Sydney: Ante Milicic was beaming with pride after leading China PR to a 2-1 win over DPR Korea in their AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™ tie to emerge Group B winners on 09 March Monday, 2026

“The most important thing is that the game turned out the way we expected it,” said Milicic. “A difficult game, proper derby atmosphere, two teams who were physical with a strong desire to win the ball. 

“The game was always going to be about little moments, whether it’s an individual action or set-piece. I’m so proud of the girls. 

“For them to come back against DPR Korea and win the game in front of these excellent supporters, I’m so happy for them because they really deserve it.”

With Chen’s goal coming off the back of a corner kick and followed by Wang Shuang’s effort from a free-kick, the importance of set-pieces was highlighted by Milicic as one of the factors he had identified to be key for his team.

“When I first took this job and made the analysis, I knew set-piece attacking and defending needed a lot of work. We knew tonight wasn’t going to be a game to have a lot of chances from open play. 

“We worked a lot on it, not just in the training ground but in the video room. We have players with good deliveries and players who can time their runs really well and I’m happy we could show that tonight.”

Disappointment was etched on the face of Ri Song Ho as he felt that China PR’s two goals affected the confidence of his players but felt the match will serve as a valuable lesson as he looks to refocus his side for Friday’s quarter-final against Australia.

“In the beginning, it was fairly good,” said Ri. “But after conceding the goals, the team was not mentally prepared to recover and perhaps lacking in experience. 

“We were in passive mode and we couldn’t solve the problems we were facing on the pitch, so we had to accept the defeat in the end and learn from this."

“From today’s match, I think that mental preparation is as important as physical preparation. When we have those two factors ready, we will be prepared to play any match. 

“The tactics didn’t go as we wanted but it’s a lesson for us and we have to regroup and be ready for the next match.”

Text from AFC