Iran lose to South Korea as war-torn nation makes defiant Women’s Asian Cup start

Amid an ongoing war involving Iran, the US and Israel, the brave Iranian women’s football team suffered a 0-3 beating at the hands of South Korea in their Women’s Asian Cup opener at Queensland’s Gold Coast on Monday (Mar 2). The last time’s runners-up, Korea, made light work of Iran, who showed no signs of being affected by the war raging at home, with several supporters waving Shah-era flags during the fixture.

Speaking of her team’s performance, South Korea’s Casey Phair, who came on as a substitute in the second half, said her side had plenty of room for improvement despite a lop-sided win.

"We worked really hard and performed really well, but we could have scored a few more goals, and we missed a couple of chances," Phair said. "That's something we can work on in training, but I think it was a really good starting point for the tournament."

South Korea now head their pool on goal difference after Australia only managed a 1-0 win over the Philippines on Sunday.

The Koreans dominated from the outset as Iran sat back in defence, trying to limit the damage rather than take the attack to their opponents. For most of the first half, the tactic was successful despite the Koreans having 81 per cent possession and 20 shots at goal.

However, the relentless attack eventually told in the 37th minute when a shot from Jang Sel-gi rebounded off the upright to Choe Yu-ri, who slotted home off her left boot, giving South Korea a 1-0 lead at the break.

Iran made three substitutions at halftime and came out in the second with a more attacking mindset. They had a rare chance in the 56th minute, but Zahra Ghanbari's shot went straight to keeper Kim Min-jung. But the game was as good as over four minutes later when Korea's Lee Eun-young was brought down in the box by Melika Motevalli, and Kim Hye-ri slotted the penalty.

South Korean captain Ko Yoo-jin put the icing on the cake when she headed in from a 75th-minute Kim Hye-ri free kick to score her first goal for her country.

South Korea next play the Philippines, while Australia take on Iran in a double-header on the Gold Coast on Thursday.

The top two sides from each of the three groups, along with the two best third-placed teams, progress to the quarter-finals. At stake for the top six finishers is qualification for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.

(With inputs from AFP)