China PR and Australia set for high-stakes AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 semi-final

China PR and Australia have booked their spot in FIFA Women’s World Cup

The AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 has reached the semi-final stage with only four teams left in the race for the title. Defending champions China PR women’s national football team will face hosts Australia women’s national football team in Perth on Tuesday in the first semi-final.

With both teams already securing their spots at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the clash now promises to be a high-quality battle as the hosts aim to maintain their strong head-to-head record against the Steel Roses while chasing a place in the final.

The Stakes

China PR

China PR won Group B with a perfect record, beating North Korea, Uzbekistan, and Bangladesh. The Steel Roses carried the momentum in the quarterfinal beating rivals Chinese Taipei 2-0 in extra time to advance to the semifinal. In doing so, China PR also secured their place in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027.

Ranked 17th in the FIFA Women’s rankings, the Chinese Women walk into this game as the defending champions. Having won the AFC Women’s Asian Cup a record nine times, they will surely be the team to beat on Tuesday.

Australia

The Matildas are also unbeaten in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026. They finished second in Group A, picking up wins against the Philippines and Iran, playing out an entertaining 3-3 draw against South Korea.

In the quarterfinals, Australia knocked out North Korea, beating them 2-1 on the night courtesy of goals from Samantha Kerr and Alanna Kennedy. Playing at home, the Aussies will have the crowd support and they also have a positive head-to-head record to back them up in this semifinal clash. They are currently ranked 15th in the FIFA Women’s rankings.

Team News

Chinese PR Women: Star player Shuang Wang will be suspended for the semifinal clash after picking up her second yellow card of the tournament in the quarterfinals.

Australian Women: They don’t have any injury or suspensions ahead of the semifinal clash.

Head-to-Head

Games Played: 19

Won by China PR: 4

Won by Australia: 9

Draws: 6

Predicted Line-ups

China PR (4-4-2)

Shimeng Peng (GK), Qiaoizhu Chen, Yao Wei, Linlin Wang, Li Mengwen, Xin Zhang, Qingtong Li, Y. Wang, Kun Jin, Wu Chengshu, Ziqin Shao

Australia (4-3-3)

Mackenzie Arnold (GK), Kaitlyn Torpey, Winonah Heatley, Clare Hunt, Ellie Carpenter, Katrina Gorry, Alanna Kennedy, Emily van Egmond, Caitlin Foord, Mary Fowler, Samantha Kerr

Players to Watchout

Ziqin Shao (China PR)

With Shuang Wang suspended, Ziqin Shao will have to step up as China PR’s hopes will rely on her goalscoring prowess.

The 23-year-old has scored 2 goals and provided 1 assist in four games so far and she will be China’s biggest prospect to get the goals against the Matildas.

Samantha Kerr (Australia)

Chelsea FC and Australia Women’s captain Samantha Kerr is one of the best in the game. She has been in good form in this Asian Cup, scoring 3 goals and providing one assist in four games so far.

The 32-year-old is leading the line for her nation with courage so we can expect her to be among the goals once again on Tuesday.

Did You Know?

• The Australian Women are unbeaten against China PR in their last eleven outings (in 90 minutes)
• The Chinese Women last won against the Matildas in 2012, when they beat them 2-1 in the EAFF Women’s Cup
• In their two AFC Women’s Asian Cup games against each other, China has won once while the other game ended in a draw before China ended up winning on penalties

Telecast

The match between China vs Australia will be played at the Perth Stadium, Perth on Tuesday, 17 March 2026. The game will kick-off at 3:30 pm IST. The match will be streamed live on the Fancode App. There is no telecast on any Indian television channels.

DAZN will broadcast the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 matches live in Japan, whereas the host country, Australia, has given its hosting rights to Paramount.

In the Middle East countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq and Jordan, viewers can tune in to beIN Sports for the live action of this game.

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