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2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup

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2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup
Tournament details
Host countryAustralia
Dates1–21 March
Teams12 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)5 (in 3 host cities)
← 2022
2029 →

The 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup will be the 21st edition of the AFC Women's Asian Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament in Asia competed by the women's national teams in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

Australia was officially selected as the host nation by the AFC Women's Football Committee on 15 May 2024.[1]

The tournament will serve as the final stage of Asian qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil. This will be the last time the qualifications will be linked, as a standalone qualifier for the FIFA Women's World Cup will be held starting from the 2031 edition onwards. For the first time, the tournament will also serve as the penultimate stage of Asian qualification for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, with all eight quarter-finalists qualifying for the 2028 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament.[2]

China are the defending champions.

Host selection

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Main article: 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup bids

The following four football associations submitted their interest to host the tournament by the 31 July 2022 deadline.[3] Australia was selected as the host nation by the AFC Women's Football Committee on 15 March 2024 following the withdrawals of Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan.[4]

Cancelled bids

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  • Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia – On 21 April 2022, Saudi Arabia submitted its bid in hosting the tournament. Saudi Arabia has never hosted any major women's football tournament, although it hosted the men's FIFA Confederations Cup from 1992 to 1997 and will host the men's Asian Cup in 2027.[5] On 2 December, the Saudi delegation submitted its bid to host the 2026 edition.[6] On 23 February 2024, Saudi Arabia withdrew their bid.[7]
  • Uzbekistan Uzbekistan – The Central Asian nation submitted its interest on 21 April 2022. The country had never hosted a major women's football tournament before, though it has played in the women's Asian Cup five times. The country has hosted various men's youth competitions, such as the 2008 and 2010 AFC U-16 Championships, the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup and the 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup. On 23 February 2024, Uzbekistan withdrew their bid.[7] The AFC ultimately awarded Uzbekistan the 2029 Women's Asian Cup hosting rights, as the sole bidder.[1]

Qualification

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Main article: 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification

The host country Australia qualified automatically, along with the top three teams from the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup.[8]

  Teams qualified
  Team eliminated
  Did not enter
  Country has no women's team or is not a FIFA member

Qualified teams

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The following teams qualified for the tournament:

Team Method of
qualification 		Date of
qualification 		Finals
appearance 		Last
appearance 		FIFA Ranking Previous best
performance
 Australia Hosts 15 May 2024 7th 2022 15 Champions (2010)
 China 2022 champions 18 December 2024 16th 2022 17 Champions (1986, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2006, 2022)
 South Korea 2022 runners-up 18 December 2024 14th 2022 21 Runners-up (2022)
 Japan 2022 third place 18 December 2024 18th 2022 7 Champions (2014, 2018)
 Iran Group A winners 19 July 2025 2nd 2022 68 Group stage (2022)
 India Group B winners 5 July 2025 10th 2022 70 Runners-up (1979, 1983)
 Bangladesh Group C winners 2 July 2025 1st — 128 Debut
 Chinese Taipei Group D winners 5 July 2025 15th 2022 42 Champions (1977, 1979, 1981)
 Vietnam Group E winners 5 July 2025 10th 2022 37 Sixth place (2014, 2022)
 Uzbekistan Group F winners 5 July 2025 6th 2003 51 Group stage (1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003)
 Philippines Group G winners 5 July 2025 11th 2022 41 Semi-finals (2022)
 North Korea Group H winners 5 July 2025 11th 2010 9 Champions (2001, 2003, 2008)

Venues

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Games will be held in venues across New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia.[9] The five selected venues were officially recommended for formal ratification by the AFC on 12 November 2024.[10]

On 27 February 2025, one year before the start of the tournament, Football Australia confirmed the opening game would be held at Perth Stadium, and final held at Stadium Australia.[11]

Australia Sydney, New South Wales Gold Coast, Queensland Perth, Western Australia
Stadium Australia Gold Coast Stadium Perth Rectangular Stadium
Capacity: 79,500 Capacity: 28,000 Capacity: 19,500
Western Sydney Stadium Note: table shows AFC's stated capacities;
may differ from the stadium's actual capacity[12] 		Perth Stadium
Capacity: 30,000 Capacity: 60,000

Draw

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The draw is scheduled to be held on 29 July 2025 at the Sydney Town Hall in Sydney.[13]

For the first time in the tournament's history, seeding will be based on the latest FIFA Women's World Ranking at the time of the draw, which was relesed on 12 June 2025. Previously, the teams were seeded according to their performance in the previous final tournament and qualification rankings.[14][15]

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4

Squads

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Main article: 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup squads

Each team has to register a squad of a minimum of 18 players and maximum of 23 players, at least three of whom must be goalkeepers (Regulations Article 26.3).

Group stage

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Group A

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Australia A2 A3 A4
1  Australia (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Knockout round — 8 Mar '26 — 1 Mar '26
2 A2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — 2 Mar '26 —
3 A3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout round 5 Mar '26 — — 8 Mar '26
4 A4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 5 Mar '26 — —
First match(es) will be played: 1 March 2026. Source: AFC
(H) Hosts
Australia vA4
A2vA3
A3v Australia
A4vA2
Australia vA2
A3vA4

Group B

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification B1 B2 B3 B4
1 B1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Knockout round — 9 Mar '26 — 3 Mar '26
2 B2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — 3 Mar '26 —
3 B3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout round 6 Mar '26 — — 9 Mar '26
4 B4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 6 Mar '26 — —
First match(es) will be played: 3 March 2026. Source: AFC
B2vB3
B1vB4
B4vB2
B3vB1
B1vB2
B3vB4

Group C

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification C1 C2 C3 C4
1 C1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Knockout round — 10 Mar '26 — 4 Mar '26
2 C2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — 4 Mar '26 —
3 C3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout round 7 Mar '26 — — 10 Mar '26
4 C4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 7 Mar '26 — —
First match(es) will be played: 4 March 2026. Source: AFC
C2vC3
C1vC4
C4vC2
C3vC1
C1vC2
C3vC4

Ranking of third-place teams

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Pos Grp Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 A A3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Knockout round
2 B B3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 C C3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 1 March 2026. Source: AFC

Knockout round

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Bracket

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Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
 14 March 2026 (2026-03-14) – Sydney
 
 
 Group A Winner
 
 18 March 2026 (2026-03-18) – Sydney
 
 Group B/C Third Place
 
 Quarter final 1 Winner
 
 15 March 2026 (2026-03-15) – Sydney
 
 Quarter final 3 Winner
 
 Group C Winner
 
 21 March 2026 (2026-03-21) – Sydney
 
 Group A/B Third Place
 
 Semi final 1 Winner
 
 14 March 2026 (2026-03-14) – Perth
 
 Semi final 2 Winner
 
 Group B Winner
 
 17 March 2026 (2026-03-17) – Perth
 
 Group C Runner-up
 
 Quarter final 2 Winner
 
 13 March 2026 (2026-03-13) – Perth
 
 Quarter final 4 Winner
 
 Group A Runner-up
 
 
 Group B Runner-up
 
19 March 2026 (2026-03-19) – Gold Coast
 
 
19 March 2026 (2026-03-19) – Gold Coast
 
 

Quarter-finals

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The winners will qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup. The losers will advance to the play-in matches.

Group A runner-upvGroup B runner-up
Group A winnervGroup B/C third place
Group B winnervGroup C runner-up
Group C winnervGroup A/B third place

Play-in matches

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The winners will qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup. The losers will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

v
v

Semi-finals

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Quarter final 2 WinnervQuarter final 4 Winner
Quarter final 1 WinnervQuarter final 3 Winner

Final

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Semi final 1 WinnervSemi final 2 Winner

Qualified teams for FIFA Women's World Cup

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The following six teams from AFC will qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup. Two more teams may qualify via the inter-confederation play-offs.[16]

Team Qualified on Previous appearances in FIFA Women's World Cup[a]
TBD 13 March 2026
TBD 14 March 2026
TBD 14 March 2026
TBD 15 March 2026
TBD 19 March 2026
TBD 19 March 2026
  1. ^ Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Australia and Uzbekistan confirmed as 2026 and 2029 AFC Women's Asian Cup hosts". AFC. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  2. ^ "AFC unveils breakthrough reforms to strengthen Women's National Team Competitions". AFC. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Four Member Associations express interest to host AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026". AFC. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Australia and Uzbekistan recommended as hosts for 2026 and 2029 editions of AFC Women's Asian Cup". AFC. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  5. ^ "Saudi Arabia, Australia among four nations to bid for 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup". Inside the Games. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Saudi Arabia submits bid to host AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026". Arab News. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Australia set to host 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup after others withdraw bids". Sportcal. 23 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Asian Football powerhouses qualify for AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026". Football Australia. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  9. ^ Nicholson, Paul (22 April 2024). "Aussies announce states to host Women's Asian Cup 2026". Inside World Football. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  10. ^ Comino, Matt (13 November 2024). "Three host cities confirmed for 2026 Women's Asian Cup as five venues selected & dates locked in". the A-leagues. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  11. ^ "Perth to host Matildas in Women's Asian Cup opener". The West Australian. 27 February 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  12. ^ "Host City | AFC WAC 2026". www.womensasiancup2026.com.au. Retrieved 2025-07-03.
  13. ^ "Venue and date for AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 Final Draw confirmed". the-AFC. Asian Football Confederation. 14 May 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  14. ^ "AFC Women's Football Committee approves AFC's world-class competitions' roster". AFC. 5 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  15. ^ "All eyes on AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 Final Draw". the-AFC.com. Asian Football Confederation. 23 July 2025. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
  16. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup Brazil 2027 dates confirmed". 11 December 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
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