July 30 – Hosts Australia will open the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup at the 60,000 capacity Perth Stadium on 1 March 2026 against the Philippines. The final will be played in Sydney on March 21.
The draw for the finals tournament was held yesterday in Sydney and also pitched Australia in Group A with South Korea who lost in the 2022 final against China. Australia were knocked out in the quarter finals in 2022 and last won the Asian Cup in 2022, their only title win.
The draw did not hand the Aussies any favours. The Philippines were beaten semi-finalists in 2022 and have been showing steady improvement as they have targeted 2027 World Cup qualification. Other group rivals Iran, are newer to the international women’s game but come from a strong football culture – this is their second finals qualification.
Australia will play Iran in their second group game on March 5 at the 28,000 capacity Gold Coast Stadium as part of a double header that will see South Korea meet the Philippines.
The next stop for the Matildas will be the 79,500 capacity Stadium Australia in Sydney where they will face South Korea who beat them 1-0 in the 2022 quarter final.
Korea Republic at Stadium Australia on International Women’s Day on March 8 seeking to lift the coveted trophy for a second time, were drawn in Group A alongside Korea Republic, Islamic Republic of Iran and Philippines.
In Group B the AFC’s international women’s game will see the re-emergence of the North Koreans at senior team level for the first time since 2010.
Three times winners of the AFC title, the North Koreans are current World Cup U-17 and U-20 champions, and will rely on many of their youth players to push them towards what would be a fourth Asian Cup title.
They are in the same group as 2022 champions China, who came from two goals behind to defeat Korea Republic in the 2022 final, and have won the AFC title 10 times.
Also in Group B are Bangladesh, making their debut appearance in the Finals, and Uzbekistan, who are returning to the Finals for the first time since 2003.
In Group C Japan are top seeds, having been denied a hat-trick of titles after losing to China in the semi-finals of the 2022 edition.
They face a fast-emerging Vietnam who made their debut at the 2023 edition and are one of the favourites to challenge for Brazil 2027 World Cup qualification.
India, who hosted the 2022 edition but had to withdraw following a Covid-19 outbreak within the team, are also in Group C with a returning Chinese Taipei who have won the title three times, the last win being in 1980.
The top two teams from each group and the two best third-placed sides will advance to the quarter-finals. The four semi-finalists will qualify for the Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027, while the losing sides from the quarter-finals will head in to the playoffs where a further two more spots for the 2027 finals are available.
Draw Result
Group A: Australia, Korea Republic, Islamic Republic of Iran, Philippines
Group B: DPR Korea, China PR, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan
Group C: Japan, Vietnam, India, Chinese Taipei
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