Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Paris: Hopes of an Asian winner of the first ever Ballon d'Or Féminin have ended unfulfilled, after Australia's Sam Kerr and Japan's Saki Kumagai were overlooked for the trophy, awarded by the France Football magazine.
Norway star and Kumagai's Olympique Lyonnais teammate Ada Hegerberg won the award with 136 points at a ceremony in Paris, finishing ahead of Denmark's Pernille Harder (131) and Dzsenifer Marozsan (86) of Germany.
A wonderful season for club and country saw Kerr voted as the world's fifth best player with 61 points, while Nadeshiko captain Kumagai finished 12th in the overall standings with 25 points.
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/ballon_dor_2018_winners_-_afp.html
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: With just four days remaining until the official draw ceremony for next year's FIFA Women's World Cup in France, the-AFC.com shines the spotlight on Thailand, who return to the global stage after a memorable 2015 debut.
The Chaba Kaew experienced a mixed bag in Canada three years ago, enduring heavy defeats to former world champions Germany and Norway before earning a historic maiden World Cup win against Ivory Coast, and their recent fortunes suggest they remain a team capable of the good, bad and ugly.
At the heart of head coach Nuengrutai Srathongvian's outfit is an experienced core featuring the likes of Sunisa Srangthaisong, Kanjana Sung-Ngoen and Duangnapa Sritala, but the AFC Women's Asian Cup provided the platform for a number of younger players to emerge.
US-raised 21-year-old Suchawadee Nildhamrong adds the ability to hold the ball up and bring teammates into the game as a central striker, while Silawan Intamee, 24, produced a series of strong displays in midfield in 2018.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: With Saturday's FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 official draw firmly on the horizon, the-AFC.com profiles the five Asian competitors for next year's football extravaganza, starting with Korea Republic.
Having earned their first ever FIFA Women's World Cup win en route to a maiden knockout stage appearance in Canada three years ago, Korea Republic have now qualified for successive World Cups for the first time.
They will return to the global stage with a relative wealth of experience. The nine most capped players in the team's history are all still active, and team leaders like Cho So-hyun and Ji So-yun have broken the 100-game barrier despite being aged just 30 and 27 respectively.
Cho and Ji are the team's key duo, but Lee Min-a - the 2017 Korean Player of the Year now plying her trade in Japan - also enjoyed a terrific AFC Women's Asian Cup Jordan 2018, contributing three memorable goals.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: After nearly 400 matches spread across 20 months of international competition, the 24 qualifiers for the FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 have been finalised.
New Zealand became the 24th and final nation to seal their ticket to the global Finals after they defeated Fiji 8-0 to lift the OFC Women's Nations Cup on Saturday.
They are joined by Cameroon, who defeated Mali 4-2 on Friday to secure qualification with a third place finish at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana.