On the evening of May 11, the U17 Women’s Asian Cup quarterfinal kicked off, with China defeating India 3-0 to advance to the semifinals and secure a spot in this year’s U17 Women’s World Cup.
China dominated the group stage with three straight wins, topping their group heading into the knockout rounds. India’s path was more challenging—they lost to Australia and Japan in their first two matches, only qualifying for the quarterfinals as the best third-placed team after a 4-0 victory over Lebanon. The gap in overall strength between the two sides was evident.
However, despite holding the advantage, China’s performance fell short of expectations. The team struggled to break through India’s defense, only opening the scoring late in the first half through Huang Qinyi. In first-half stoppage time, Liu Yuxi converted a penalty to make it 2-0 at the break. In the second half, China maintained pressure but could not extend the lead until the 90th minute, when Li Qixian added a third to seal the 3-0 win.
The U17 Women’s Asian Cup also serves as a qualification tournament for the U17 World Cup, with the top four teams earning tickets to the global event. Despite advancing to the semifinals and securing qualification, there was little visible joy among the Chinese squad. Liu Yuxi, who contributed a goal and an assist, admitted after the match that her overall performance did not meet expectations, particularly a nervous start before gradually finding her rhythm.
After the game, the team spent a long time in the locker room before boarding the bus. Head coach Ma Xiaoxu revealed that she explicitly expressed her dissatisfaction with the players’ performance in the dressing room: “I think we did not play well in this match. If we had been up against a stronger opponent, we might have conceded goals in the first half.” She added that the hard-fought victory was not necessarily a bad thing, as it could serve as a wake-up call for the team to identify and fix issues promptly.
China’s semifinal opponent will be North Korea. In the other quarterfinal played simultaneously, North Korea routed Thailand 6-0, showcasing formidable strength. North Korea’s U-series women’s teams are world-class, with their U17 side having won back-to-back World Cup titles in 2024 and 2025. This semifinal will be a stern test for China.
Ma Xiaoxu noted that the coaching staff has already analyzed North Korea and devised tactical plans. She expressed confidence in her team: “Through systematic training in recent weeks, I believe our players have the ability to compete with North Korea and even have a chance to beat them.”
The other semifinal of the Asian Cup will feature Japan against Australia. The two teams met in the group stage, where Japan won 5-0. It remains to be seen whether the result will differ this time.
