OFFICIAL: The four quarter-final matches of the 2026 Asian Cup Finals have been determined.

After the group stage concluded, the eight teams and four quarter-final pairings for the 2026 Women's Asian Cup have been finalized.

There were no surprises for the Vietnamese women's national team in their final group stage match. They only needed to lose by no more than two goals to keep their hopes alive for advancing, but coach Mai Đức Chung and his players could not overcome the overwhelming strength of the Japanese women's team. Ultimately, the Vietnamese women's team had to accept a 0-4 defeat.

This result prevented the Vietnamese women's team from qualifying among the top two or three third-place teams, thereby officially stopping at the group stage of the 2026 Women's Asian Cup. Simultaneously, the door to the World Cup also closed for coach Mai Đức Chung and his team, and this can be seen as the moment marking the end of the journey for Vietnam's golden generation of women's football.

In Group C, Japan secured the top spot, while Taiwan (China) finished second and both advanced to the quarter-finals. After the group stage concluded, the eight teams participating in the quarter-finals of the 2026 Women's Asian Cup have been determined: South Korea, Australia, Philippines, China, North Korea, Uzbekistan, Japan, and Taiwan.

According to the tournament bracket, Quarter-final 1 is the match between South Korea (Group A winner) and Uzbekistan (the third-place team from Group B). Quarter-final 2 features the clash between Japan (Group C winner) and Philippines (the third-place team from Group A). In Quarter-final 3, China (Group B winner) will face Taiwan (Group C runner-up), while the final quarter-final is the encounter between Australia (Group A runner-up) and North Korea (Group B runner-up).

This can be described as a sorrowful farewell for Vietnam's golden generation of women's football from the continental stage. The 2026 Asian Cup Finals will also be the last Asian Finals used as a qualifying round for the World Cup. Starting from subsequent World Cup Finals, there will be a separate qualifying round for Asian women's national teams.

The list of eight teams advancing to the quarter-finals of the 2026 Women's Asian Cup also has a strong chance of participating in the 2017 Women's World Cup Finals, as the top six performing Asian teams will secure direct spots in the global tournament. The remaining two teams will still have an opportunity to compete for tickets in the intercontinental play-off round, meaning each quarter-finalist in Asia has two chances to earn a World Cup berth.

Japanese fans collectively reacted after their team's decisive victory over the Vietnamese national team.

Ranking of the third-place teams in the 2026 Women's Asian Cup Finals: Has Vietnam advanced?