Taipei: Taiwan’s women’s soccer team advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup after defeating India 3-1 at Western Sydney Stadium on Tuesday. Taiwan took the lead in the 12th minute when forward Su Yu-hsuan opened the scoring. India equalized in the 39th minute, but Taiwan regained the lead on an Indian own goal before halftime. Chen Yu-chin added a third goal in the 77th minute to seal the victory.

According to Focus Taiwan, head coach Prasobchoke Chokemor expressed satisfaction after the match, noting that the players performed well and maintained their style of play even in challenging situations. Along with the win over India, Taiwan lost to Japan 2-0 and topped Vietnam 1-0 to finish second in Group C with a 2-1 record. This performance automatically advanced them to the quarterfinals, where they will face China in Perth on March 14.

China remains one of Asia’s strongest teams, Chokemor said, but while the Chinese defeated Taiwan twice last year, he felt the team has devised tacti
cs to give them a game. Should Taiwan pull off the upset against China, it will qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

Meanwhile, former national team coach Chen Kuei-jen, who traveled with the squad as an adviser to Taiwan’s Ministry of Sports, was reportedly asked to leave the sidelines after cheering “Taiwan.” In response to the incident, the Chinese Taipei Football Association stated that the AFC instructed Taiwanese fans to refer to the team as “Chinese Taipei.”