Women’s Football Asian Cup | Powerhouse China seek 9th title, Korea eye maiden triumph in the summit clash

China would look for an unprecedented ninth title while Korea seek their maiden triumph when the two continental heavyweights square off in the summit clash of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup on Sunday.

China and Korea have defeated two-time defending champions Japan and another title favourite Australia, respectively, en route to the grand finale at the DY Patil Stadium.

History favours China as they have won the tournament seven times on the trot from 1986 to 1999 before adding another one in 2006. They have also been in the top four in every edition from 1986 till now, which is an amazing achievement.

Korea, on the other hand, have reached the last four on four earlier occasions.

Coached by five-time AFC Women’s Asian Cup winner Shui Qingxia, China also have a superior head to head record against Korea.

Qingxia said her side’s stunning win over defending champions Japan in the semi-finals via penalty shoot-out, after trailing twice in the 120 minutes of play, will inspire them to clinch their first title in 16 years.

“Facing Korea Republic will be difficult. They are a strong opponent and an outstanding team in Asia. They have made plenty of improvements in their game over the years and have some outstanding players,” she said on the eve of the summit clash.

“There is no point thinking about past records. In a final, there will be many different scenarios played out and we will have to be prepared. Perseverance equals success and maybe, there might be some unforeseeable circumstances but we will be prepared.” Korea have not defeated China in their last seven meetings but head coach Colin Bell is confident that will count for nothing on Sunday.

“I don’t see us not having a win against China a problem… it’s time now for us to put an end to that (winless streak) and we are ready to put this behind us. We don’t want to think about these figures, if we did we wouldn’t be here,” he said.

“Thankfully we have no injuries and will put in our best 11 in the final. We have depth in our squad so we’re flexible to make changes and I’m sure China are the same.” If anything, Bell said Korea’s heartbreaking loss to China in the Tokyo Olympics qualifiers has helped them mature.

“We have improved so much as a team since last year. We have some really good players in our squad but I don’t have to teach Ji So-yun how to play, the aim here is to increase the endurance, fitness and confidence of these players.” Having fought back to hold Japan in the group stage and defeating Australia in the quarter-finals, Bell said his players are well prepared for China.