Amid celebrations, a show of strength, a shootout and a significant shock, Asia’s first four qualifiers for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ were confirmed today at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup quarter-finals.

After Australia were ousted by Korea Republic, and Japan sealed their place in style, China PR battled back to sink Vietnam, and the Philippines prevailed on penalties to secure a first-ever spot at the global finals.

This joyful quartet duly laid claim to the first four of five guaranteed slots for AFC nations at the World Cup, for which Australia – along with New Zealand - were already assured of a berth as co-hosts.

The fifth and final automatic place, plus two spots in intercontinental play-offs - which are due take place early next year - will be determined by a round-robin competition between Chinese Taipei, Thailand and Vietnam, with matches to take place between 2 and 6 February.

First, however, we celebrate the nations now assured of taking their place at the 2023 showpiece.

How they qualified: Futoshi Ikeda’s side hit their stride early at the Asian Cup, beating Myanmar 5-0 and putting three unanswered goals past Vietnam before securing top spot in Group C with a 1-1 draw against Korea Republic. But they raised their standards yet further today, sealing their spot in Australia and New Zealand with a 7-0 demolition of Thailand in which striker Yuika Sugasawa scored four times. With Australia eliminated, the Nadeshiko are now clear favourites to claim a third successive Asian title.

FIFA Women’s World Cup record: Japan are ever-presents at the global finals, having participated in each of the previous eight editions. And they haven’t, of course, merely taken part. The Nadeshiko famously won this tournament in 2011 – the only AFC nation yet to do so – and also finished runners-up in Canada four years later.

How they qualified: The Taegeuk Nangja sprung a major shock in seeing off Australia, the highest-ranked team at the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, thanks to a superb late strike from star midfielder Ji Soyun. This qualification-sealing victory came after an impressive group campaign in which the Koreans comfortably beat Vietnam (3-0) and Myanmar (2-0) and came from behind to earn a creditable 1-1 draw with Japan.

FIFA Women’s World Cup record: Australia and New Zealand 2023 will be Korea Republic’s fourth global finals, and their third in succession. They have only made it to the knockout stage of the competition once, when they reached the Round of 16 at Canada 2015.

How they qualified: The record eight-time Women’s Asian Cup winners needed to come from behind to claim a 3-1 win over Vietnam and, with it, their spot at the FIFA Women’s World Cup. China PR had earlier cruised through a group campaign curtailed by the Covid-enforced withdrawal of hosts India, racking up emphatic wins over Chinese Taipei (4-0) and Iran (7-0).

FIFA Women’s World Cup record: The Steel Roses have participated in all but one of the eight previous editions and boast a proud record of always having advanced from the group stage. Three-time quarter-finalists, they even came within a penalty shootout of winning the trophy in 1999, losing out to USA and a legendary Brandi Chastain spot-kick.

How they qualified: The Malditas’ progression was indebted to two matches in particular, with their 1-0 opening-match win over Thailand arguably as important as today’s shootout triumph over Chinese Taipei, which rubber-stamped their ticket. That earlier victory over the Thais was the key result in a section in which they went on to finish second after being beaten by Australia (0-4) and enjoy a routine win over Indonesia (6-0), teeing up today’s decisive quarter-final. And while they were made to work exceptionally hard for their semi-final spot, Alen Stajcic’s side – having edged a nerve-shredding shootout after a tense 1-1 draw - can now reflect with pride on having made history for their country.

FIFA Women’s World Cup record: Australia and New Zealand 2023 will be the Philippines’ inaugural appearance on the global stage.

3 February

China PR-Japan Korea Republic-Philippines

2 February

Thailand-Vietnam

4 February

Chinese Taipei-Thailand

6 February

Vietnam-Chinese Taipei