WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Surprise winners, shock losers in 32-team World Cup group stage
After Jamaica clinched a spot in the last 16 of the Women’s World Cup at the expense of soccer giants Brazil on Wednesday, one reporter suggested it made the Reggae Girlz the “Cinderella team” of the tournament.
Jamaica coach Lorne Donaldson, who rolled around the Melbourne pitch in celebration of the scoreless draw that secured their passage to the knockout rounds for the first time, was not certain how suitable the analogy was.
“Cinderella wears a pretty dress, so I don’t know,” he laughed.
“We’re going to take it one game at a time. If we can wear a pretty dress, we’ll put it on.”
There were plenty of other fairytales in the first two weeks of the tournament with Morocco, South Africa, Norway and co-hosts Australia the big group-stage winners.
The losers? Germany, Brazil, Canada, the other co-hosts New Zealand, and China.
Morocco were expected to make an early exit as the 72nd-ranked team, but bounced back from a 6-0 defeat in their opener to become the lowest ranked side ever to make the knockout round with their 1-0 win over Colombia in Perth.
They still needed South Korea to prevent a Germany win in Thursday’s other group match and had a few nervous moments while waiting for the final whistle in Brisbane.
“We were praying, waiting for the result to come out of the Germany and Korea game,” said midfielder Anissa Lahmari. “It was a draw and afterwards it was a complete explosion of joy.”
The stunning upsets sent twice German champions packing in their first exit from the group stage in nine editions of the World Cup.
Jamaican joy on Wednesday also meant despair for Brazil, who exited from the group stage for the first time since 1995, following Canada’s premature exit at the hands of co-hosts Australia on Monday.
That left the tournament without two of the game’s greatest players with Brazil striker Marta and Canada’s talisman captain Christine Sinclair, who both bowed out of their sixth World Cups in the worst possible way.
SHOT IN THE ARM
Australia’s chances were on a razor’s edge before they crushed Canada 4-0 without needing injured forward Sam Kerr, their leading scorer. Their advancement was a huge shot in the arm for the tournament after the loss of New Zealand.
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson said in a post-match interview that he cried “tears of joy” after the match.
Their courageous win made Canada the first reigning Olympic champions to get knocked out in the group stage and the image of shell-shocked keeper Kailen Sheridan in tears before the final whistle captured Canada’s collective heartache.
Revived Norway were a big group stage winner, brushing off a turbulent two weeks to squeeze into the knockout rounds on goal difference over New Zealand.
Winger Caroline Graham Hansen had apologised earlier in the tournament for an angry outburst in a TV interview after coach Hege Riise dropped her to the bench.
Norway’s advancement sealed New Zealand’s fate, despite the Football Ferns having edged the Norwegians 1-0 for their first win at a World Cup at the tournament’s opening match.
The game itself was a big winner in the island nation of five million people, with 42,958 fans squeezing into Auckland’s historic Eden Park for Portugal versus the U.S., the largest crowd for a soccer match in New Zealand.
Defending champions the United States did not lose a game in the group stage but scraping through to the knockout rounds in second place with a nervy 0-0 draw against debutants Portugal was hardly a “win” for a team used to dominating.
South Africa are not used to dominating outside their own continent and the nation erupted in celebration after the Banyana Banyana knocked out Italy, quarter-finalists four years ago, to progress with their first ever World Cup win.
“You have lifted our spirits and made us immensely proud,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter. “Bring the cup home!”
China’s Steel Roses, once titans of women’s soccer with silver medals from the 1996 Olympics and 1999 World Cup, were shock losers in the group stage, bowing out in a 6-1 thumping by England.
Shui Qingxia, who coached the team to the Asian title last year, vowed China would regain its status after clearly falling behind the likes of England.
“We can see there’s a huge gap between us and the European teams,” Shui said.
“We are not going to see this gap and do nothing, but rather we will do things like transition and balance and physicality.”
-Reuters
The Iranian women’s soccer team crossed the Turkish border into Iran on Wednesday to complete a fraught return journey from Australia, after five members withdrew asylum claims they had lodged there.
Australia had granted humanitarian visas to six players and one support staff member after they sought asylum, saying they feared possible persecution if they returned to Iran.
Concerns over their safety surfaced when several players failed to sing the national anthem at a women’s Asian Cup match earlier this month after the United States and Israel launched the war against Iran. Iranian state television had labelled them “wartime traitors”.
The team, which flew into Istanbul on Tuesday, took a flight to Igdir in eastern Turkey on Wednesday morning.
The players emerged from Igdir Airport, pulling their luggage and chatted in front of the terminal before boarding a bus to the border. One of them briefly smiled and waved at a TV camera before the bus departed. After a trip of around two hours to the frontier, they went through passport control at the Gurbulak border gate before crossing over into Iran.
A bus carrying members of the Iranian women’s national soccer team arrives at the Gurbulak Border Gate, a crossing point between Turkey and Iran, as they travel to their home country after five players withdrew the asylum claims they had lodged in Australia over safety concerns about returning due to not singing the national anthem at a women’s Asian Cup match earlier this month, in the eastern Agri province, Turkey, March 18, 2026. REUTERS/Ali Ihsan Ozturk
The team’s Asian Cup campaign began just as the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They were eliminated from the tournament more than a week ago.
Five of those who had sought asylum in Australia subsequently changed their minds and decided to return home, with Australian media reporting the latest withdrawal on Monday.
They rejoined the rest of the squad in Kuala Lumpur, where the team had been staying since leaving Sydney last week.
The Iranian Football Association (FFIRI) said last week that those who had changed their minds would travel home with the rest of the team “to once again be embraced by their families and homeland.”
Two players are still in Australia and have been pictured training with a local A-League club.
-Reuters
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The two players from the Iranian women’s soccer squad who chose to remain in Australia after seeking asylum have been pictured training with a local A-League club as they begin their new lives in the country.
Midfielder Fatemeh Pasandideh and defender Atefeh Ramezanizadeh were among seven members of Iran’s delegation granted humanitarian visas amid fears of possible persecution if they returned home after competing in the women’s Asian Cup in Australia.
Concerns over their safety emerged after the players failed to sing their national anthem before their opening match on the Gold Coast in the state of Queensland. Iranian state media labelled them as “wartime traitors”, with the team’s campaign beginning as the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on Iran.
Five members of the group, however, subsequently changed their minds about Australia’s asylum offer and decided to return home.
Queensland-based A-League club Brisbane Roar announced on social media the remaining two players, Pasandideh and Ramezanizadeh, had joined a training session with its women’s team on Monday.
“Brisbane Roar officially welcomed both Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanizadeh to the club’s training facilities…and remain committed to providing a supportive environment for them whilst they navigate the next stages,” CEO Kaz Patafta said.
Photos posted by the club showed the two players meeting the Brisbane Roar squad and taking part in shooting drills.
“Thank you for everything,” wrote Ramezanizadeh, 33, under the post on Instagram.
Pasandideh, 21, also posted on her Instagram story on Monday a photo with FIFA Chief Football Officer Jill Ellis in Brisbane with a caption saying “everything will be fine”.
While the pair began their new lives in Australia, their former teammates made their way home to Iran from Malaysia.
The team was seen at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Monday evening, checking in on an Oman Air flight, although their destination was unclear.
-Reuters
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WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Three Iranian women soccer players to return home after seeking asylum in Australia
Three members of the Iranian women’s soccer team who had sought asylum in Australia have decided to return to Iran, Australia’s government said on Sunday.
Australia granted humanitarian visas to seven Iranian footballers last week after they sought asylum, saying they feared persecution if they returned home after they failed to sing the national anthem at a Women’s Asian Cup match.
Four of the seven members have decided to leave Australia so far. Another member changed her mind last week.
“After telling Australian officials they had made this decision, the players were given repeated chances to talk about their options,” Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement.
“While the Australian Government can ensure that opportunities are provided and communicated, we cannot remove the context in which the players are making these incredibly difficult decisions,” he added.
The Iranian Football Association (FFIRI) named the players as Mona Hamoudi, Zahra Sarbali and Zahra Meshkehkar.
“After arriving in Malaysia and joining the rest of Iran’s women’s national football team, the three players will travel to Tehran in the coming days to once again be embraced by their families and homeland,” FFIRI added in a statement.
The Iranian team’s campaign in the Asian Cup started just as the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, killing the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They were eliminated from the tournament last Sunday.
-Reuters
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