A long way from the war, Iran loses its opening Women’s Asian Cup game to South Korea

By Canadian Press on March 2, 2026.

GOLD COAST, Australia (AP) — 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.

The mood was mostly sombre during the anthem, although there were some smiles to acknowledge a small pocket of supporters in red, white and green national colors 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.

Ghanbari, the captain, left the field after a collision 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.

Iran will next play tournament host Australia on Thursday at the same venue on the Gold Coast, a beachside tourist destination in Queensland state.

A tournament record crowd of 44,379 attended the opening game in Perth on Sunday to see hometown star Sam Kerr score in Australia’s 1-0 win over Philippines.

After that win, Kerr acknowledged the difficult circumstances for the Iranian team.

“They’re young girls and young footballers … we’ll treat the game like any other game and show the team the utmost respect and prepare properly,” Kerr told the tournament’s Australian TV broadcaster.

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The Associated Press