Australia came from behind twice to force a 3-3 draw with Korea in a pulsating AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia tie at Stadium Australia.
The result meant Korea finished as the Group A winners and will meet the third-placed side from either Group B or C in the quarter-finals while Australia will play the Group B runners-up.
The enthralling encounter was witnessed by a new tournament record of 60,279, surpassing the previous best of 44,379 which was set when the Matildas played the Philippines in the tournament opener on March 1.
Early chances fell the way of Australia with Sam Kerr firing straight at goalkeeper Kim Min-jung, with Caitlin Foord then blasting high from Katrina Gorry’s cutback before Jung Min-young lost the ball inside her own box.
Having survived the pressure, Korea broke forward to score in stunning fashion in the 13th minute with Jeon Yu-gyeong’s pace taking her away from Winonah Heatley before delivering an inch-perfect pass beyond Clare Hunt for Mun Eun-ju to slide home past Mackenzie Arnold.
Australia suffered another setback when defensive stalwart Steph Catley had to be replaced in the 18th minute by Courtney Nevin after taking a heavy hit on the back of her head when trying to block a cross.
The hosts, however, were unfazed restored parity in the 32nd minute when they took advantage of confusion in the Korea Republic box following a corner with Mary Fowler’s cross cum shot turned in from close range by Alanna Kennedy.
Australia had the opportunity to go ahead in the third minute of first half added time when Foord pounced on a loose ball on the edge of the box and worked herself into a shooting position, only to watch her low strike go agonisingly wide of the post.
Foord made amends three minutes later, driving forward with purpose before finding Kerr in the box with the Chelsea forward picking her spot to smash home the ball into the bottom corner past Min-jung.
Shin Sang-woo made two changes at the start of the second half, introducing midfielder Kim Shin-ji and Kang Chae-rim in place of Min-young and Choe Yu-ri and it didn’t take long for the substitutes to make an impact.
Chae-rim’s surging run from midfield into Australia’s box saw her effort blocked by Nevin’s arm, with Shin-ji stepping up to slot home the resulting penalty in the 52nd minute.
The same two players combined four minutes later to put Korea Republic back in front as Shin-jin delivered a pinpoint cross to Chae-rim on the right, with the latter’s precise strike settling in the bottom far corner.
Australia pushed for the equaliser and their persistence was rewarded deep into stoppage time when Kennedy was quickest to a loose ball in the box, slamming it into the roof of the net for a share of the spoils.
Meanwhile, The Philippines kept alive their hopes of making the knockout stage on Sunday by defeating Iran 2-0.
A goal in each half confirmed third place in Group A and Mark Torcaso’s side will hope they have done enough to advance as one of the two best third-placed teams, with the final round of matches in the other two groups to be played in the next two days.
Both sides made four changes each to their line-ups in a game they had to win to stay in contention, with the red shirts of Iran making a stronger start against opponents placed 27 places higher in the FIFA rankings.
Sent through on goal by Fatemeh Pasandideh in the sixth minute, Sara Didar struck her effort firmly but straight into the grateful gloves of Olivia McDaniel, in an early scare for the Philippines.
The Southeast Asians did settle into proceedings thereafter and began to work Raha Yazdani, who was making her first start of the tournament.
The 38-year-old custodian got down smartly to deal with Sara Eggesvik’s shot from a tight angle, before producing an even better stop to palm away Jael-Marie Guy’s rasping long-range strike at the near post.
Eggesvik was denied again in the 13th minute by Yazdani, who assuredly gathered a low shot amid a steady drizzle on a day where it had not stopped raining in the Gold Coast, before foiling Mallie Ramirez when she sneaked in to meet a ball over the top.
In between those attempts, Team Melli Banovan were desperately unfortunate not to open the scoring through Fatemeh Shaban, who cut in from the right and curled the ball against the far post with McDaniel beaten all ends up.
The breakthrough did arrive a minute before the half-hour as Eggesvik finally got the better of Yazdani, reacting smartly to a loose ball and firing in the Filipinas’ first goal of Australia 2026 despite the Iranian goalkeeper getting a glove to the shot.
Yazdani – the oldest player at the tournament – then came to Iran’s rescue in the 45th minute with a fantastic point-blank save to keep out Jessika Cowart, who looked odds-on to convert at the far post, before saving efforts from Alexa Pino and Guy.
Finding it difficult to work the ball into the box, Iran’s threat came mainly from range and Fatemeh Pasandideh was next to have a go as her 54th-minute effort flew a metre or so beyond the top right corner.
Jaclyn Sawicki should have done better a few minutes later as she thrashed the ball over from six yards, as the dark blue jerseys looked to add to their lead. At the other end, Atefeh Imani might have felt likewise after heading the ball wide from a decent position in the 71st minute.
The pressure finally told in the 82nd minute as substitute Chandler McDaniel kept her cool to fire the ball past Yazdani, with the aid of a deflection off Melika Motevalli.
It was nearly three a minute later as Ariana Markey, who had impressed after coming on in the second half, cracked a powerful strike off the bar. McDaniel was then denied a brace after tapping in Alessandrea Carpio’s cut-back, with the latter adjudged to have strayed offside in the buildup.
Try as they might, a third was not forthcoming for the Philippines even with six minutes of time added on, while Iran concluded their second tournament outing after turning in three gutsy displays.
