Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: The major contenders for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Jordan 2018 will conduct the final stages of their preparation for the tournament at the Algarve Cup in Portugal.
The tournament, which will take place a month before Jordan 2018 in the first week of March, will feature Australia, Japan, Korea Republic and China PR – the four highest ranked teams to have qualified for the Asian finals.
Australia and Korea Republic were both set to take part in Group A, but have been separated after they were placed into the same AFC Women’s Asian Cup group at the official draw earlier this month.
The Matildas will now meet meet AFC rivals China PR at the Algarve Cup, in addition to Norway and host nation Portugal, while Korea Republic will meet Sweden, Canada and Russia in Group B.
Group C will feature a clash between the champions of Asia and Europe, with Japan set to meet the Netherlands in a competitive group, which also contains Denmark and Iceland. All four teams are currently ranked in the global top 20.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Chiba: The road to the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 became clearer for Asia aspirants with the recent draw for April’s qualifiers taking place in Jordan. On the field, four of Asia’s best had the chance to test themselves over the past week as the sixth edition of the EAFF (East Asian Football Federation) E-1 Women's Championship took place in Chiba, Japan.
The fact the biennial tournament was won by DPR Korea - the only team among the quartet already eliminated from France 2019 qualifying - says much about the strength of women’s football in that part of the Asian continent. They were eliminated from France 2019 contention earlier this year after finishing behind Korea Republic on goal difference during the preliminary stage.
If DPR Korea felt they had a point to prove in Chiba, then they emphatically did so. DPR Korea won all three matches without conceding a goal, and in the process wrapped up a third successive regional crown.
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
Kuala Lumpur: Korea Republic, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam will join Australia, China PR, Japan and hosts Jordan at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup 2018 in April after a thrilling round of qualifying matches across the continent.
The AFC Women’s Asian Cup Jordan 2018 will also offer the top five finishers a place at the FIFA Women’s World Cup to be held in France in 2019.
AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said: “I would like to congratulate all the teams who have secured their place at the AFC’s flagship women’s competition. Women’s football in Asia is world class – and this is shown by the fact that three of our teams are in the top ten of the FIFA Women’s Rankings. I look forward to seeing the teams in action in Jordan next year.”