CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0
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AP, PERTH, Australia
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Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining.
Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981.
It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead.
Taiwan’s Huang Ke-sin, left, and Vietnam’s Thai Thi Thao vie for the ball during their AFC Women’s Asian Cup match in Perth, Australia, yesterday.
Photo: AFP
Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to threaten the Taiwan defense and failed to record a shot on target. Thi Duyen Tran came closest with a first-half chance that went wide from inside the area.
Both teams now have three points from two games. Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night thrashed India 11-0. India are still seeking their first point.
Australian organizers yesterday said that the tournament had sold 250,000 tickets. The milestone follows the tournament already breaking the all-time total attendance record, with 92,795 fans at the first 10 matches.
That surpassed the previous record of 59,910 for the 2010 edition in China.
The top two teams in each of the three groups advance to the quarter-finals along with the two best third-place teams.
In Group A, Australia, who beat Iran 4-0 on Thursday, and South Korea have already qualified. Australia and South Korea are to meet today in Sydney to determine top spot in the group, where another record crowd is expected.
After back-to-back losses, Iran need a big win over the Philippines today to have any chance of advancing to the quarter-finals and qualifying for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
In Group B, defending champions China and three-time winners North Korea are through to the quarter-finals after their second consecutive wins in group matches on Friday. In opening matches on Tuesday, Myong Yu-jong had a first-half hat-trick in North Korea’s 3-0 win over Uzbekistan, and China beat Bangladesh 2-0.
Group B play concludes tomorrow in Sydney when North Korea play China in a match that would decide first place in the group, and Bangladesh take on Uzbekistan.
