PERTH, Australia (AP) — Sam Kerr broke a second half deadlock and Australia edged defending champion China 2-1 for a spot in the Women’s Asian Cup final on Tuesday.
The veteran Chelsea forward started the attacking movement on halfway and finished it off with a left-foot shot from a tight angle in the 58th minute, the decisive moment of a semifinal that was tied 1-1 at halftime.
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The Australians will play the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between Japan and South Korea. Australia last won the continental championship in 2010.
Caitlin Foord gave the host the lead in the 17th when she finished off an attacking raid that started with Mary Fowler combining with Ellie Carpenter on the right. Carpenter crossed back into the area, where Fowler cut the ball back for Foord to fire.
China equalized in the 26th through Zhang Linyan from the penalty spot. Zhang won the penalty after she swooped on a defensive blunder and was felled in the area by goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold.
All of the semifinalists qualified automatically for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. The losing quarterfinalists go into playoffs for two more guaranteed places in Brazil.
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Iran’s exit
The two Iran players who remained in Australia on protection visas following their team’s group-stage exit joined a practice session Monday with a professional club in Brisbane in their first publicly shared appearance since it emerged they were given asylum.
Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh were pictured smiling and wearing the club’s training uniform as they posed alongside a women’s elite squad in photos posted to social media by the Brisbane Roar.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
