The 20th edition of the AFC Women's Asian Cup will feature 12 teams from the continent, when it is held in India in 2022. It has been expanded to 12 teams from eight to make the tournament more competitive.
The championship will also act as the final stage of Asian qualification for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Five teams will qualify for the main event directly while two of them will progress to the inter-confederation play-offs.
Japan are the defending champions of the Women's Asian Cup, having won it in 2018. However, China and Australia will be looking to dethrone the Nadeshikos.
Initially scheduled to be held in 2021, the tournament was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and will now kick start on January 20, 2022 in India.
The 12 teams have been split into three groups, with the top two teams of each group and the two best third-placed teams qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Hosts India have been placed in Group A alongside China, Chinese Taipei, and Iran. Meanwhile, Australia, Thailand, Philippines, and Indonesia have been placed in Group B. Defending champions Japan find themselves in Group C along with South Korea, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
Group A Table
| Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | China | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | +11 | 6 |
| 2 | Chinese Taipei | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 3 |
| 3 | Iran | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | -12 | 0 |
| 4 | India (H) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- India failed to name the required 13 players and were unable to play their match of the group stage against Chinese Taipei due to them having only fewer than 13 players left with the remaining team members testing positive for COVID-19. They were considered to have withdrawn from the competition, and all previous matches played by them shall be considered "null and void" and would not be considered in determining the final group rankings
Group A Fixtures and Results
| Date | Time | Stadium | Fixture | Score |
| January 20, 2022 | 3:30 pm | Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai | China PR vs Chinese Taipei | 4-0 |
| January 20, 2022 | 7:30 pm | DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai | India vs Iran | Null & Void |
| January 23, 2022 | 3:30 pm | Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai | Iran vs China PR | 0-7 |
| January 23, 2022 | 7:30 pm | DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai | Chinese Taipei vs India | Null & Void |
| January 26, 2022 | 3:30 pm | Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai | India vs China PR | Null & Void |
| January 26, 2022 | 7:30 pm | DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai | Chinese Taipei vs Iran | 5-0 |
AIFF MediaGroup B Table
| Position | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 | +23 | 9 |
| 3 | Philippines | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 6 |
2 | Thailand | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 3 |
4 | Indonesia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 28 | -28 | 0 |
Group B Fixtures and Results
| Date | Time | Stadium | Fixture | Score |
| January 21, 2022 | 3:30 pm | Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai | Australia vs Indonesia | 18-0 |
| January 21, 2022 | 5:30 pm | DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai | Thailand vs Philippines | 0-1 |
| January 24, 2022 | 3:30 pm | Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai | Philippines vs Australia | 0-4 |
| January 24, 2022 | 5:30 pm | DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai | Indonesia vs Thailand | 0-4 |
| January 27, 2022 | 7:30 pm | Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai | Australia vs Thailand | 2-1 |
| January 27, 2022 | 7:30 pm | DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai | Philippines vs Indonesia | 6-0 |
Group C Table
| Position | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 7 |
2 | South Korea | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 7 |
| 3 | Vietnam | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | -6 | 1 |
4 | Myanmar | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 | -7 | 1 |
Group C Fixtures and Results
| Date | Time | Fixture | Stadium | Score |
| January 21, 2022 | 3:30 pm | Japan vs Myanmar | Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune | 5-0 |
| January 21, 2022 | 7:30 pm | South Korea vs Vietnam | Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune | 3-0 |
| January 24, 2022 | 3:30 pm | Myanmar vs South Korea | Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune | 0-2 |
| January 24, 2022 | 7:30 pm | Vietnam vs Japan | Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune | 0-3 |
| January 27, 2022 | 3:30 pm | Japan vs South Korea | Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune | 1-1 |
| January 27, 2022 | 3:30 pm | Vietnam vs Myanmar | DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai | 2-2 |
Women's Asian Cup 2022 quarter-finals
| Date | Time | Venue | Fixture | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
January 30, 2022 | 17:30 | DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai | China vs Vietnam | 3-1 |
January 30, 2022 | 13:30 | Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune | Australia vs South Korea | 0-1 |
January 30, 2022 | 13:30 | DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai | Japan vs Thailand | 7-0 |
January 30, 2022 | 19:30 | Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune | Chinese Taipei vs Philippines | 1-1 (3-4) |
Repechage
Since Australia have been eliminated in the quarter-finals, the repechage format is for the remaining three quarter-final losers to play a single round-robin play-off. The best team after three matches will advance to the Women's World Cup, and the remaining two teams will enter the inter-confederation play-offs.
Date | Time | Venue | Fixture | Score |
February 2, 2022 | 13:30 | DY Patil Stadium | Thailand vs Vietnam | 0-2 |
February 4, 2022 | 13:30 | DY Patil Stadium | Chinese Taipei vs Thailand | 3-0 |
February 6, 2022 | 13:30 | DY Patil Stadium | Vietnam vs Chinese Taipei | 2-1 |
Women's Asian Cup 2022 semi-finals
| Date | Time | Venue | Fixture | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
February 3, 2022 | 19:30 | Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune | China vs Japan | 2-2 (4-3) |
February 3, 2022 | 13:30 | Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune | South Korea vs Philippines | 2-0 |
Women's Asian Cup 2022 final
| Date | Time | Venue | Fixture | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
February 6, 2022 | 16:30 | DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai | China vs South Korea | 3-2 |
Women's Asian Cup 2022 top scorer
Some of the brightest forwards in the continent will fight for the Golden Boot. Li Ying won the award in 2018 after finishing as the top scorer with seven goals. Whereas in 2014, Yang Li and Park Eun-Sun shared the prize after finishing as the joint top scorer.
PLAYER | GOALS |
|---|---|
Sam Kerr (Australia) | 7 |
How to watch the Women's Asian Cup 2022?
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
| India | |
Australia |
Women's Asian Cup 2022 stadiums
All the matches will be played across three venues: Mumbai Football Arena in Mumbai, DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, and the Balewadi Stadium in Pune.
The Mumbai Football Arena is the home ground for Indian Super League (ISL) side Mumbai City FC. It is an 18,000 capacity stadium and will host six group stage matches.
Whereas, the DY Patil Stadium is a special arena that can host both cricket and football matches. It hosted the ISL final in 2014 and a few matches of the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. It is a 55,000 capacity stadium and will host several matches including the final.
The Shiv Chhatrapati Stadium in Pune used to be the home ground for now-defunct ISL side FC Pune City. It can host 11,900 spectators and will host the semi-finals.
More news about the WAC22 on the-afc.com