AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026: North Korea beats Chinese Taipei to qualify for the Women’s World Cup for the first time since 2011

North Korea has qualified for the Women’s World Cup for the first time since a doping saga led to its long absence from top international tournaments in 2011.

Hong Song Ok scored a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Taiwan in the Women’s Asian Cup play-offs on Thursday to set up the confederation’s fifth and sixth qualifying matches for next year’s World Cup in Brazil.

There were six guaranteed World Cup places available at the continental championship, with Australia, Japan, China and South Korea guaranteed places as quarter-final winners. Lihat juga fdsm. The losers of the quarter-finals entered the play-offs on the Gold Coast for fifth and sixth places.

Taiwan and Uzbekistan still have a chance to qualify for Brazil through inter-confederation play-offs.

In 2011, North Korean officials blamed traditional medicines based on deer glands for causing the team’s five positive tests for steroids at the Women’s World Cup.

After two players were caught during the tournament, FIFA tested the rest of the North Korean squad and found three more positive results.

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A subsequent ban resulted in North Korea missing the 2014 Asian Cup. It failed to qualify for 2018 and missed the 2022 tournament due to travel restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Head coach Ri Song Ho’s young North Korean squad in Australia included players he guided to the Women’s Under-20 World Cup title in 2024.

The three-time champions were playing for the first time since losing the 2010 final to Australia at the Women’s Asian Cup, narrowly losing to the hosts in the quarter-finals after finishing second to 2022 champions China in Group B.

Australia and two-time champions Japan meet in the final for the third time in four Women’s Asian Cups.

Published on March 19, 2026