Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: World Cup glory, Cup final-winning goals at Wembley and a mountain of individual awards; The AFC U-16 Women’s Championship has served as the launching pad for some of Asian women’s football’s most storied careers.
Join the-AFC.com as we go back to where it all began and, starting today, look at a handful of tournament graduates who became superstars.
2005: Ma Xiaoxu’s remarkable run begins
Korea Republic played host to the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2005, as Japan beat China PR on penalties to become Asian Under-17 Women’s Champions.
Despite their defeat in the final, the tournament will be remembered by fans of the Chinese team as the first glimpse of Ma Xiaoxu on the international stage, and the beginning of a staggering 18 months of team and individual honours which has arguably never been equaled.
Ma’s two goals against Chinese Taipei in the group stage were followed by four more in the semi-final as China PR dismissed Thailand 6-0, before she scored her country’s only goal in the final, though they would fall to Japan on penalties after a spirited 1-1 draw.
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/ma_xiaoxu2_jpg.html
