Korean women's soccer team, which lost 3-3 with Australia, the host Korea, advanced to the quarterfinals as the first place in the Asian Cup group.

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean women's national soccer team advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Asian Cup as the top of the group after a draw with host Australia.

South Korea, led by head coach Shin Sang-woo, tied Australia 3-3 after a slugfest in the third Group A match at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia on the 8th (Korea time).

South Korea, which previously defeated Iran and the Philippines 3-0, tied Australia with seven points (2 wins and 1 draw), but advanced to the quarterfinals as No. 1 in Group A, one goal ahead of Australia in terms of gains and losses.

In the FIFA rankings, South Korea is 21st and Australia is 15th, which is lower than South Korea, but South Korea beat Australia, which even had the advantage of being a "host country," to the top of the group. It had three wins, three draws and 15 losses against Australia.

South Korea, which reached the quarterfinals as No. 1 in its group, will compete with a team that reaches the quarterfinals as No. 3 in either Group B or Group C to advance to the semifinals of the tournament. In the semifinals, they will face the winner of Group C's first-place-A/B's third-place winner, with Japan's first-place winner in Group C.

This tournament will be divided into three groups of four teams, and the top two teams with good performance among the first and second places in each group and the third place in the three groups will advance to the quarterfinals tournament to determine the winning team.

It will also serve as the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup Asia Qualifier in Brazil next year, with a total of six teams going straight to the finals, including four teams that reach the semifinals of the tournament and two teams that win the playoffs between teams that are eliminated from the quarterfinals of the tournament.

On this day, head coach Shin Sang-woo put Jeon Yu-kyung (MoldeFK) at the forefront, and Park Soo-jung (AC Milan) and Choi Yu-ri (Suwon FC Women) operated a 4-3-3 model on both sides. With Ji So-yeon (Suwon FC) at the center, Minyoung Jung (Otawa Raffiz FC) and Moon Eun-joo (Hwacheon KSPO) worked together in the midfield. Jang Seul-ki (Gyeongju KHNP), Noh Jin-young (Mungyeong Sangmu), Ko Yu-jin (Incheon Hyundai Steel) and Kim Hye-ri (Suwon FC Women) defended the defense line, while Kim Min-jung (Incheon Hyundai Steel) defended the goal.

We got off to a good start. In the 13th minute of the first half, Moon Eun-joo, who bit a left-footed cross given by Jeon Yu-kyung, fell at the gate and even connected a shot to break the balance.

However, South Korea's goalkeeper Kim Min-jung hit the ball after a corner kick in the 32nd minute of the first half, but Alana Kennedy allowed an equalizer in the ensuing door mix. In the first half's extra time counterattack, Samker also lost a come-from-behind goal.

South Korea, which fell sharply to 43.2% in ball possession in the first half and 3-12 in the number of shots, replaced Kang Chae-rim (Montreal Rose) and Kim Shin-ji (Rangers WFC) at the beginning of the second half and threw a winning move.

And in the fifth minute of the second half, Kang Chae-rim, who was replaced, even connected a bold shot after breaking through the right side, was deflected off the goal after hitting the opponent's defender's arm.

Afterwards, the referee declared a penalty kick for a handball foul through VAR, and Kim Shin-ji, who was also replaced, took the kicker and shook the net.

South Korea, which gained momentum, turned the game around again in three minutes. Kang Chae-rim, who received the opposite side pass, caught the ball near the corner of the right penalty box. Then, a calmly right-footed shot was sucked into the Australian goal.

South Korea, which took the victory, made changes by excluding Ji So-yeon and Jeon Yu-kyung in turn and putting Kim Jin-hee (Gyeongju KHNP) and Casey Eugene Fair (Angel City) in turn. Australia's wave of attacks continued in front of many home fans, but South Korea seemed to win, with Kim Min-jung's super save coming out in extra time.

However, South Korea did not hold out for the last minute of extra time in the second half. He lost an equalizer to Kennedy after the gate battle. Later, the match ended in a 3–3 draw with the referee's final whistle. South Korean players shared their joy at the result of reaching the quarterfinals as No. 1 in the group after drawing with Australia.

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*This content was translated by AI.