After 18 matches and nearly two weeks the Asian Football Confederation’s Women’s Asian Cup is at the knockout stage. Eight of the twelve teams remain. The quarterfinal field is full of historic AFC powers. Five teams in the quarterfinals account for 18 of the 20 total past WAC champions. Three teams are looking for their first AFC Women’s Asian Cup championship. In addition to regional bragging rights, there are additional prizes at stake. The top six of the remaining teams will qualify automatically for next year’s World Cup in Brazil and avoid a grueling trip through the inter-continental playoff.
Quarter Final Matchups
(Note: Matches are listed in order of occurrence, not the number designator assigned by AFC)
Quarterfinal 4 - Australia vs North Korea – 13 March 2026 - 5 AM CDT
Australia
How They Got Here: Australia finished group play with a record of 2-1-0 and advanced to the knockout round as the runner up in Group A. The Matildas defeated the Philippines 1-0 in the tournament’s first match behind a 14th minute goal by captain Sam Kerr. In their second match, the Australians cruised to a 4-0 victory over the Iranian WNT. Their final match of the group stage, against the 2022 AFC WAC runner-up South Korea, proved to be the most difficult. South Korea jumped out to an early lead with a goal from Mun Eun-Ju. Goals from Alanna Kennedy and Sam Kerr gave Australia a 2-1 lead going into halftime. Shortly after half, South Korea claimed a 3-2 through a Kim Shin-Ji penalty and a Kang Chae-Rim goal in short succession. That score lasted deep into stoppage time, when Kennedy scored her second of the day to force a draw. With the result, South Korea finished first in the group by goal differential (+6 to +5) over Australia.
Leading Scorers: London City Lioness Alanna Kennedy scored braces against Iran and South Korea, giving her four goals in three games. Sam Kerr scored two goals in three games.
Best Finish: Champions (2010)
North Korea
How They Got Here: The Eastern Azaleas were the runners-up in Group B, finishing with a record of 2-0-1. North Korea defeated Uzbekistan 3-0 in Sydney in their first match of the tournament behind a hat-trick by Myong Yu-jong. Next the North Koreans faced Bangladesh. Kim Kyong-yong lead the way with a brace in a 5-0 victory. In their final group stage match, North Korea faced off against the defending AFC WAC champions, China. The Eastern Azaleas fell to the title holders 2-1.
Leading Scorers: Myong Yu-jong had four goals and Kim Kyong-yong had three goals in the group stage for North Korea.
Best Finish: Champions (x3, most recent 2008)
Quarterfinal 2 - China vs Chinese Taipei – 14 March 2026 - 12 AM CDT
China
How They Got Here: The reigning Women’s Asian Cup champions swept through Group B allowing only one goal in three games. The Steel Roses faced off against Bangladesh, a team making their WAC finals debut, first. China won 2-0. In their second match day, China knocked off Uzbekistan 3-0, behind a Li Qingtong brace and a goal by Shao Ziqin. With the top spot in Group B on the line against North Korea, the Steel Roses emerged victorious 2-1.
Leading Scorers: Li Qingtong and Wang Shuang lead all players for China with two goals in three games.
Best Finish: Champions (x9, most recent 20)
Chinese Taipei
How They Got Here: Chinese Taipei advanced to the knockout stage as the runner up in Group C with a record of 2-0-1. Chinese Taipei started their tournament with an unfortunate draw, facing off against the buzzsaw that is the Japanese WNT but acquitted themselves well, falling 2-0 after conceding two second half goals. The Blue Magpies bounced back in their second match, defeating Vietnam 1-0 on a 26th minute goal by Su Yu-Hsuan. In their final match of group play, Chinese Taipei defeated India 3-1, securing their spot in the knockout round.
Leading Scorers: Su Yu-Hsuan has two goals for Chinese Taipei in three games.
Best Finish: Champions (x3, most recent 1981)
Quarterfinal 1 – South Korea vs Uzbekistan – 14 March 2026 – 4 AM CDT
South Korea
How They Got Here: South Korea finished with the same record in Group A play (2-1-0), but won the group due to their better goal differential. The Taegeuk Ladies faced Iran in their first match, cruising to a 3-0 victory. In their second match, South Korea dominated possession (77%) and shot attempts (15 to 3) in a 3-0 win over the Philippines. In their final group play match, the Taegeuk Ladies scored the first goals Australia conceded in the tournament. Coming out of half time trailing 2-1, South Korea equalized in the 53rd minute on a Kim Shin-Ji penalty. Kang Chae-Rim gave the South Koreans a 3-2 just three minutes. A very late Australian goal resulted in a draw.
Leading Scorers: Mun Eun-Ju has two goals for South Korea in the tournament. Seven players have a goal through three games for the Taegeuk Ladies.
Best Finish: Runners Up (2022)
Uzbekistan
How They Got Here: This year’s tournament marked the Uzbekistan’s first appearance in the WAC since the 2003 edition. Uzbekistan finished third in Group B with a record of 1-0-2. Uzbekistan was shutout in their first two games of the tournament, losing to North Korea and China, losing 3-0 in both matches. Facing of against Bangladesh in their final match of group play, Uzbekistan was able to get their first victory of the tournament behind two goals from Dildora Nozimova and single goals from Diyorakhon Khabibullaeva and Nilufar Kudratova. Uzbekistan’s record and -2 goal differential was enough to secure their spot as the top third place team and a spot in the knockout round.
Leading Scorers: With her brace against Bangladesh, Dildora Nozimova leads all Uzbek scorers in the tournament.
Best Finish: By advancing to the knockout stage, Uzbekistan has secured its best WAC finish to date.
Quarterfinal 3 – Japan vs Philippines – 15 March 2026 - 12 AM CDT
Japan
How They Got Here: Japan reached the knockout round by not just winning, but dominating Group C. Nadeshiko Japan out scored their opponents 17-0 over the course of the three group stage games. In their first match, Bayern Munich’s Momoko Tanikawa scored a 61st minute goal and Kiko Seike added a second in stoppage time to give Japan a 2-0 victory. In their second match, the Japanese turned things up to 11. Hinata Miyazawa and Riko Ueki both had hat-tricks and Kiko Seike had a brace in Japan’s 11-0 victory over India. Nadeshiko Japan finished the group with a 4-0 victory over Vietnam.
Leading Scorers: Kiko Seike and Riko Ueki lead Japanese scorers in the group stage with four goals.
Best Finish: Champions (x 2, most recent 2018)
Philippines
How They Got Here: The Philippines advanced to the knockout round as the tournaments second ranked third place team with a 1-0-2 record. Opening the tournament against the hosts, Philippines fell to Australia 1-0. Their task didn’t get any easier in their second match against the 2022 AFC WAC runners up, South Korea. The Philippines were again shut out, losing 3-0 to the Taegeuk Ladies 3-0. In their final group match against Iran, Sara Eggesvik broke the Philippines’s scoreless streak in the WAC in the 29th minute. Chandler McDaniel added a second goal in the 82nd minute to secure the Philippines first victory in this year’s tournament. The victory kept the Philippines hopes of advancing to the knockout stage alive. Going into the final day of group play, the Philippines needed Japan to beat Vietnam by three goals for the Philippines to advance to the next round on goal differential over Vietnam. Nadeshiko Japan’s 4-0 gave the Philippines the cushion they required and set up a quarterfinal matchup between the two teams.
Leading Scorers: Sara Eggesvik and Chandler McDaniel scored the Philippines two goals in the group stage.
Best Finish: 4th (2022)
What Comes After
Following the quarterfinal round, the four losing teams will play an additional match in Gold Coast to determine which teams will qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil and who will got to the inter-continental playoff to try and claim a last chance spot. The losers of the South Korea/Uzbekistan will face off against the loser of Japan/Philippines at 9 PM CDT on March 18th. The loser of Australia/North Korea will face the loser China/Chinese Taipei at 3 AM CDT on March 19. The winners of the two matches will claim the two of the AFC’s six automatic World Cup Qualifier spots.
All four teams in the semi-finals earn a spot in next year’s World Cup. The winner of Australia/North Korea will face the winner of China/Chinese Taipei in Perth at 5 AM CDT on March 17th. The winner of South Korea/Uzbekistan will face off against the winner of Japan/Philippines in Sydney at 4 AM CDT on March 18th.
The winners of both those matches will vie for the title in Sydney on March 21st at 4 AM CDT. All AFC WAC matches are streaming in the US on OneFootball for free.
Inter-continental Playoff
The two play in losing teams are not completely eliminated from World Cup qualification. They will go to the two phase inter-continental playoff, held in November and December 2026. There, they will face two teams from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and one from the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and one from South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL). After round robin play, the top two teams will advance to the second phase of the playoff.
The second phase of the tournament, which will occur in February 2027, will also feature two teams from Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), one from CONMEBOL, and one from Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The six teams will be drawn in to three “pathways” with the top teams in each earning the last three spots in the World Cup.
Olympic Qualification
By virtue of making the knockout round, all eight teams will take part in the AFC Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The top two teams will receive spots in the field for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. The third-place team will go to a playoff with a team from CONMEBOL for the final Olympic spot. Dates and a location for the tournament haven’t been announced yet.
