Japan beat South Korea 4-1 to meet Australia in Women’s Asian Cup final

Japan will face Australia in the final of the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup after beating South Korea 2-1 in the semifinal.Riko Ueki and Maika Hamano scored first-half goals to set Japan on course for a 4-1 victory over South Korea and a spot in the Women’s Asian Cup final against Australia.Japan dominated the semifinal on Wednesday at Sydney’s Australia" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="46083" data-entity-type="location">Stadium Australia against a South Korea lineup that edged the Australians on goal difference in the group stage after both teams finished with two wins and a draw apiece.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3World Baseball Classic: Underdogs Venezuela stun USA to win maiden titlelist 2 of 3Gavaskar links Sunrisers signing of Pakistan’s Abrar to Indian deathslist 3 of 3Spain vs Argentina ‘Finalissima’ match in Qatar cancelled because of warend of listJapan thought they had gone ahead 3-0 before halftime with Aoba Fujino finding the back of the net in the 43rd minute, but the goal was disallowed after a VAR review.Asia’s top-ranked team at No 7 in the FIFA list, Japan increased their tally to 27 goals in the continental championship when veteran defender Saki Kumagai headed in from Momoko Tanikawa’s swinging corner kick in the 75th.The Nadeshiko finally conceded a goal for the first time in the tournament when Kang Chae-rim turned and fired in a right-foot shot from close range in the 78th.Remina Chiba restored the three-goal buffer with a powerful strike to make it 4-1 in the 81st.The final will be played Saturday in Sydney.Japan beat Australia in back-to-back finals in 2014 and ’18 but neither team reached the championship decider in 2022, when China edged South Korea in the final.Australia have reached the championship match four previous times since joining the Asian confederation but has only won the title once, in 2010. Japan lost four finals before finally clinching the title in 2014 for the first time.Japan are the only Asian team to have won the Women’s World Cup – beating the United States on penalties in the 2011 final.