Taipei, March 11 (CNA) Taiwan's women's soccer team advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup after defeating India 3-1 at Western Sydney Stadium on Tuesday.
Taiwan took the lead in the 12th minute when forward Su Yu-hsuan (蘇育萱) opened the scoring.
India equalized in the 39th minute, but Taiwan regained the lead on an Indian own goal before halftime, and Chen Yu-chin (陳昱嫀) added a third goal in the 77th minute to seal the victory.
Head coach Prasobchoke Chokemor said after the match that the players performed well and showed determination in maintaining their style of play even in difficult situations.
Along with the win over India, Taiwan lost to Japan 2-0 and topped Vietnam 1-0 to finish second in Group C with a 2-1 record and automatically advance to the quarterfinals, where it will face China in Perth on March 14.
China remains one of Asia's strongest teams, Chokemor said, but while the Chinese defeated Taiwan twice last year, he felt the team has devised tactics to give them a game.
Should Taiwan pull off the upset against China, it will qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil.
Meanwhile, former national team coach Chen Kuei-jen (陳貴人), who traveled with the squad as an adviser to Taiwan's Ministry of Sports, was reportedly asked to leave the sidelines after cheering "Taiwan."
In response to the incident, the Chinese Taipei Football Association said the AFC told Taiwanese fans to refer to the team as "Chinese Taipei."
