Women’s Asian Cup 2026: Australia navigate tricky North Korea tie to secure semi-final berth
The Matildas had to withstand late pressure in tight 2-1 win in Perth
Australia battled to a 2-1 win against North Korea in the first quarter-final of the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup.
North Korea spent the majority of the match on the front foot but the Matildas managed to progress thanks to a goal-of-the-tournament contender from Alanna Kennedy and an early second-half finish from Sam Kerr.
There were nerves all around the Rectangular Stadium in Perth as the hosts were forced to see out the last 25 minutes of the game after Chae Un-Yong pulled one back for North Korea. In the end, they did just enough to progress to a semi-final clash against China or Chinese Taipei. The victory also means Australia qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
The all-important opening goal came nine minutes in when Kerr chased a lost cause in a stray long ball from Katrina Gorry. The Matildas’ all-time top scorer managed to dispossess opposing captain An Kuk-Hyang out wide before cutting to back to the edge of the box towards Emily van Egmond. Chase Un-yong got a foot to the ball, but it only fell to the onrushing Kennedy. The London City Lionesses midfielder took a touch to find an opening and perfectly placed her shot past the keeper, thus scoring her fifth goal of the tournament and becoming the competition’s outright top-scorer.
North Korea soon stepped up their press and consistently posed an attacking threat with set-pieces and crosses in particular, but they just couldn’t break through. Hong Song-ok came closest to equalising as she hit the woodwork on the stroke of half-time, but her side had to take a one-goal deficit into the break.
Just over a minute into the second half, Australia struck again from yet another high turnover. Van Egmond generated it after surprising her opponent by pressing from her blind side, which led to the ball falling to Kerr. The 32-year-old striker displayed her typical ruthlessness in front of goal with a touch and clinical left-footed finish to double her side’s advantage.
North Korea soon grew back into the ascendancy in terms of possession and territory, and looked more threatening this time thanks to their increased ability to play through the middle. The deficit was halved in the 65th minute when Chae Un-Yong turned the ball home after a brilliantly worked move was capped off by Kim Kyong-Yong’s ball across the face of goal.
Ri Song-ho’s side continued to threaten and came really close to equalising on a couple of occasions soon thereafter. Australia sunk deeper and deeper as the final whistle drew nearer, even switching to a back five for stoppage time. In the end, they just about managed to see out the lead, sparking scenes of great celebration mixed with serious relief in Perth.
What defined Australia’s match?
Defending deep.
The pressure was on the Australian defence to step up and deliver after conceding thrice in their previous match. They were certainly put under the cosh in this fixture, and did a good enough job on the whole.
The Matildas faced a lot of crosses in the first period but did very well to limit clear-cut chances for their opponents by getting big numbers into the centre of the box. Kaitlin Torpey, who was filling in for the concussed Steph Catley in her second-choice position of left back, was particularly impressive as she showed great awareness on the far post.
A rejigged North Korean attack did find a way through on a few occasions in the second period, but Australia adjusted by dropping into a deeper block. This sort of dig-deep-and-defend approach proved useful at key junctures in their run to the World Cup semi-final on home soil, so they should be glad to see that they still have it in them.
Mackenzie Arnold was quite solid in goal as well. She sprang across from side to side quite quickly, ending the game with eight saves made. The Australian defence looks particularly stern with their keeper on top form, so this is yet another encouraging sign ahead of the semi-final.
What defined North Korea’s match?
Attacking from the sides.
Over three-quarters of North Korea’s attacks came from the sides, including 41% from the right. They weren’t too effective in the first half as they only completed three of 15 attempted crosses, but improved in the second period by employing quicker combination play. They also managed to break into the box with more regularity, squaring a fair few dangerous balls across.
In the end, the three-time champions were most let down by their finishing. They created more than enough to score multiple goals, firing 21 shots over the course of the match. So, they should be quite disappointed to have lost out tonight, but equally optimistic for the future if they can keep playing at this level.
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Australia only registered two shots on target in this match, and they both went in.
On the whole, this was a pretty lacklustre attacking performance from the hosts, who only really did well to capitalise on a couple of mistakes from their opponents. They barely managed to create a couple of other chances, a far cry from their last performances which produced seven goals altogether.
All of this was despite an excellent all-round performance from striker Kerr. She effectively created the opening goal thanks to her tenacity, expertly scored the second, and did an excellent job of holding the ball when used as an outlet against the North Korean press. However, she lacked adequate support for the most part, so that is something Joe Montemurro and his coaching staff will need to address ahead of the semi-final.
What next?
Australia have become the first team to seal qualification for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, and can now start dreaming of going one or two better than their historic run to the semi-final on home soil last time around. More immediately, though, they will remain in Perth to play the first semi-final against the winner of the match between China and Chinese Taipei.
North Korea could yet make their first World Cup appearance in over 15 years, but they’ll have to do it the hard way via the inter-confederation play-offs. In order to qualify for that, they will first have to defeat the loser of the aforementioned second quarter-final on the Gold Coast next Thursday.
The other two quarter-finals will be played in Sydney over the next two days. South Korea take on Uzbekistan on Saturday night, while Japan will face the Philippines on Sunday.
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