football-tournament

▲ South Korean players celebrate their 2-0 victory over the Philippines in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Asian Cup at Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, India, on Feb. 3, 2022, in this photo provided by the Korea Football Association. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ In this AFP photo, Chinese players and coaches celebrate their 4-3 penalty shootout victory over Japan in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Asian Cup at Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, India, on Feb. 3, 2022. (Yonhap)

football-tournament

S. Korea to face China in Women's Asian Cup final

SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Yonhap) -- The last hurdle for South Korea to clear in the top Asian women's football tournament will be China.

South Korea booked a spot in the final of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Asian Cup on Thursday by beating the Philippines 2-0 in the semifinals in India. Later that night, China set up a date with South Korea by edging out Japan 4-3 in a penalty shootout.

The final will be Sunday at DV Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, kicking off at 4:30 p.m. local time or 8 p.m. in Seoul.

South Korea, coached by Colin Bell, are trying to win their maiden AFC crown, and this is also their first appearance in the final. China have won eight titles, more than any other country, and will chase their first championship since 2006.

South Korea are one spot ahead of China in the FIFA rankings at No. 18 but have had little success against them with just four wins, seven draws and 28 losses.

South Korea are winless against China in their past seven meetings, with two draws and five losses. Their last victory over China came in August 2015.

Most recently, China held off South Korea in April 2021 in the final Asian playoff for the Tokyo Olympics.

In the group stage, South Korea beat Vietnam and Myanmar in succession, before holding the two-time defending champions Japan to a 1-1 draw. In the quarterfinals, South Korea upset world No. 11 Australia 1-0, sending the highest-ranked team in the tournament home early.

This tournament is also the final Asian qualification phase for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. South Korea secured their place after reaching the semifinals.

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