The 2006 AFC Women's Asian Cup was a women's football tournament for women's national teams from countries affiliated to the Asian Football Confederation. It was the 15th installment of the AFC Women's Asian Cup. Unlike the previous tournament which was held every two years, the tournament has been moved back a year to 2006. The structure of the competition has changed for this tournament, with a qualifying tournament and a separate championship tournament. The four qualifiers of the sub-tournament went on to compete for the Championship proper against the four automatic finalists. Australia were added to the final tournament following their switch from Oceania Football Confederation to the Asian confederation. The finals of the tournament were held in Australia in July 2006 - the hosting rights were originally given to Japan, but after Australia moved conferences, they were given the hosting rights. All matches in the main tournament were held in Adelaide. The tournament also acted as Asia's qualifying tournament for the 2007 Women's World Cup. Two spots were available in addition to the automatic spot given to China as World Cup hosts. China won the tournament, beating hosts Australia in the final. Thus, Australia took the first qualifying spot, while North Korea defeated Japan in the third place play-off to take second place. Japan now play off with the third-placed team in the CONCACAF region, despite beating China in the group stages.
Winners qualify for the 2007 Women's World Cup. In the China v North Korea match, China conceded a potential equaliser in injury time, but it was disallowed for offside. The North Koreans reacted by throwing bottles and other objects at the referees, and North Korean goalkeeper Han Hye-yong kicked Italian referee Anna De Toni from behind. Three North Korean players, including Han, were suspended before the third place play-off. North Korea protested the decision, demanding a rematch and a reversal of the suspensions.
Third place match
As China were automatically qualified as hosts, North Korea qualified for the World Cup as the third-placed team in the tournament. Japan will play off with the third-placed team from the 2006 Women's Gold Cup in the CONCACAF region.
