GOLD COAST, Australia, March 19, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The Philippines reachednext year's World Cup in Brazil after scoring twice in five minutes to beatUzbekistan 2-0 in the Women's Asian Cup playoffs on Thursday. Australia, China, Japan and South Korea have also qualified for Brazil,courtesy of making the Asian Cup semi-finals. Uzbekistan, who have never played at a World Cup, still have one finalopportunity to qualify via the inter-confederation playoffs, which will offeran additional two tickets. They played at a World Cup for the first time in 2023 when co-hosted byAustralia and New Zealand. Australia and Japan meet in the Asian Cup final on Saturday.
