Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Nagasaki: Reigning champions Japan completed their AFC Women’s Asian Cup preparations with thumping home win, racking up a 7-1 scoreline against 46th ranked Ghana at the Nagasaki Athletic Stadium on Sunday.
Ghana provided some early resistance, before the hosts took control with seven different players finding the net in the win; the Nadeshiko’s biggest since a 9-0 success against Hong Kong in September 2014.
In their first home match in 2018 Japan were expected to prevail, and Mina Tanaka gave Asako Takakura’s side the lead in the 14th minute, before talented striker Jane Ayieyam brought the Africans level 10 minutes later.
Ghanaian goalkeeper Patricia Mantey kept her side in the contest with a series of fine saves, but Mana Iwabuchi put Japan back in front in the 29th minute to take her tally to three goals in her last five matches.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Nagasaki: 25 years after leading the competition’s scoring charts, Nadeshiko great Asako Takakura is aiming to continue her run of major tournament triumphs and guide Japan to a second successive AFC Women’s Asian Cup title.
Long before Japan became a global power of the women’s game, Asako Takakura established herself as one of it’s stars
After making her national team debut at the age 16, the Fukushima-native enjoyed stellar playing career, which included 79 international caps, 29 goals and two Nadeshiko League MVP awards at club level.
A coaching career beckoned and, starting in 2013, Takakura won the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship, FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and AFC U-19 Women’s Championship in successive years.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Manila: Football fever has hit the Philippines. In a week where the men’s national team ended their AFC Asian Cup qualification drought, their female counterparts are gearing up for a return to the top tier of the Asian women’s game at Jordan 2018.
The Malditas were in attendance when the Azkals defeated Tajikistan to secure their place at AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 this week, in a match that will have brought back positive memories of last April’s breakthrough qualification in Dushanbe, which ended a 15-year AFC Women’s Asian Cup absence.
Since the triumph in Tajikistan, the squad has undergone a transformation, with a significant complement of US-based players of Filipino heritage joining the team in recent months.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Munich: Vietnam’s evergreen shot-stopper is back for another tilt at continental glory, with 2014’s heartbreaking playoff defeat to Thailand acting as motivation.
For over a decade Dang Thi Kieu Trinh has been an ever-present figure at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
Since making her competition finals debut against a Homare Sawa-inspired Japan in 2006, the goalkeeper, now a veteran at 32, has featured in every edition of the tournament since and seen her side consistently improve.
That improvement almost culminated in a place at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, but Vietnam fell agonisingly short, losing 2-1 to regional rivals Thailand the winner-take-all playoff for fifth at the 2014 Women’s Asian Cup in Ho Chi Minh City.
This time around, the Vietnamese Golden Ball winner is motivated to go one better.
“The memories of that match are unhappy ones as we did not perform well and missed the chance to reach the World Cup,” she said.
“We consider the loss of that playoff game as our motivation to play well in Jordan.”
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Perth: In an all-conquering 2017, Sam Kerr’s phenomenal scoring streak made her a global star of the women’s game. Now, as revealed in an exclusive interview with the-AFC.com, the AFC Women’s Player of the Year has Jordan 2018 in her sights.
When Australia lined up to meet continental rivals Japan at the US-based Tournament of Nations last July, Sam Kerr took the field with a career tally of eight international goals since making her debut in 2009.
Kerr would go on to score a hat-trick that afternoon, marking the beginning of a record-breaking run in which she amassed 12 goals in her next seven international matches, in addition to dominant domestic performances in both the US and Australia.
With the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in her focus, Kerr spoke to the-AFC.com about her amazing rise, scoring in the final as teenager in 2010 and being drawn against mighty Japan in Group B.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Group A of the AFC Women's Asian Cup Jordan 2018 promises to be a highly competitive affair.
Headlined by host nation Jordan, Group A also features eight-time winners China, Southeast Asian champions Thailand and the Philippines, who are returning the Asia’s elite women’s football championship for the first time since 2003.
The return of China PR goalkeeper Zhao Lina is the standout detail of today’s announcements, after the star custodian had announced her international retirement following January’s Four Nations Tournament.
Elsewhere, Philippines boss Rabah Benlarbi has selected a vastly different squad than the one which represented the Malditas in the qualifiers. The final playing list features a strong representation of US-based players, including six who currently play their football in the American college system.
AFC Women’s Asian Cup squads are entitled to replace any player up until six hours before their opening match.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Group B at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Jordan 2018 is blessed with some of the biggest names in the Asian game.
2017 AFC Women’s Player of the Year Sam Kerr headlines Alen Stajcic’s star-studded Australian team, while Japan, Korea Republic and Vietnam can all boast continental stars of their own in a group that promises to deliver memorable matches.
While Kerr’s dominant year at club and international level has made global headlines, the forward is just one of many weapons in a Matildas squad full of talent, depth and major tournament experience.
Reigning champions Japan will arrive in Amman with a mix of youth and experience. The veteran quartet of Saki Kumagai, Aya Sameshima, Rumi Utsugi and Mizuho Sakaguchi have collectively amassed 400 international caps, while forwards Kumi Yokoyama and Mina Tanaka will look to leave their mark on a major tournament for the Nadeshiko.
Korea Republic’s world class midfielder Ji So-yun is ably supported by Lee Min-a and captain Cho So-hyun, while Vietnam will look to the goals of talented striker Huynh Nhu as they aim for the first ever AFC Women’s Asian semi-final appearance.
AFC Women’s Asian Cup squads are entitled to replace any player up until six hours before their opening match.