A long way from the war, Iran loses its opening Women’s Asian Cup game to South Korea
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Iran has opened its Women’s Asian Cup soccer tournament under the shadow of war
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AFC Asian Cup
Association football tournament
The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest continental football championship in the world after Copa Amé...
South Korea
Country in East Asia
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and the Sea of Japan to the east. South Korea claims to be the sole le...
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A long way from the war, Iran loses its opening Women’s Asian Cup game to South Korea Iran has opened its Women’s Asian Cup soccer tournament under the shadow of war By The Associated Press March 2, 2026, 6:39 AM GOLD COAST, Australia -- Zahra Ghanbari and her Iran team stood while their national anthem played at the Women’s Asian Cup soccer tournament on Monday, a long way from the war that started on the weekend with a major attack by Israel and the United States. Before the opening loss against South Korea, Iran head coach Marziyeh Jafari declined to comment on the military strikes or the death of her country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , saying the squad needed to focus on the tournament. The mood was mostly sombre during the anthem, although there were some smiles to acknowledge supporters at the Gold Coast stadium. And then it was down to the business of football. South Korea, runners-up at the 2022 Women's Asian Cup, won 3-0 despite the dogged defense of the Iranians anchored by goalkeeper Maryam Yektaei. The South Koreans had 20 shots in the first half but only led 1-0 at the break on Choe Yu-ri's goal in the 37th minute. She swooped on the rebound when Jang Sel-gi's angled left-foot shot deflected off the post. Kim Hye-ri converted from the penalty spot in the 59th minute and Ko Yoo-jin finished off the scoring with a well-timed glancing header in the 75th. “We definitely could have scored a few more — missed a couple of chances — that's something we’ll definitely work on in the upcoming trainings,” South Korea substitute Casey Phair said. “But I think it was a really good starting point to start the tournament with three points.” Ghanbari, the captain, was substituted off late in regulation. Her team had only 21% of possession in the game and had just three shots at goal compared with 32 for the South Koreans. A small pocket of Iran fans chanted and waved red, white and green flags, including the pre-Islamic revolution flag. Popular Reads Iran ...
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