Despite being robbed of Sam Kerr in the group stage on the eve of the tournament by injury, Australia soldiered on and even a shock 3-2 defeat to Nigeria did not derail their charge into the knockout stage.

 

England in the semi-finals and Sweden after that proved too strong but the Matildas can only grow stronger from here with the support women's football is expected to receive after their historic outing. 

Unlucky to have suffered a a late 1-0 defeat to Denmark in their opening match, China PR bounced back to beat Haiti.

 

European champions England, however, proved too strong as they cruised to a 6-1 win but China PR showed glimpses of their quality and will look forward to the future with hope. 

A perfect group stage climaxed with a 4-0 win over eventual world champions Spain and another masterclass saw them defeat Norway 3-1 in the Round of 16. 

 

The quarter-final against Sweden was a strange affair as Japan woke up from their slumber late in the game and could have well won despite trailing 2-0 as they missed a penalty, struck the woodwork before finally pulling a goal back. 

 

It may have been a disappointing end but Golden Boot winner Hinata Miyazawa and her teammates can only improve from here on. 

Head coach Colin Bell was frank in his assessment of his team after their opening two matches which ended in defeats to Colombia and Morocco, saying his players had not displayed their true character in both games. 

 

The result against Germany, however, showed just what Korea Republic are capable of and they must build on that if they are to consistently challenge on the Asian and world stages.

The Filipinas, however, did just that as they bounced back from a 2-0 defeat to Switzerland to beat co-hosts New Zealand 1-0. 

 

Norway ultimately proved too strong, winning 6-0 but the tournament was a massive success for the Southeast Asian side, winning a match in their tournament debut. The challenge now is to build on this. 

An opening match against the United States, who were chasing a third consecutive title - could have resulted in the tournament debutanst folding but the opposite happened as the East Asian side showed tremendous resilience to limit their opponents to a 3-0 win.

 

That was followed by 2-0 and 7-0 defeats against Portugal and Netherlands but the experience gained can only mean good for Vietnam's progress and with the right approach, they can be challenging Asia's biggest teams very soon.