4 to Japan.

China were given an unexpected tough tie against Taiwan, and needed extra-time for Shao Ziqin and an own goal to give them a 2-0 victory.

The two other quarter-finals were one sided, with accusations that the two losers had prioritised the losers play-offs for the World Cup rather than trying to make the semi-finals. Uzbekistan lost 0-6 to South Korea and Philippines lost 0-7 to Japan.

South Korea and Japan were to meet in the other semi-final, but Uzbekistan were to play The Philippines and North Korea were to play against Taiwan with the winners qualifying for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, with the two losers entering the Intercontinental play-offs.

Australia

Australia won the 2010 Women’s Asian Cup in China when they beat North Korea on penalties after a 1-1 draw, and had twice been runners-up, but were eliminated in the quarter-finals in 2022 by South Korea.

Australia hosted the 2023 World Cup, but were eliminated in the semi-finals after a 1-3 defeat to England, and then lost 0-2 to Sweden to finish 4^th which marked the highest-ever finish of any Australian soccer team in senior level.

The current Australian squad played all over the globe, with only three players with A-League Women clubs, which continued to be played during the tournament. Thirteen players were with sides in the English WSL, three in Sweden, two in the USA, Italy and Germany, and one in Canada. Of the players in England, three played for Arsenal and two for Chelsea.

The undoubted star of the side was Chelsea forward Sam Kerr, with 134 caps and was the record goal scorer with 71 goals for The Matildas. Kerr had sometimes been reported by careless elements of the mass media as being an indigenous Australian, but in reality, her mother was born in India.

Australia began their campaign with a 1-0 victory in Perth over The Philippines when Kerr scored from close range early in the first half, and then beat Iran 4-0 in The Gold Coast thanks to two goals from London City Lioness’ Alanna Kennedy, and Malmo’s Amy Sayer and Manchester City’s Mary Fowler. The 3-3 draw with South Korea saw two more goals from Kennedy including the 98^th minute equaliser, plus another from Kerr.

Australia started the competition in 15^th place in the FIFA rankings, but their failure to top the group ahead of 21^st ranked South Korea meant they faced a tricky tie against 10^th ranked North Korea, who had failed to top their group against 17^th ranked China. This was probably not a quarter-final that the organisers had been wishing for, as an early elimination for the hosts would undoubtedly have major consequences on the profitability of the tournament. However, despite being outplayed for most of the game, the Matilda’s took advantage of two defensive mistakes to take a 2-0 lead through Kennedy and Kerr, and although North Korea pulled one back, they held on to claim a 2-1 victory.

China

China were the power-house in the Asia region and had won the tournament on 9 occasions, and were the defending champions after beating South Korea 3-2 in the 2022 final in India.

This strength had not really transferred at a global level, where China’s best performance in the Women’s World Cup was to be runners-up in 1999, losing to the USA in a penalty shoot-out after a 0-0 draw, and coming fourth in 1995.

China were disappointing in the most recent World Cup held in Australia in 2023, where they lost to Denmark ( 0-1 ) and England ( 1-6 ), and a 1-0 victory over Haiti was not enough to progress from their group.

As defending champions, China were not required to qualify for the 2026 Asian Cup.

China’s form in the build up to the tournament had been patchy, losing 0-3 to the USA, 0-8 to England and 2-3 to Scotland, although they had drawn with regional rivals South Korea ( 2-2 ) and Japan ( 0-0 ) in friendlies.

Five of the 26 player squad were with sides outside of China, although only one, forward Wu Chengshu at French side Dijon, started against Taiwan. Full-back Wang Ying and attacker Yuan Cong were with Australian side Western Sydney Wanderers, midfielder Wang Yanwen was also with Dijon, and defender Li Mengwen was playing in Scotland for Rangers.

Captain and defender Wu Haiyan ( 142 caps ) played for Wuhan Jiangda and midfielder Wang Shuang ( 130 caps ) was also playing for Wuhan. Midfielder Zhang Rui ( 154 caps ) was with Shangdong, keeper Peng Shimang ( 30 caps ) was with Guangdong and Shanghai midfielder Zhang Xin had 47 caps.

Matchday Information

Australia’s first match in Perth had been played at the 60,000 Perth Stadium, but the quarter-final had been played at the smaller 19,500 capacity Perth Rectangular Stadium, which was home to Perth Glory and the Western Force Rugby Union side, and saw 16,466 attending. The semi-final was also originally slated to be played at the Perth Rectangular Stadium, but with the host nation playing, the game was moved to the Perth Stadium.

The weather at the 18.00 local time kick-off ( 10.00 UK ) was sunny and the temperature was 30 degrees.

Tickets for the game ranged between 30-130 AUD ( £16 to £69 )

Bet365, who were streaming the game live, made Australia 4/6 favourites, with China at 16/5 and the draw at 13/5. The match was also streamed on the AFC Asian Cup YouTube Channel with an English commentary.

Australia made one change, with Kyra Cooney-Cross replacing Emily van Egmond. In contrast China made 5 changes, bringing in Zhang Chengxue, Yao Wei, Wang Aifang, Zhang Rui and Wurigumula with Li Mengwen, Wang Linlin, Wang Shuang, Qingtong Li and Wu Chengshu missing out.

Australia were in a kit of all black with lime green trimmings, whilst China were in all red. The referee was Supiree Testhomya from Thailand.

Match Report

China looked lively in the opening stages but Australia were the first to threaten, when in the fifth minute Arsenal’s Caitlin Foord delivered a precise cross from the left towards the far post but Fowler volleyed over from 6 yards.

Australia looked suspect against China’s high press as they tried to build from the back, but they managed to avoid any major clangers. Wurigumula saw a shot blocked by Kennedy and after a corner was half cleared to the edge of the penalty area, Chen’s shot went straight at keeper Mackenzie Arnold, who gathered at the second attempt. 

The opening goal came shortly after when Fowler slid a pass to for Carpenter to run on to and pull across the goalmouth from the angle of the 6-yard box for Foord finish with a powerful drive into the left corner from close to the penalty spot. 1-0 with 16 minutes played.

China looked to quickly hit back and Wurigumula’s curling effort from the edge of the area was pushed away by the diving Arnold, but shortly after Tottenham’s Claire Hunt misjudged a bouncing ball and Zhang Linyan nipped in to run into the Australian area and hit the deck when trying to go around Arnold. I’m not sure how much contact there was and Zhang seemed to be already heading to the ground when her leg grazed the body of the Aussie keeper, but the penalty was awarded and Arnold received a yellow card. It all looked very soft.

However, Zhang made no mistake from the spot, sending Arnold the wrong way as the keeper dived to her right. 1-1 after 26 minutes.

The game remained even at the break with neither side making any impression.

China again started on the front foot, but it was Australia who grabbed the next goal. Foord played a through ball for Kerr to run onto, and although the Chelsea striker was forced wide as she rounded keeper Peng Shimeng she was able to produce an outstanding left footed finish from an acute angle, beating Yao Wei’s despairing effort to clear off the line. 2-1 with 58 minutes on the clock.

Although China dominated possession for the rest of the game, they were unable to generate any real clear chances, the closest being Chen Qiaozhu’s far post header from a corner going a yard or two wide, and in added on time Wang Aifang’s long range drive was deflected narrowly wide for a corner. However, The Matildas held onto their lead pretty comfortably to move into the final, where they would meet Japan in the Sydney Olympic Stadium.

Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUxhy5G2ZYg

Australia : Arnold – Carpenter, Catley, Hunt ( Heatley ), Torpey – Cooney-Cross ( Wheeler ), Kennedy ( Van Egmond ), Gorry ( Rule ) – Fowler ( Sayer ), Kerr, Foord

China : Shimeng – Zheng CX ( Wang L ), Wu H, Yo, Chen – Wang A, Wang Y ( Liu ), Zhang R ( Li ), Zhang L – Wurigumula ( Jun ), Shao

 

Melbourne Victory 1-1 Adelaide United ( att : 11,506 ) – 2025/26 A-League

February 27, 2026

These diaries have made regular visits to the A-League and football in Australia, although the last review was in January 2025, when Perth Glory lost 1-2 at home to Western Sydney Wanderers. Auckland topped the A-League at the end of the 26 game regular 2024/25 season to be premiers in their first season in the A-League, but Melbourne City won the Grand Final with a 1-0 victory over Melbourne Victory. Adelaide United had finished 6^th but lost 2-3 in the Elimination Finals to Western United.

This season’s A-League had been reduced to 12 sides after Western United were denied a licence on financial grounds. As a result, the regular season will be 22 home and away matches plus 4 additional rounds to maintain a 26 game season. The top 6 qualify for the Finals series.

Melbourne Victory

Melbourne Victory had featured once before in these diaries, when they beat Melbourne City 3-2 in the Melbourne derby in February 2023.

Victory were the second most successful side since the A-League was created, with 4 champions titles and 3 premiers, although the last success was the 2018 Grand Final. The Australia Cup was won in 2015 and 2021.

Home is the 30,050 capacity Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, currently known as AAMI Park for sponsorship reasons, which is shared with Melbourne City, and is also home to NRL side Melbourne Storm.

Victory’s home colours are all dark blue, with a broad white chevron on the front of the shirt.

Melbourne Victory This Season

Victory came into today’s game in 5^th place with an 8-3-7 record, and were 4-2-2 at home.

Victory started the season badly with four losses in their opening 6 games, with the only points coming from a 2-0 win in Perth and a 0-0 home draw with Auckland. After a 0-0 draw at Macarthur, four consecutive victories followed, only to then lose three of the next four games. Victory were currently on an unbeaten run of three, winning 3-2 at Wellington Phoenix, drawing 1-1 at home to Brisbane Roar and last time out, a satisfying 3-1 win over Melbourne City.

The home wins had come against Adelaide United ( 2-1 ), Wellington Phoenix ( 5-1 ), Perth Glory ( 3-2 ) and Sydney FC ( 4-0 )

Victory’s Australia Cup campaign ended at the first hurdle with a shock 3-4 defeat after extra time at NPL Western Australia side Olympic Kingsway.

Victory’s average home attendance so far this season was 12,345, compared to 12,778 last season.

Melbourne Victory Squad

Ex-Olympiakos, Panathinaikos, Wolfsberger AC and Atromitos Greek striker Nikolaos Vergos and ex-Rudar Prijedor, Zeljiznicar and AEK Larnaca Brazilian forward Clarismario Santos were joint top scorers with 5 goals.

Ex-Spanish international Juan Mata ( 41 caps ), had featured in these diaries last year playing for Western Sydney Wanderers. Mata had earlier played for Manchester United, Chelsea and Valencia in his long career.

Victory’s other overseas players included Japanese forward Charles Nduka, ex-Wolves, Benfica, Servette, Rio Ave and Olympiakos Portuguese defender Roderick Miranda, and Ivorian defender Adama Traore ( 13 caps ).

Left-back Jason Davidson ( 23 caps ) numbered Huddersfield Town, West Bromwich Albion, Groningen, Eupen, Olimpija Ljubljana and Heracles amongst his former clubs, whilst winger Nishan Vilupillay had scored 3 times in 5 appearances for the National side. Midfielder Denis Genreau won 6 caps and had played for Toulouse, Zwolle and Deportivo La Coruna, and defender Sebastian Esposito was a current Under 23 international.

Forward Matthew Grimaldi featured in these diaries for Western United ( and scored ! ), whilst midfielder Keegan Jelacic had short spells with Gent and Norwegian side Stabaek.

Adelaide United

Adelaide United had appeared three times in these diaries, beating Central Coast Mariners 3-0 at home in October 2023, a 3-3 draw at Western United in April 2024 and a 2-3 home loss to Western Sydney Wanderers in December 2024.

Adelaide’s only A-League title was in 2016 but they had two premiers to the name, 2005/06 in addition to 2015/16. However, they were the most successful side in the Australian Cup, winning in 2014, 2018 and 2019 and were runners-up in 2017.

Home is the 16,500 capacity Coopers Stadium, and their nickname is The Reds.

Adelaide United This Season

United came into today’s game in 4^th place with an 9-2-7 record, and were 3-1-4 away from home. They were 2 points ahead of Melbourne Victory but 7 points behind leaders Newcastle Jets.

Adelaide lost their first four away games of the season until recording a 1-0 victory at Perth Glory, and had been unbeaten on the road since then, drawing 2-2 at Wellington Phoenix, then winning 3-2 at Brisbane Roar and 2-1 at Sydney FC. In their last outing, Perth Glory were thrashed 4-0 in the Coopers Stadium.

Adelaide’s Australia Cup campaign also ended at the first hurdle with a 1-2 defeat at Newcastle Jets, who went on to win the Cup.

The average home attendance so far this season was 10,897, compared to 10,575 last season.

Adelaide United Squad

Current Australian Under 23 international Luka Jovanovic was the top scorer with 6 goals, with Under 20 international Jonny Yull next on 4 goals.

Adelaide’s foreign players included ex-Sparta Rotterdam Dutch centre-back Bart Vriends, who featured in these diaries in June 2023 in a promotion play-off match against Twente, ex-Sporting Gijon Spanish winger Juan Muniz, ex-NEC Nijmegen, Bodo/Glimt, Willem II and De Graafschap Dutch keeper Joshua Smits, and Brazilian midfielder Anselmo

Left-back Ryan Kitto was captain and had played for Newcastle Jets, defensive midfielder Jay Barnett had played for Melbourne Victory, as had striker Ben Folami ( 1 cap ), who had also briefly played for Ipswich Town and Stevenage Borough in England. 20-year-old Panagiotis Kikianis was highly rated and was not expected to be with Adelaide next season, with several European clubs reportedly interested in signing him.

Winger Craig Goodwin had won 30 caps and had returned to Australia after playing for Sparta Rotterdam and sides in Saudi Arabia but was missing today through injury, as was Anselmo.

Previous Meetings

This was the third meeting between the two sides this season, with the two previous matches being 2-1 home wins. Victory won their home match in December thanks to two goals from Vergos, whilst in the return in January, a 95^th minute goal from Kitto gave Adelaide United the three points.

The two matches in 2024/25 were also home wins, as was Victory’s 1-0 win in the 2024 Australia Cup.

Matchday Information

The distance between Melbourne and Adelaide by road is 735 kilometres, which usually takes just over 8 hours. By air the scheduled time is 1 hours 50 minutes. It was estimated over 200 Adelaide supporters had made the journey.

Adult tickets for the match ranged between 35 to 77 AUD ( £18.45 to £40.50 )

The weather at the 19.35 local kick-off time ( 08.35 UK time ) was light rain and 25 degrees.

Both teams were unchanged from the sides that won their last outings.  Adelaide have a reputation for producing talented youngsters, and their side today included six players 23 years old or younger whilst their bench had three teenagers and a 21-year-old.

Victory were not far behind that statistic, with five players 23 years old or younger, and had two under 21 year-olds on their bench.

Victory were in their usual dark blue kit whilst Adelaide were in a change kit of what from a distance looked to be all white, but the commentator described as grey. As the game went on and the players were sweating, it turned into a pinkish colour. It looked like it had faded after too many washes with coloured items !

The match was live streamed on Bet365.com, who made Melbourne Victory 8/13 favourites, with Adelaide 7/2 outsiders and the draw at 7/2. The match was also shown on TNT Sports in the UK.

Matchday Report

The opening stages were quiet as both sides probed for openings, and the first shot only came in the 7^th minute, but Victory’s Genreau’s 20-yard effort flew at least 10 yards over the bar.

Mata then played a neat pass to find Nduka in space inside the Adelaide area, but the attempt again sailed harmlessly over the bar.

In the 14^th minute, Jelacic made a strong run down the right wing but after his low ball into the area was stabbed away by Rawlins, Jordi Valadon sent a sharp left-footed effort narrowly wide of the Adelaide post.

After 20 minutes, Adelaide had enjoyed 64% of the possession but hadn’t threatened the Victory goal, and the only half chances had been created by Melbourne Victory.

Adelaide burst into life with a nice move of six first time passes to put Yaya Dukuly in space on the right. The Guinea born winger’s shot crashed off the crossbar after keeper Jack Warshawsky finger tips touched the ball, but the linesman’s flag was raised for offside

Mata then attempted a through ball which should have been cut-out by Kikianis but wasn’t, so Jelacic was able to run clear into the right-hand side of the Adelaide area. Although Kikianis dived in to try and recover from his mistake, Jelacic cut inside past the sliding Adelaide defender and then prodded the ball past Smits. Although the ball struck the keeper’s arm, it had enough strength to roll into the back of the net. 1-0 after 26 minutes.

The home side almost immediately doubled their lead. Rawlins got to the byline and his lay back was steered by Jelacic across the face of the goal. The ball was kept in play and crossed to the near post where Genreau’s header took a slight deflection off Vriends, and went narrowly wide. Smits punched away the subsequent corner.

At the other end, good defending by Davidson prevented a cross from the left reaching Dukuly at the far post.

Out of the blue, Yull was played in by Kitto on the left-hand side of the Victory area and his low right-footed shot was pushed away by Warshawsky. However, Dukuly smashed home the loose ball first time in to the roof of the net from beyond the angle of the 6-yard box for a fantastic finish. Adelaide had been behind for only 8 minutes and it was now 1-1 with 34 minutes played

Shortly after the restart, Jelacic received a pass inside the Adelaide area, ran across the 18-yard line but shot left-footed just wide of the far post.

Smits played the goal-kick straight to a Victory player who passed to Nduka inside the area but the Adelaide keeper redeemed himself with a brave close-range block.

The game had now completely opened up, and Mata teed up Velupillay, but his grass-cutter shot was stopped by the diving Smits, who gathered at the second attempt.

The first yellow card was brandished in the 41^st minutes when Miranda chopped down Dukuly close to the touchline as the Adelaide winger turned to go past the Portuguese defender. The in-swinging free-kick was met by Kikianis, whose weak header was poked forward by Jovanovic, but Warshawsky made the block with his legs.

Adelaide were now applying the pressure, and in the 44^th minute Ethan Alagich’s strike from just inside the Victory area was athletically tipped over the bar by Warshawsky.

It remained level at the interval, which seemed to be a fair reflection on the first half play.

In the first minute after the restart, Jelacic pushed the ball past Vriends close to the Adelaide byline and threw himself to the floor, but the referee wasn’t conned and gave a goal-kick to Adelaide.

Victory then forced a corner but Mata’s delivery was headed away by Vriends. The impressive Dukuly then did well to hold off Davidson, but spoilt his good work by shooting harmlessly high and wide.

Yull then got past Rawlins on the left wing but his ball into the Victory area was touched by an outstretched leg of Miranda as far as Barnett, who blazed well wide from 20 yards.

In the 56^th minute, Kikianis produced a good piece of defending to prevent Nduka running on to a long ball.

White then played a lovely forward pass which Roderick was unable to intercept. Jovanovic showed great composure to let the ball roll past the keeper as he came off his line, but with the goal at his mercy, Jovanovic shot against the post from 6 yards as Davidson slid into to try and make a block. It was a great chance wasted !

A yellow card was shown to Jelacic for pulling Dukuly to the floor near the half-way line.

In the 64^th minute, Mata’s left-footer from just outside the area lacked power and Smits made an easy save. A minute later, Mata’s pass enabled Jelacic to try his luck from the edge of the area, but the attempt flew over the bar. That was to be the last action for Mata and Jelacic, who were both then substituted.

Rawlins went on a good run and fed Vergos, whose shot on the run was pushed away by Smits. Grimaldi took the loose ball off the on-rushing Nduka, and by the time he was able to turn and shoot, Yull was in the way to block.

There didn’t seem to be much on in the 74^th minute but Vergos ran onto a pass into the left-hand channel. and his left-footed shot on the turn was pushed off at his near post for a corner by Smits.

In the 76^th minute a long-range effort from Kitto flew just over the Melbourne Victory bar. This had come after a neat back-heel from Alagich had found Luke Duzel in space mid-way inside the Adelaide half and a cute chip forward had enabled Jovanovic to run to the edge of the Victory area.

In the 80^th minute Vergos was able to chest control a forward ball and turn and shoot, but the 20 yard effort went a couple of feet wide. Two minutes later a neat interchange of passes saw Grimaldi in space in the area but his shot was blocked by Kikianis. When the ball was reworked, it reached Grimaldi again, but his left-footed effort was straight at Smits who made a regulation save.

At the other end, after neat play from Dukuly and Brody Burkitt to play out to the right wing, Duzel cross sailed onto roof of the net.

A first-time long ball from Duzel then enabled Burkitt to try and run clear, but Warshawsky was smartly out of his area to clear at the expense of a throw-in. A minute later another long ball out of the Adelaide back-four needed Warshawsky to again come out of his area, this time to head the ball away.

Vergos appeared to be unlucky to see yellow after a shoulder to should contact with Ryan White, but the card may have been for his reaction to the free-kick rather than the challenge.

With time running out, a long range shot substitute Reno Piscopo swerved narrowly wide of the Adelaide goal post and in response a 92^nd minute piledriver from White was pushed away by Warshawsky.

Grimaldi then ran to the edge of the Adelaide area and managed to get a pass away to Piscopo on the angle of the penalty area, but fierce drive blocked by Kitto for a corner, which came to nothing.

After 4 extra minutes the referee blew the final whistle, leaving both sides having to settle for a point, Victory had more chances and shots, but Adelaide had more possession and had chances to win the game.

The point took Adelaide up to third in the table but after the draw Victory remained in 5^th place.

Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-zFQom4-y0

Melbourne Victory : Warshawsky – Rawlins, Miranda, Esposito, Davidson – Jelacic ( Grimaldi ), Valadon, Mata ( Santos ), Genreau ( Stella ), Velupillay ( Piscopo ) – Nduka ( Vergos )

Adelaide United : Smits – Barnett, Vriends, Kikianis, Kitto – Dukuly ( Madanha ), Muniz ( Duzel ), Alagich, White, Yull ( Folami ) – Jovanovic ( Burkitt )