AFC Women's Champions League
With China PR’s Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC, Ho Chi Minh City Women’s FC of Vietnam, Korea Republic’s Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC and Melbourne City FC of Australia the sides in the hunt for the prestigious honour of being Asia’s best, the-AFC.com picks out two key players from each of the four semi-finalists.
Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC (CHN) v Ho Chi Minh City Women’s FC (VIE)
Tereza Engesha (Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC)
Tereza Engesha turned out for the Red Angels during the Group Stage before making the move to Wuhan, having scored a brace of goals in each of the matches against UAE’s Abu Dhabi Country Club and Sabah FA of Malaysia.
The 27-year-old forward had already played her part in getting Wuhan to this stage of the competition, helping her new club edge Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies on penalties with her physical strength being a danger for any opposition team.
Yao Wei (Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC)
Club captain Yao Wei has been the driving force behind Wuhan’s progress, one of the few who has played every single minute of the campaign so far.
The 27-year-old midfielder was one of Wuhan’s scorers in their 7-0 victory over Sabah in the group stage and also showed her steely determination in putting away her spot-kick in the 6-5 shootout success against Urawa.
Huynh Nhu (Ho Chi Minh City Women’s FC)
A legend of women’s football in Vietnam, Huynh Nhu has seen it all and despite being 33-years-old, is still going strong on both fronts after leading her nation to a maiden FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023 and now has the opportunity to take her club to glory.
Forward Huynh Nhu has three goals from the Group Stage, having grabbed a brace in the 3-1 success against Taichung Blue Whale Women’s Football Team of Chinese Taipei before netting once in the 3-1 win against India’s Odisha FC.
Chuong Thi Kieu (Ho Chi Minh City Women’s FC)
Another one to have played every single minute of the campaign, Chuong Thi Kieu is the rock in defence for the Vietnamese side with the central defender often likened to Que Ngoc Hai of the men’s team.
The 29-year-old is also useful at the other end of the pitch, as proven by her goal in the quarter-final which helped Ho Chi Minh City claw back from 3-0 down to secure an epic 5-4 victory against Abu Dhabi.
Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC (KOR) v Melbourne City FC (AUS)
Jang Chang (Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC)
Central midfielder Jang Chang kickstarted Red Angels’ campaign in the competition with the opening goal in their first Group Stage match against Sabah which ended in a 3-0 win as the Korea Republic outfit eventually topped Group A.
The 28-year-old is renowned for her passing abilities and is the fulcrum of the engine room, dictating play as part of the midfield trio formation preferred by head coach Hur Jung-jae.
Bae Ye-bin (Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC)
Only joined the team at the start of the year but such is Bae Ye-bin’s qualities, the central midfielder is already one of the key components of the Red Angels team at the tender age of 20.
The rising star of Korea Republic women’s football, Bae was still a teenager when she was selected as part of her nation’s squad for the FIFA Women’s World Cup two years ago as well as playing a key part helping her nation reach the semi-finals of the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup™ Uzbekistan 2024.
Mariana Speckmaier (Melbourne City FC)
Born in the United States to Venezuelan parents, Mariana Speckmaier plays international football for Venezuela and is one of Melbourne’s stars in their run to the last four, with four goals to her name.
The 27-year-old is the only player to have found the back of the net in each of the four games from the Group Stage to the Quarter-finals and the forward will be looking to hit more to take Melbourne into Saturday’s final.
Alexia Apostolakis (Melbourne City FC)
Still only 19, Alexia Apostolakis is already a mainstay in defence for Michael Matricciani’s Melbourne side - having started in all their matches and helping the team record three clean sheets from four matches.
The lanky centre-back was part of the Young Matildas side that finished third at Uzbekistan 2024 and was called up by the senior squad for their friendlies against Korea Republic in April.
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