China beats Taiwan 2-0 to reach semifinals of Women’s Asian Cup, South Korea also advances

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PERTH, Australia (AP) — Defending champion China beat Taiwan 2-0 at the Women’s Asian Cup on Saturday to set up a semifinal against host Australia and clinch a place at the 2027 Women's World Cup.

After 90 minutes ended goalless in a match between opponents with geopolitical tensions, Shao Ziqin broke the deadlock three minutes into extra time before a late own goal sealed the win.

“I’m so happy we won the match today and that I was able to score a goal,” Shao said.

On Friday, Sam Kerr scored one goal and created another as Australia advanced and secured a World Cup spot with a 2-1 win over North Korea.

In Sydney on Saturday, South Korea moved into the last four with a 6-0 rout of Uzbekistan. Son Hwa-yeon opened the scoring for the 2022 finalist after just nine minutes and Ko Yoo-jin fired home from outside the area in the 20th. Four second-half goals completed the thrashing.

South Korea will face the winner of Sunday’s game between Japan and the Philippines. Japan has scored a tournament-leading 17 goals without conceding.

The semifinals are set for Tuesday and Wednesday with the final to be played next Saturday in Sydney.

All four semifinalists at the Women's Asian Cup qualify automatically for next year's World Cup in Brazil.

The losing quarterfinalists will have another shot at qualifying for the World Cup in a playoff next Thursday in Australia — the fifth- and sixth-place teams in this continental tournament will also secure spots in Brazil.

The end of the group stage earlier in the week was overshadowed by Iran's departure from the tournament and the granting of asylum to members of the delegation.

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