Australian and Chelsea star Sam Kerr is undoubtedly the most eminent footballer participating in the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022 in progress. Kerr was ranked stood second in the FIFA's The Best Women's Award alongside winner Alexia Putellas and the third-ranked Jennifer Hermoso. 

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Are you aware of the fact that Sam is back in the nation where her father and paternal grandparents were born? Well, Kerr is competing in the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022 as mentioned earlier. India is hosting the marquee tournament. It might seem shocking, but the Australian player happens to have a connection with India.

Kerr's connection with India

Her grandparents Denzil Mowbray Kerr and Coral Beryl Kerr were born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. Denzil was an Englishman and Coral was from the Anglo-Indian community. Denzil was a metallurgist and also represented Bengal in featherweight boxing. On the other hand, Kerr's grandmother Coral played basketball during her time.

Read also: AFC Women's Asian Cup: When and where to watch India vs Chinese Taipei match India?

Sam's father Roger Kerr was also born in the 'City of Joy' in 1960. Later in 1969, he along with his family migrated to Australia during the mass exodus of the Anglo-Indian community. They migrated from India after independence and then the family of three settled in Fremantle, a suburb of Perth.

In a video shared by the Westfield Matildas, Coral said, "I think that we made a fantastic choice in coming to Australia because we were originally booked to go to England. But, the doctor said my husband wouldn't make it because of the weather; it's too cold. So, then we applied to come here. It's just great. My husband just loved it, he thought it was absolutely marvelous. At that time, all the Anglo-Indians were leaving: some to Canada, some to England. We sent my younger sister to England and we were going to follow, but we never followed. So, she stayed over there – she's been there for sixty years – and we've been here just over fifty."

The Chelsea forward mentioned quite a few times that she is very proud of her roots. Also, she admires being a role model for the Indian girls who follow her on various social media platforms.

Kerr said in an interview with Forbes, "My Indian heritage is something I'm really proud of and I know my nanna's (Coral Kerr) really proud that I'm representing young Indian girls whenever I go out there and play. I think (reaching the UCL final) was a really cool moment for my nan, and my family over here that is English, they're really proud of me too. I hope it inspires young girls."

China made an exceptional comeback against Japan in their AFC Women's Asian Cup semi-final tie. A strong-willed China went down by a goal twice in the match yet they equalized on both occasions. A 2-2 draw resulted in a penalty kick in which China came out victorious after a 4-3 win on penalties. With this gritty comeback, China is now into the finals of the AFC Women's Asian Cup and will face South Korea. Who beat the Philippines 2-0 on the same Balewadi Stadium in Pune.

2 times cup winner Japan took the lead twice in the match, the first one in the normal 90 minutes and the second one in extra time. But China was all prepared to reply every time Japan scored. However, the penalty thriller kept the steel roses in contention for their 9th title. China won seven consecutive titles between 1986 and 1989, however, their 8th one came in 2006.

AFC Women's Asian Cup: Progression of the Match

Japan was the strong starters of the match as they took an early test of the China goalkeeper Yu Zhu from a ranged attempt from Hinata Miyazawa. However, Riko Ueki slipped away their golden opportunity to put them in front just 3 minutes into the game.

Japan kept putting pressure as Ueki was threatening the Chinese defence with her quick footwork. On the other hand, Ruka Norimatsu's attempt in the sixth minute was parried away by Yu Zhu.

Japan steps up by putting pressure on Saki Kumagai and Mana Iwabuchi but both miss some crucial shots. However, the Chinese defence managed to maintain their composure.

However, it was Riko Ueki who found the breakthrough goal around the 26th-minute mark. It was Hinata Miyazawa who burst down the left flank and sent a perfect cross which set up Ueki brilliantly to finish it in the back of the net. In the meantime, Japan was again on the brink of doubling their lead with Miyazawa sending her long-range effort just wide.

The Second Half:

Just a few moments after the 2nd half resumed, China found their equalizer. Xiao Yuyi forced her way past a Japanese defence to send a delightful ball to Wu Chengshu to finish.

Japan, on the other hand, got a handful of opportunities and the most important one around the 75th minute. Ueki failed to find the back of the net from close range after Iwabuchi's cut-back.

AFC Women's Asian Cup: Extra Time and Penalties

After a close 1-1 draw, the match made its way to extra time. It was again Japan who almost took the lead around the 97th minute after Ueki set up Hasegawa nicely, which hit the crossbar.

But eventually, the Japanese forces got their lead back after a brilliant finish from Ueki; As she beat past China's offside trap to reach the header from the free-kick in the 103rd minute.

The Steel Roses never ever gave up on their hopes of equalising again. China skipper Wang Shanshan stepped up to score the equaliser as she reacted quickly to Zhang Xin's cross in the 119th minute to force the game into penalties. 

The Penalties:

Yu Zhu then saved the first and fifth penalties and Wang Shanshan, fittingly, scored the winner from the spot as China advanced to their first final since 2008.

China made an exceptional comeback against Japan in their AFC Women's Asian Cup semi-final tie. A strong-willed China went down by a goal twice in the match yet they equalized on both occasions. A 2-2 draw resulted in a penalty kick in which China came out victorious after a 4-3 win on penalties. With this gritty comeback, China is now into the finals of the AFC Women's Asian Cup and will face South Korea. Who beat the Philippines 2-0 on the same Balewadi Stadium in Pune.

2 times cup winner Japan took the lead twice in the match, the first one in the normal 90 minutes and the second one in extra time. But China was all prepared to reply every time Japan scored. However, the penalty thriller kept the steel roses in contention for their 9th title. China won seven consecutive titles between 1986 and 1989, however, their 8th one came in 2006.

AFC Women's Asian Cup: Progression of the Match

Japan was the strong starters of the match as they took an early test of the China goalkeeper Yu Zhu from a ranged attempt from Hinata Miyazawa. However, Riko Ueki slipped away their golden opportunity to put them in front just 3 minutes into the game.

Japan kept putting pressure as Ueki was threatening the Chinese defence with her quick footwork. On the other hand, Ruka Norimatsu's attempt in the sixth minute was parried away by Yu Zhu.

Japan steps up by putting pressure on Saki Kumagai and Mana Iwabuchi but both miss some crucial shots. However, the Chinese defence managed to maintain their composure.

However, it was Riko Ueki who found the breakthrough goal around the 26th-minute mark. It was Hinata Miyazawa who burst down the left flank and sent a perfect cross which set up Ueki brilliantly to finish it in the back of the net. In the meantime, Japan was again on the brink of doubling their lead with Miyazawa sending her long-range effort just wide.

The Second Half:

Just a few moments after the 2nd half resumed, China found their equalizer. Xiao Yuyi forced her way past a Japanese defence to send a delightful ball to Wu Chengshu to finish.

Japan, on the other hand, got a handful of opportunities and the most important one around the 75th minute. Ueki failed to find the back of the net from close range after Iwabuchi's cut-back.

AFC Women's Asian Cup: Extra Time and Penalties

After a close 1-1 draw, the match made its way to extra time. It was again Japan who almost took the lead around the 97th minute after Ueki set up Hasegawa nicely, which hit the crossbar.

But eventually, the Japanese forces got their lead back after a brilliant finish from Ueki; As she beat past China's offside trap to reach the header from the free-kick in the 103rd minute.

The Steel Roses never ever gave up on their hopes of equalising again. China skipper Wang Shanshan stepped up to score the equaliser as she reacted quickly to Zhang Xin's cross in the 119th minute to force the game into penalties. 

The Penalties:

Yu Zhu then saved the first and fifth penalties and Wang Shanshan, fittingly, scored the winner from the spot as China advanced to their first final since 2008.

The quarter-final of the AFC Women's Asian Championship between Japan and Thailand is the first Indian match to use the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology. Japan thrashed Thailand with a stunning 7-0 win and booked the semi-final ticket in the AFC Women's Asian Championship.

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Just before the quarter-final match, an announcement was made that the tournament will witness the use of VAR technology from the knockout matches. Though the technology was not that impactful for any important decisions, it surely marked a historical move in Indian football.

In the next match in Pune, the technology proved to be quite helpful. According to a VAR check, Korean Republic received a penalty, but Cho So-hyun could not net the goal. In the second half, there was once again a penalty check when Steph Catley seemed to have been pushed inside the box. But the VAR technology did not indicate any penalty. After some time, Ji So-yun netted the winning goal and defeated Australia 1-0.

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How the VAR works:

6 video match officials have the access to 7 different live cameras for inspecting every live-action of the field of the ongoing AFC Women's Asian Championship. Also, the VAR technology will review these 4 categories of decisions; goal/ no goal, penalty/ no penalty, Direct red card, and Mistaken identity while showing a red or yellow card.

The on-field referee will work along with the VAR official to take these decisions. Also, either 2 of the above-mentioned can initiate the review of decisions. In fact, the VAR official can ask the on-field referee to reverse their decisions. Meanwhile, the on-field referee can also initiate an On-Field Review (OFR) by slowing the match and then reviewing the screen footage. As a matter of fact, the on-field referee can choose to ignore the VAR's advice.

India will face Chinese Taipei in the ongoing AFC Women's Asian Cup after drawing against Iran. This will be a very much crucial game for the Indian team to qualify for the quarter-finals of the tournament.

The India vs Chinese Taipei match will start at 7.30 pm. The encounter will be played at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. The match can also be seen live on www.the-aiff.com, and Indian Football's official social media platforms.

In their previous match against China, the Taipei team had faced a hard loss. They were thrashed by their opponent by a 4-0 goal margin. Meanwhile, despite creating a lot of chances, India was forced to draw against Iran. In fact, that has made the Group A of the AFC Women's Asian Cup more interesting.

Read Also: AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022: Australia beats Indonesia by 18-0

In Group-A, China is now at the top position. Meantime, India and Iran are tied at the second position. However, India is very much confident about winning against the Taipei team and registering their place in the quarter-finals.

"For us, the focus is solely on the game against Chinese Taipei. Even if they lost to China, they're still a good team. We need to have a good performance to take points from that game."

Head Coach Thomas Dennerby

The Indian team is also not focusing on the points table despite a lot of permutations and combinations going on. "We are not at all concerned about the table at the moment. We need to get our job done in the next 90 minutes," the head coach added.

Australian Women's Football team just beat the Indonesian Women's team by 18 goals. The Aussies created a massacre in the Indonesian goal-line as Samantha Kerr scored five goals for them in the Group B contest in AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022.

Samantha Kerr opened the score sheet for the Aussies in the 9th minute of the first half. Then, there was no looking back for the women in yellow. That goal made Kerr Australia's top scorer male or female.

Read Also: AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022: India in Group A with China, Chinese Taipei, and Iran

Kerr, the Australian captain was recently named runners-up of FIFA Best Player 2021. The star Chelsea striker after the first goal did not have any difficulties finding the net as Aussies started humiliating the lowest-ranked team, Indonesia.

Australia, the highest-ranked team in the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022 were the Champions of 2010 edition. Meanwhile, Indonesia was participating in the tournament after 1989.

After scoring her 50th international goal, Kerr netted the ball two minutes later. Then, it was Catillin Foord who scored Australia's third goal in the 14th minute. This time Kerr provided the assist for Foord. Three minutes later Mary Fowler completed a stunning finish to give the Matildas a 4-o lead within the 17th minute of the game.

Read Also: Women's AFC Asian Cup: India announces 23-women squad

Hayley Raso made it 5-0 for the girls in yellow and started toying with the Indonesian team. Kerr then completed her hat-trick before Ellie Carpenter extended the lead further with a 15-meter long kick.

Van Egmond provided a stunner assist for Kerr as eight becomes nine for the Matildas. Kerr completed her fourth of the match. Aussies made five changes in the first half before scoring another 9 goals in the second half.

van Egmond completed her hat-trick in the 59th minute and made it 13-o for the Australian team. Later Kyah Simon, Aivi Luik and Hayley Rasso scored each one more goal to take the tally to 18 goals for the match. In the whole match, the Indonesian team could only manage one shot in the goal before the final whistle was blown.

?? Australia 18-0 ?? Indonesia ?

Sam Kerr ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️

Be afraid ?#WAC2022 pic.twitter.com/x0Ah8NfxQ6

— GOAL India (@Goal_India) January 21, 2022