Australia 3–3 Korea Republic
By Callum Logie 7/3/26
Above: Sam Kerr (#20) celebrates scoring the rest of the Matildas. Photo: Ethan Caffrey Carragh for Impetus.
Despite pinching a goal late, Australia could only manage a three all draw with South Korea, denying the Matildas top spot of Group A at the Women’s Asian Cup.
Mun Eun-Ju struck early for South Korea and goals from substitutes Kim Shin-Ji and Kang Chae-Rim put South Korea in prime position to take all three points, but a late goal from Alanna Kennedy denied the South Koreans an undefeated group stage. Kennedy’s late goal meant she finished the match with a brace for the second match in a row, with Sam Kerr scoring the other Australian goal.
With both sides already having booked their places in the next stage, they both chose to make wholesale changes to their starting line ups from match day two.
The ball saw both sides of the pitch early on, and the first chance of the game went to Kerr who drove a long distance shot straight at Kim Min-Jung.
After just a moment, Clare Wheeler won the ball up the pitch which resulted in Katrina Gorry testing Kim Min-Jung. The goalkeeper proved equal to the effort and directed it away, but the Matildas started very positively.
However, against the run of play, South Korea broke forward with remarkable pace. On the break, Jeon Yu-Gyeong played a terrific curling ball across the box to her forward partner Mun Eun-Ju who slid the ball past Mackenzie Arnold to give the South Koreans a 1-0 lead.
Things went from bad to worse for the Australians shortly after when Steph Catley needed to be substituted off due to a head injury, which brought Courtney Nevin into the game earlier than planned.
When moving forward, the Matildas looked best when playing through Gorry, who effectively linked up with the other central midfielders and the wingers.
After winning an aerial duel in the 32nd minute, Kerr released Mary Fowler on a run into the box. Fowler’s shot was driven low and saved well by Kim Min-Jung.
The resulting corner, after a scramble in the box, eventually ended up being poked home by Kennedy, getting her third goal in two games to put the game back on level terms.
At the stroke of half time, Australia’s attacking prowess paid dividends as a run forward from Caitlin Foord expertly set up the prolific Kerr who finished with a low curled effort from 14 yards out.
Korea Republic started the second half positively, enjoying good territory and creating an opportunity with a Kang Chae-Rim effort touched behind by Arnold after a deflection off Nevin’s arm. However, She was deemed to have her arm in an unnatural defending position which earned South Korea a penalty.
Kim Shin-Ji stepped up to take the penalty and converted clinically into the bottom right corner to tie the game up once more.
A few minutes later, South Korea’s substitute masterclass came into effect as Kim Shin-Ji set up a driven shot from Kang Chae-Rim which beat Arnold to restore a one goal lead for the South Koreans.
However, the script had one more plot twist to unfold.
In the 95th minute, a driven cross from Nevin found Kennedy with a header from near the penalty spot. Kim Min-Jung reached the ball at full stretch and was able to deny a late equaliser for the Matildas.
Mere minutes later though, a scramble in Korea’s Republic box set up a Kennedy half-volley, saving a point for the Matildas with a powerful finish.
While it was not the group topping performance the Matildas were hoping for, they showed great resilience when coming back from two separate deficits during the game.
This result means that South Korea will face the highest ranked 3rd place team from Group B or C in the knockout stages in Sydney, while Australia will head to Perth to take on the runners up of Group B.
Teams: AUSTRALIA (4-3-3): Arnold, Catley, Hunt, Heatley, Carpenter, Kennedy, Wheeler, Gorry, Fowler, Foord, Kerr. Substitutes: Nevin, Rankin, Torpey, Van Egmond, Lincoln, Chidiac, Johnson, Sayer, Aquino, Heyman, Cooney-Cross, Rule, McNamara, Siemsen.
Scorers: Kennedy 32′, 90+8′, Kerr 45 + 6′.
KOREA REPUBLIC (4-4-2): Kim Min-Jung, Ko Yoo-Jin, Jang Sel-Ji, Noh Jin- Young, Kim Hye-Ri, Mun Eun-Ju, Ji So-Yun, Choe Yu-Ri, Park Soo-Jeong, Jung Min- Young, Jeon Yu-Gyeong. Substitutes: Woo Seo-Bin, Kim Jin-Hui, Park Hye-Jeong, Shin Na-Yeong, Casey Phair, Son Hwa-Yeon, Kim Shin-Ji, Song Jae-Eum, Choi Yoo- Jung, Ryu Ji-Soo, Choo Hyo-Joo, Kang Chae-Rim, Lee Eun-Young, Lee Min-Hwa, Kim Min-Ji.
Scorers: Mun Eun-ju 13′, Kim Shin-Ji 53′, Kang Chae-rim 56′.
Referee: Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan)
Attendance: 60,279
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