The 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup kicked off in Australia on Sunday, when the host nation opened the year's first World Cup qualifying tournament with a victory.

Captain Sam Kerr got the world No. 15 Matildas off to a strong start, scoring the lone goal in Sunday's 1-0 group-stage win over the No. 41 Philippines — and doing so in her hometown of Perth in front of a tournament-record crowd of 44,379 fans.

Kerr's 14th-minute header was also the striker's first international goal since late 2023, with the 32-year-old back in form after suffering an ACL tear with her WSL club Chelsea in January 2024.

"Hopefully [the goal] starts me off on a good run for the rest of the tournament," Kerr said postgame. "It means a lot to be back in the team, back scoring, and to do it at home is extra special."

Along with a spot in the 2027 World Cup, Australia will aim to top the Asian Cup podium for just the second time in the nation's history, as the Matildas look to add to their initial 2010 title.

That said, the 12-country tournament field holds tough competition for the Aussies, including No. 8 Japan, No. 17 China, No. 21 South Korea, and reigning U-20 World Cup champion No. 9 North Korea, who returns to the competition for the first time since 2010.

The nations will battle through three group-stage matches and a trio of knockout rounds to determine this year's AFC Asian Cup champion as well as to lock in the confederation's six 2027 World Cup bids — plus two intercontinental playoff spots.

"Today was a good start and there's lots of belief within the team," added Kerr on Sunday. "But, as you see today, there's a lot of quality teams in the Asian Cup."

How to watch the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup

The Asian Cup continues its group-stage openers with North Korea kicking off against Uzbekistan at 9 PM ET on Monday, streaming live on One Football.

As the 2028 LA Olympics come into focus, the FIFA Council unveiled the regional allocations for the Summer Games' first-ever 16-team women's soccer tournament this week.

According to the Council's Wednesday report, 2.5 slots will go to AFC (Asia), 2 to CAF (Africa), 3 to Concacaf (North and Central America), 2.5 to Conmebol (South America), 1 to OFC (Oceania), and 4 to UEFA (Europe), with one additional slot reserved, as always, for the host nation — the reigning Olympic gold medalist USWNT.

While the expanded competition allows for greater depth, one AFC and one Conmebol team will ostensibly have to face an inter-continental playoff to determine which region can send an additional team to the 2028 Olympics.

One the other hand, Concacaf's representation will double from 2024, growing from two to four teams given the automatic berth of the USWNT.

Similarly, after host nation France's autobid boosted UEFA'a 2024 allocation to three teams, this week's new distribution doubles the European confederation's previous non-host two-team max for the LA Games — meaning all four of the 2027 UEFA Nations League semifinalists will qualify to compete for gold in 2028.

Notably, CAF and OFC are the only confederations to not see an increase on their previous allocation from the FIFA Council.