Australia captain Sam Kerr sealed a 2-1 victory for China with a second-half strike on Tuesday to send the hosts into their fourth Asian Women’s Cup final.
The Matildas will be chasing a second trophy in the continental competition and first since 2010 against either Japan or South Korea, who will play in the second semi-final in Sydney on Wednesday.
Scoring in front of the home fans for the third time in the event, Kerr scored the winner on 58 minutes, carving the needle from a tight corner to send the Perth Stadium crowd into a frenzy.
Defending champions China leveled the match with Zhang Linyan’s penalty kick in the 26th minute following an early strike by Caitlin Foord, who also scored Kerr’s winner.
“I can’t gather my emotions right now,” Kerr said. “I know we came in as one of the favorites but we’ve come a long way to be here and it feels good to be here now in the final.
“I didn’t care who scored tonight or how we won, I just wanted to make sure we won.
