Milicic proud as Steel Roses battle back to top group at Asian Cup

SYDNEY — China head coach Ante Milicic said that he is proud of his team's two-year journey to the quarterfinals of the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup following its 2-1 win against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in Sydney on Monday night.

The Steel Roses came back from a goal down to beat DPRK and secure first place in Group B, giving them a more favorable draw in the knockout stage of the tournament.

Speaking after the match, Milicic said he knew the result would be decided by "little moments" in the game.

"I'm so proud of our girls because people will just look at tonight, but we started this two years ago, and for them to come back against DPRK and win a game in front of these excellent supporters that we had tonight, I'm just so happy for them, because they really deserve this," he said.

After falling behind to a Kim Kyong-yong counterattack goal in the 32nd minute, defender Chen Qiaozhu drew China level two minutes later.

Wang Shuang gave China a 2-1 lead before the interval when her goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time was awarded upon review.

DPRK pushed hard for an equalizer in the second half, but could not create clear chances against a solid Chinese defense led by Chen.

Wang said she was very happy with the win, but the result was not something she had thought of beforehand, because "we approach every match with the mindset of giving our all and fighting our opponents with everything we have".

"Today, many of our young players were able to defeat a strong team like DPRK for the first time in a major competition. That's a big boost to everyone's confidence," she told reporters after the match.

"In terms of mentality, we gave 100 percent. From the first minute to the 90th, we fought for every ball and contested every challenge. Our desire to win was even stronger than theirs," Wang said.

It means that China will play the Group C runner-up, most likely Chinese Taipei or Vietnam, in its quarterfinal at HBF Park in Perth, Western Australia, on Saturday afternoon, while DPRK will play tournament host Australia at the same venue, also known as the Perth Rectangular Stadium, in its quarterfinal on Friday night.

Milicic, who coached the Australian women's team on an interim basis from 2019-20, said that he was happy to avoid the host nation in the quarterfinals.

He said that his team would briefly enjoy Monday night's win before starting preparations for the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

"We have to respect every opponent that we play and, ultimately, make sure that we focus on ourselves and keep going the way we've been working, which is game by game," he said.

"We can't look too far ahead. I believe that if we can maintain calmness in the group, that we have a good chance of putting on a good performance again in our next game."

The winners of the two Perth quarterfinals will face off in the semifinals at the city's larger Optus Stadium on March 17, with the final set to take place in Sydney on March 21.

Xinhua