[Official] "Fate of Korea-Japan Women's Korea-Japan match Asian Cup Semi-final match has been confirmed."

*This content was translated by AI.

The 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Asian Cup semifinal match has been confirmed. South Korea, led by head coach Shin Sang-woo, will play a Korea-Japan match of fate with Japan.

The tournament, which is being held in Australia, was finally confirmed as Japan defeated the Philippines in the quarterfinals of the tournament at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia on the 15th (Korea time). On the same day, Japan scored two goals in the first half and five in the second half, winning a 7-0 victory over the Philippines.

Earlier, South Korea, led by head coach Shin Sang-woo, defeated Uzbekistan 6-0 and reached the semifinals, and Japan reached the semifinals without any unexpected changes, leading to a "Korea-Japan face-off" for the finals. The match will be held at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia, at 6 p.m. on the 18th.

In the FIFA rankings, South Korea is 21st and Japan is 8th, 13 spots apart. Korea is the fifth in Asia, and Japan is the first in Asia. In previous records, Korea is far inferior to the other with four wins, 12 draws and 19 losses. It has been winless (4 draws and 5 losses) in the last nine consecutive games since its last victory in 2015.

After reaching the finals for the first time in history at the 2022 tournament, South Korea will try to advance to the finals for the second time in a row. Japan is looking to advance to the finals again for the first time in eight years since the 2018 tournament (the semifinals). Korea is trying to win for the first time in history, and Japan is trying to win for the third time in eight years.

In the semifinals on the other side, host Australia and China will clash. Australia beat North Korea 2-1 and China beat Taiwan 2-0 to advance to the semifinals. The two teams will clash first at Perth Stadium in Perth, Australia, at 7 p.m. on the 17th to determine the final team.

Australia, which reached the semifinals for the first time in eight years since the 2018 tournament (quasi-win), will try to win its second career championship in 16 years since the 2010 tournament. China, which beat South Korea in the previous tournament, is trying to win its second consecutive title.

All the semifinals of the tournament, including South Korea, have qualified for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup finals in Brazil next year. The remaining two of the six chapters allocated to Asia will be determined through a playoff round between teams that have been eliminated from the quarterfinals of this tournament. Uzbekistan and the Philippines, North Korea and Taiwan will clash, respectively.

The two teams that win the playoffs qualify for the Women's World Cup. The playoff eliminated teams will not be eliminated as they are, but will continue their dramatic bid to advance to the World Cup finals toward the intercontinental playoffs. It is the fourth consecutive time that Korea has advanced to the Women's World Cup finals.

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*This content was translated by AI.