KUALA LUMPUR: Australian coach Alistair Edwards said his players are proud to have made history by being part of the first squad from Down Under to participate in an AFC finals.

Although Australia’s men have taken part in Asian Cup qualifiers, the women’s under-19 squad are the first Australian team to play in a finals tournament since the country officially joined the AFC in January.

The Aussies are due to play Japan on Tuesday in the third-place play-off of the AFC Under-19 Women’s Championship, with the winners joining China PR and Korea DPR in August’s world finals in Russia.

They won all three of their Group B matches, beating China PR (1-0), Malaysia (16-0) and Jordan (7-0).

“There is no doubt that this is an historic tournament for Australia,Esaid Edwards, whose team were beaten 4-2 by Korea DPR in the semi-finals.

“We have always wanted to play against the best teams such as China, South Korea and North Korea. In the past, we would have many easy matches but in Asia, there are stronger teams who provide a greater challenge.

“We are happy to be here and it can only be better for the whole region.E

AFC president Mohamed Bin Hammam said the young women proved that Asian soccer chiefs made the correct call in opening the door to Australia.

“We are very glad to have the Australian under-19 team participating in this tournament, and I can tell you that they have made a great impression,EHammam said. “They have demonstrated a high standard of skill and this team has shown that we made the right decision to invite them to this continent.

“They now join China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea as major powers and the AFC is proud to have these five teams in our federation.E

Sasha McDonnell, a 19-year-old live-wire striker, marked Australia’s arrival in Asian soccer by scoring their first goal in the tournament during their victory over China.

“Awesome,Ewas McDonnell’s reaction when informed that she was the first Australian player Eman or woman Eto score a goal in the finals of an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) tournament.

Even the beaten Chinese were happy to see the Aussies in Asia.

China coach Shang Ruiha said: “Australia play a very mature brand of football. Having them join us means there are more strong teams in the region and that is good for Asia.E

The Australian senior men’s team play in the FIFA World Cup finals this summer, having qualified for the first time since 1974.

And if the Socceroos are anything like the Young Matildas, Asia has much to look forward to.

Indeed, the Australian women’s under-19 team have so far been excellent ambassadors for their country’s soccer prowess.

With three senior players in the side, they played a systematic 4-4-2 game, moving forward in formation, defending intelligently and providing a physical presence capped by textbook examples of hard but fair tackling.

One of their best qualities Esomething that many of the Asian senior men can learn from Eis how they quickly bounce back from a heavy tackle.