The 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup final was a women's football match to determine the winner of the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup, the 21st edition of the AFC Women's Asian Cup, a quadrennial tournament contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of the Asian Football Confederation. The match was held on 21 March 2026 at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia, between the hosts Australia and Japan. Japan won their third Asian Cup title, emerging victorious 1–0 courtesy of a 17th-minute goal by Maika Hamano, who also won player of the match.
This was the third time in the past four tournaments that Japan and Australia had met in a final, with Japan winning 1–0 in each match. China were the defending champions, having won the tournament in 2022, who were eliminated by Australia in the semi-finals.
The match broke the AFC Women's Asian Cup attendance record, with 74,397 people attending the final. The aftermath of the match is most memorable for both Japan and Australia releasing a joint statement criticising the low prize money given to both teams, as well as the lack of prize money for other competing nations, despite it being the most attended Women's Asian Cup tournament in history and in increase in revenue.
Background The tournament featured twelve teams divided into three groups of four. The top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-placed teams, advanced to the knockout stage. The 2026 edition continued the expansion from previous tournaments, with eight teams competing in the knockout phase. Video assistant referee (VAR) technology was used throughout the knockout stage to assist refereeing decisions.
Japan had won the tournament four times, most recently in 2018. Previously, they were the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup champions and runners-up in 2015, the only country in the Asian confederation to have won a World Cup. They were the highest-ranked team in the tournament, ranked number eight in the world when the tournament began. Japan hired its first non-Japanese coach, Nils Nielsen, in 2024, winning the 2025 SheBelieves Cup, its first tournament win since 2018, after a period of challenges in keeping up with the rising improvement of other nations at the international level.
Australia sought its second championship, having last won in 2010, while also competing at a home tournament for a second time after the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. At the beginning of the tournament, they were ranked 15th in the world and were the third-highest country in the Asian confederation, behind Japan and North Korea. They were previously eliminated in the quarterfinals in 2022, their worst result at an Asian Cup. Like their fellow finalists, Australia was competing under a new manager, fellow Australian Joe Montemurro, who took over the team from interim coach Tom Sermanni in June 2025.
Venue
The final was held at Stadium Australia (also known as Accor Stadium) in Sydney, New South Wales. The venue which has a capacity of 79,500, hosted five matches during the Asian Cup which included a semi-final. The stadium was confirmed to be the host of the final when the final stadiums for the Asian Cup was confirmed on 27 February 2025.
Built for the 2000 Summer Olympics, it opened in March 1999. In addition to the opening and closing ceremonies and the track and field events, the stadium hosted the men's football gold medal match. The venue was also chosen as a venue for the men's 2015 AFC Asian Cup, where it hosted seven matches including the final, which Australia won against South Korea to win the tournament for the first time. It was also the host of the 2005 shootout victory over Uruguay in the OFC–CONMEBOL playoff, which qualified the Socceroos for the 2006 World Cup, their first appearance since 1974. The stadium later hosted the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup final and was contested by Spain and England. It took place in front of 75,784 supporters, and Spain won the final 1–0 through a goal from Olga Carmona, assisted by Mariona Caldentey.
Route to the final
Japan
Group stage
Japan's opening match of the tournament was against Chinese Taipei, with the match finishing with a 2–0 win, courtesy of goals from Momoko Tanikawa and Kiko Seike, as the temperature reached 36 degrees. Tanikawa's goal notably did not occur until the 61st minute, with the score remaining 0–0 despite Japan having nearly 90% possession throughout the match. Their second pool game against India, Japan scored 11 goals, which included hattricks for both Hinata Miyazawa and Riko Ueki, and had possession for 80% of the overall match. Their first goal of the match coming in the fourth minute from Yuzuki Yamamoto. This victory, due to the goal differential across their first two games, assured that Japan would qualify for the quarterfinals as the number one seed from their pool. Their final match of the pool stage was against Vietnam, winning 4–0, while also achieving 80% possession for the first-half, only for multiple saves by Vietnam's goalkeeper preventing Japan from extending their goal differential; while Japan were able to take advantage of their persistent attack in the second half, scoring three goals.
Knockout stage Japan's quarterfinal match would be against Philippines in Sydney, ending 7–0, which continued Japan's unblemished goal defence record in the tournament. The match remained goalless until the 45th minute, with a goal to Mina Tanaka, while another goal by Tōko Koga three minutes into stoppage time meant that Japan would enter half-time with a 2–0 lead. Japan's attack prowess continued to put pressure on opponents, with five goals in the second half of the match.
Japan continued their form into the semi-finals, emerging victorious over South Korea 4–1, with two goals scored in the first half from Golden Boot leader, Ueki, and Maika Hamano. After being criticised for having an "easy" run to the semi-finals, Japan's manager Nils Nielsen was "proud" of the team's performance, and highlighting that, "sometimes it's not easy to just switch and play [a team] that has much more to give and make it look easy — and they actually did it." Nielsen additionally praised South Korea for being a "great" opponent, saying that the game did not feel as easy as it looked.
Australia
Group stage
Australia played the Opening match of the tournament in Perth against Philippines with a 1–0 victory, with the team forced to bring in an extra goalkeeper due to injuries to all three squad goalkeepers, including their number one keeper Mackenzie Arnold. Despite having 85% of possession throughout the entire match, Australia only had six shots at the goal, with manager Joe Montemurro calling their performance "conservative." Australia's second pool game was against Iran at the Gold Coast, played in heavy rain, with the match ending 4–0. The match would see Hayley Raso sustain a concussion after being hit in the head by the ball twice, which put her in doubt to compete for the rest of the tournament; while Alanna Kennedy scored two goals, including the lone goal in the second-half.
Their final pool game against South Korea in Sydney would also determine who would win the pool, with Australia requiring a win to be placed as Group A's number one seeds due to South Korea having a better goal differential. The match would end in a 3–3 draw, with Kennedy scoring two of the three goals. Australia finished the first half with a 2–1 lead, while South Korea dominated possession in the second half, took the lead in the 53rd minute, and prevented Australia from creating opportunities to surpass them. Australian manager, Montemurro, described their defence as being their biggest weakness, describing their defence as being "exposed," acknowledging that the team needed to be "a little bit better and be a little bit smarter" in key moments. The draw to South Korea would mean that Australia would prevent meeting Japan until the final, described by journalists and fans as a "blessing in disguise."
Knockout stage Australia's quarterfinal match ended with a victory against North Korea, with Kennedy scoring her fifth goal of the tournament in the ninth minute, while their lead was extended by Sam Kerr in the first two minutes of the second half. North Korea would shrink Australia's lead to 2–1, with goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold able to maintain Australia's lead with multiple saves in the last 30 minutes of the match, as North Korea managed to take 21 attempted shots at goal, Arnold saving all but one. This win also guaranteed Australia's qualification to the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup. Australian captain, Kerr, was proud of the team's defensive performance and "mindset" after their early goals in both halves, which "allowed us to go on and defend the game."
Their semi-final match would be against the defending Asian Cup champions, China, in Perth Stadium. Australia would once again win 2–1, and advance to the final, their fifth major tournament final in 15 years. Caitlin Foord would score the first goal of the match in the 17th minute, only for China to level the scoreline 10 minutes later due to a handling error in Australia's defence. The second half would continue to remain a 1-all draw, until Kerr scored, courtesy of an assist from Foord.
Path to the final JapanRound AustraliaOpponentsResultsOpponentsResults2–0Match 11–011–0Match 24–04–0Match 33–3Group C winnersFinal standingsGroup A runners-upOpponentsResultsOpponentsResults7–0Quarter-final2–14–1Semi-final2–1
Pre-match
Lead up to the final Japan entered the final as favourites after going through the tournament undefeated and was the highest-ranked team in Asia. Japanese team manager Nils Nielsen, when asked to comment about his team being tipped to win the final, humorously responded, "I will be completely honest with you. That question about who's the favourite in the final, it's like asking a bee to explain to a fly why honey is better than shit," going on to state that both teams had equal chances to win the final. In their previous encounter at the 2025 SheBelieves Cup, Japan was the 4–0 winner over Australia and had previously beaten Australia 1–0 in their two previous Asian Cup finals in 2014 and 2018. Japan's strength in creating attacking opportunities without possession had contributed to their overwhelming dominance in the tournament, while their squad also had depth that allowed most of their team to compete and rest throughout the tournament. Japan had also not conceded a goal throughout the tournament until their semi-final against South Korea and had scored 28 goals across their five matches.