China, North Korea make winning starts at Women’s Asian Cup

SYDNEY – China kicked off their Women’s Asian Cup title defence with a battling 2-0 win over resilient tournament debutantes Bangladesh in Group B on March 3, courtesy of goals from Wang Shuang and Zhang Rui.

But it was hard work in front of a boisterous crowd at Western Sydney Stadium against a young team ranked almost 100 places below them.

Earlier, Myong Yu Jong bagged a hat-trick as three-time champions North Korea marked their first game at the continental competition since 2010 with a slick 3-0 win over Uzbekistan in the same group.

China beat South Korea in Mumbai four years ago to win their ninth Asian Cup and are the most successful team in the tournament’s history.

But the world No. 17 side have struggled recently and are bidding to recreate their glory days under Australian coach Ante Milicic.

“We won our first match today,” said Wang in a video posted on the Women’s Asian Cup Twitter account. “It was a very tough game, but we’re happy to start with a victory. We hope to deliver even better performances in the next two matches. Thank you all for your support.”

It was tougher than expected against a Bangladesh team who showed no fear and would have taken the lead, but for a fine fingertip save by Chen Chen from Ritu Porna Chakma’s dipping shot.

Playing at a fast and furious pace, China created plenty of opportunities but had to wait until just before half-time to open their account when Wang’s long-range shot curled in.

Zhang added a second minutes later from outside the box to subdue world No. 112 Bangladesh.

But the underdogs, coached by England’s Peter Butler, refused to lie down and admirably regrouped to prevent any more goals.

North Korea were dominant against the Uzbeks, striking early to pile on the pressure, and there was no way back for a side who lost their starting goalkeeper to a neck injury after 10 minutes.

Midfielder Myong clinically finished on the turn in the sixth minute after a goalmouth scramble in front of a smattering of North Korean fans.

She doubled the lead with a penalty after Chae Un Yong was shoved over and made it 3-0 with another spot kick on 41 minutes.

The second half was played almost exclusively in the Uzbek half, but they limited the damage by defending well.

North Korea are looking to replicate their titles from 2001, 2003 and 2008.

Their momentum since then was checked when they were banned from the 2015 World Cup for failed doping tests.

They did not play any games from 2019 to 2023, partially due to the Covid-19 pandemic. AFP