 |
| 사진=AFC SNS 캡처 |
|
All the participating countries in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Asian Cup in 2026 have been confirmed.
AFC announced on its official website on the 20th (Korea time) that the participants in the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup in Australia have been confirmed.
AFC became the last team to qualify for the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup, with Iran topping Group A in the preliminary round. Iran will participate in the draw in Sydney on the 29th, along with 11 other countries that have already confirmed their participation. Iran won 2-1 against Jordan, allowing them to advance to the next stage. Iran is already playing for the second Asian Cup after advancing to the finals of the previous tournament for the first time.
The 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup will be held in Australia from March 1 to 21 next year. In the draw on the 29th, three groups of four countries will be formed, and two countries with good performance among the first, second and third places in each group will advance to the quarterfinals tournament to determine the winner. Earlier, South Korea had already confirmed its advance to the tournament by finishing second at the 2022 Women's Asian Cup. At that time, South Korea lost 2-3 to China in the final and unfortunately finished second, missing its first opportunity to win the Women's Asian Cup. In addition, host Australia, 'Defending Champion', China, and Japan, which ranked third, had confirmed their advancement.
A total of eight countries also confirmed their qualification through the preliminary round. India, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, the Philippines, and North Korea, including Iran, which was finally named, passed the preliminary group and headed to the Asian Cup. In particular, North Korea surprised everyone with its tremendous performance of scoring 10 goals in one match in the Asian Cup qualifying round.
This Asian Cup is expected to be a bigger challenge for Shin Sang-woo, who lifted the trophy at the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) in 2025. The South Korean women's soccer team, led by head coach Shin Sang-woo, scored one win and two draws against Japan, China and Taiwan at the East Asian Cup to lift the trophy. It is the first time in 20 years that he has won the East Asian Cup. It was an achievement that could make the goal for the Asian Cup clearer.
Coach Shin said after the victory, `It's not complete yet, but this is an important opportunity for our old and new harmony to go in a more direction.' Now, Shin Sang-woo, who took his first full-fledged step, is running toward the Asian Cup.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
