China stun Japan to reach Women’s Asian Cup final

Captain Wang Shanshan scored a late equaliser as China edged out holders Japan 4-3 on penalties to reach their 11th Women’s Asian Cup final on Thursday.

The epic semi-final ended 2-2 after extra time and Chinese goalkeeper Yu Zhu saved the first and fifth penalty in Pune to eye a record-extending ninth title.

They will meet South Korea, who beat Philippines 2-0 in the first semi-final, in Sunday’s final.

Riko Ueki scored twice and struck in the 26th minute as two-time winners Japan held possession for a majority of the first half despite a few attacking moves by the Chinese forwards.

China, ranked 19th in the world, equalised early in the second half with Chengshu Wu’s strike finding the net in the 46th minute.

The two teams ended 90 minutes at 1-1 before Ueki broke through to make it 2-1 in extra-time.

China struck again with Shanshan scoring in the 119th minute to take the game into penalties.

Shanshan then scored the winner from the spot as China advanced to their first final since 2008.

Earlier, midfielder Cho So-hyun’s fourth-minute goal helped ease South Korea to a comfortable victory and their first final of the tournament.

Son Hwa-yeon doubled the lead in the 34th minute and South Korea, who beat Australia 1-0 in the quarter-finals, dominated the game from start to finish.

The Covid-hit tournament, hosted in Pune, saw hosts India bow out after they were unable to field a team for their second match against Taiwan last month when several players tested positive for coronavirus.

All four semi-finalists have booked a berth in the 2023 Women’s World Cup, to be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand. (AFP)