Japan wins third AFC Women's Asian Cup title

SYDNEY, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Japan won the AFC Women's Asian Cup for a third time after defeating host Australia 1-0 in the 2026 final Saturday night.

Maika Hamano scored the only goal with a long-range strike in the 17th minute as Japan triumphed in front of a crowd of 74,397 at Sydney's Stadium Australia, a record for a Women's Asian Cup match.

Speaking after the match, Japan's coach Nils Nielsen said that the large Australian crowd made the game difficult for his team.

"It's very difficult to play with an enthusiastic audience like this," he said. "But the girls fought with everything they had and I'm actually very proud of them when it comes to that part."

After an opening 15 minutes in which Australia created the better chances, Hamano broke the deadlock when she received the ball with her back to goal on the left edge of the penalty area, turned and fired a dipping shot into the bottom right corner.

The strike, beyond the outstretched arms of Australia's Mackenzie Arnold, proved decisive in a match in which the host created repeated opportunities but failed to convert.

Australia's best chance to equalize came in the 89th minute when Ellie Carpenter's cross from the right found Alanna Kennedy, whose header toward the top left corner was caught by a diving Ayaka Yamashita.

"I think they beat us just off one moment," Australian captain Sam Kerr said after the match.

"For most of the game we had the better chances and, definitely in the second half, most of the possession so it was just one moment, and unfortunately that's what football is decided on," she said.

Veteran Australian defender Steph Catley said that the team did everything they could have and that the loss was one of the hardest of her career.

"They scored an amazing goal and that was the difference. That's football sometimes. It's heartbreaking," she said.

The win capped a dominant tournament for Japan, which scored 29 goals and conceded only once in six matches.

It was the third time Japan had beaten Australia 1-0 in a Women's Asian Cup final, having previously done so to win consecutive titles in 2014 and 2018. ■