SEOUL, South Korea: South Korea advanced to the semifinals of the top Asian women’s football tournament and qualified for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in the process, Yonhap News Agency reported.
South Korea routed Uzbekistan 6-0 in the quarterfinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Saturday.
Six different players scored for South Korea, the runners-up at the previous Women’s Asian Cup in 2022.
In the semifinals scheduled for Wednesday, South Korea will face the winner of the one remaining quarterfinal match between Japan and the Philippines.
This tournament is also serving as the final stage of the Asian qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
The four semifinalists and the two winners of the play-in matches, contested between quarterfinal losers, will earn their World Cup berths.
South Korea will be playing in their fifth Women’s World Cup, and fourth in a row.
Against Uzbekistan, Son Hwa-yeon scored nine minutes in, and Ko Yoo-jin made it 2-0 in the 20th minute.
South Korea took it up a notch in the second half with a four-goal onslaught. Ji So-yun extended her own South Korean all-time record with her 75th goal for a 4-0 lead, and Jang Selgi’s last-second penalty rounded out the scoring.
This is the 21st edition of the Women’s Asian Cup. South Korea have never won it, and they blew a 2-0 lead to lose to China 3-2 in the 2022 final. – BERNAMA-YONHAP
