Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: With just 100 days remaining until the opening match of AFC Women’s Asian Cup Jordan 2018, the-AFC.com reviews the highs and lows of 2017 of the 8 qualifiers.
Australia
2017 Record: 9 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss
FIFA Ranking: 4
Overview
A simply magical year for the Matildas, which included the capture of the inaugural Tournament of Nations trophy with successive wins over three world class teams in the United States, Japan and Brazil and ended with an all-time world ranking of fourth.
After ears of incremental growth, Alen Stajcic’s side - helped by the 11 international goals of AFC Women’s Player of the Year Sam Kerr - transcended the sport to become household names in their homeland in 2017, and established themselves as firm favourites to claim a second Asian title in Jordan next April.
High
From their July 27 win over the United States, 2017 was one continuous highlight for the Matildas, but the 6-1 demolition of Brazil in California confirmed beyond doubt Australia’s status as a truly elite attacking outfit.
Low
With a dearth of options to choose from, the penalty shootout defeat to Denmark at the Algarve Cup brought back unwelcome memories of the Rio Olympics.
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/japan_champions_-_afc_womens_asian_cup_2014.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/korea_republic_women_rejoice.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/china_pr_women_squad_1.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/thailand_rejoice_-_afc_womens_asian_cup_1.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/vietnam_rejoice_-_afc_womens_asian_cup_qualifiers .html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/jordan_squad_-_afc_womens_asian_cup_qualifiers_1.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/philippines_rejoice_-_afc_womens_asian_cup_qualifiers _1.html
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Sweimeh: 2014 finalists Japan and Australia will meet in a mouth-watering group stage clash after being paired together at the official draw for the 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup held on the eastern shores of the Dead Sea.
The glittering ceremony, held at the King Hussein bin Talal Convention Center, split the eight qualifiers into two groups for next April’s finals, and produced no shortage of appetising fixtures.
The pairing of Australia and Japan – ranked sixth and eighth in the world respectively - pits together the champions of the last two editions of the tournament, in a highly competitive Group B.
They will be joined by World no. 15 Korea Republic, and Southeast Asian champions Vietnam, who were the only team in the draw to navigate 2017 without a single international defeat.
Hosts Jordan was paired with eight-time champions China PR, 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers Thailand and the Philippines in Group A.
The Nashmiyat will open the tournament with a meeting against the Philippines in Amman on April 6. Interestingly, the teams also met in the 2018 AFC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers, where Jordan secured a 5-1 win.
To mark the first ever edition of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup to be held in West Asia, the ceremony also saw the unveiling of a dynamic new official tournament logo, which presents the female footballer as a superheroine.
AFC Women’s Asian Cup Jordan 2018 official draw results
GROUP A
JORDAN
CHINA PR
THAILAND
PHILIPPINES
GROUP B
JAPAN
AUSTRALIA
KOREA REPUBLIC
VIETNAM
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The Australian women’s national team have capped a near-perfect year, rising two places to reach an all-time high of fourth place in the newly released FIFA World Rankings on Friday.
The rise, which sees Alen Stajcic’s team leapfrog France and Canada, reflects an outstanding run of form which has included seven consecutive international wins, all against teams in the global top 15 at the time the matches were held.
Only the United States, Germany and England sit above the Australians, who reach heights unmatched by any Asian team since Japan climbed to third in the wake of their famous 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup triumph in Germany.
The current Japanese side, who will meet the Matildas in the group stage at April’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup, fell one place to ninth, while DPR Korea dropped out of the top ten after they also fell by a single positon to 11th.
Korea Republic, who will also meet Australia and Japan at Jordan 2018, climbed one place to 13th, while China PR’s four-match international losing streak contributed to their three-position drop to 16th.
Thailand (30th) remain narrowly ahead of Southeast Asian rivals Vietnam (32nd) after both nations fell by a single place, while Jordan remains 50th for the third consecutive rankings update.
Despite not playing any matches in the period since the last update, fellow AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers the Philippines climbed one position to 69th.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Chiba: Japan striker Mami Ueno does not have happy memories of playing France, the team that stopped her side’s run in the semi-finals of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Papua New Guinea 2016.
The Young Nadeshiko bounced back to beat USA 1-0 in the match for third place thanks to Ueno, a goal that earned her side a bronze medal, took her tournament tally to five goals, and clinched her the adidas Golden Boot for the competition.
“If I could, I would have happily swapped that individual trophy for the world title and shared it with my teammates,” she told FIFA.com, casting her mind back just over 12 months to the tournament.
“We were dreaming of winning it and it was very disappointing for us to only finish third. Obviously, I was pleased with the Golden Boot, it’s given me confidence as a striker. It wasn’t just down to my hard work though, I owe it first and foremost to my teammates.”