A historic summit between North and South Korea in the semi-finals of the AFC U-19 Women's Asian Cup
South Korea qualified for the semi-finals of the AFC U-20 Women’s Championship (Thailand 2026) after defeating hosts Thailand 2-1 after extra time in the quarter-finals.
In regular time, South Korea took the lead through Nam Seung-yoon's goal in the 16th minute, before Thailand equalized through Madison Casteen in the 72nd minute. Then in the second period of extra time, the Korean team snatched the winning goal in the 106th minute through Park Joo-ha.
With this, the South Korean national team qualified for the semi-finals and also secured qualification for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Poland.
In another match, North Korea qualified for the semi-finals after defeating their Australian counterparts 3-0 in the quarter-finals.
The winning goals for North Korea were scored by Pak Ok-ae in the third minute, Australia's Robbie Sullivan in the 74th minute (an own goal), and Ro Un-hyang in the 90th minute.
North Korea (the defending champions) will face South Korea in the semi-finals next Wednesday, as they continue their quest to also retain the Under-20 Women's World Cup title in Poland later this year.
The second semi-final match next Wednesday will bring together China (the 2006 champions) and Japan, and they have secured two of the four qualifying spots for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland.
