Key events
62 Mins: A nice one-two on the right flank springs the North Koreans into the space needed to find Kim Kyong-Yong. She swivels and shoots but it’s not hit with enough power to trouble Arnold.
61 Mins: The Koreans whip in a free kick on the right but it’s poked clear by Fowler – a rare sighting of her tonight – and the second phase then works its way to Arnold.
60 Mins: The North Koreans are trying to reprise their play from the first-half but whether it’s down to fatigue, a loss of confidence after falling 2-0 down, or some combination therein, they’re not displaying the same level as threat they did in the opening 45 minutes.
59 Mins: Kerr has the ball poked away from her and the North Koreans launch another attack – but the Aussie skipper has remained down on the turf.
Replays show she looks to have had her left foot stamped on as her marker completed the motion of her tackle.
57 Mins: Van Egmond drives a free kick into the penalty area but Yu Son-Gum comes out and delivers a strong punch before it can make it’s way to Kerr.
56 Mins: Huge few minutes for the North Koreans coming up. New life has been breathed into the Australians and they’re increasingly getting on the ball.
They had so much dominance across the opening half but couldn’t convert it and now they’re down 2-0. In their first major tournament in a decade-and-a-half, where is their headspace at right now? Can they respond? Or do they go to pieces?
54 Mins: A lot more back-and-forth play in this second stanza, with the Matildas looking to get the ball to Kerr, who is reprising her standout role from the recent New Zealand friendlies by playing as a hold-up facilitator.
53 Mins: Myong Yu-Jong lashes a shot from range that Arnold is content to watch skid just wide of the goals.
52 Mins: The North Koreans almost break through one-on-one with Arnold, only for Carpenter to stick a leg out and make a crucial last minute challenge!
51 Mins: There’s a new level of energy to the Matildas, with Torpey getting forward and lashing a shot on goal.
The North Koreans, meanwhile, are making two changes: Hak Ri and Choe Il-Son on for Han Jin-Hong and Kim Song-Gyong
Goal! Australia 2-0 North Korea (Kerr 47′)
Well… you can make a whole bunches of changes to the midfield. Or Katrina Gorry and Sam Kerr can just go brrrrr
Just moments into the second stanza, the diminutive midfielder burst forward with vile and venom to poke the ball clear of the North Koreans as they try to build from the back. Kerr seizes upon it, takes a touch away from Kuk-Hyang and then laces an absolute world class effort into the back of the net.
Australia have one foot in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup.
47 Mins: No changes for either side at the half-time break.
46 Mins: We resume at Perth Oval, with the Matildas leading 1-0 thanks to Kennedy’s goal.
The first major test of Montemurro’s tenure as Matildas coach coming up, here; his side are leading but based off that opening 45 minutes, they won’t be at fulltime if things don’t change.
The Koreans are pressing high and hard when they don’t have the ball and his backline and midfield aren’t handling. This is leading to the side in red consistently winning the ball back in the midfield, and when they do have it they’re showing a willingness to play short in combinations the Australians simply aren’t.
It feels like the midfield of Gorry, Van Egmond, and Kennedy needs a shake-up: introducing a little more press resistance, infusing them with a confidence to show for the ball to feet even when under pressure, and then find another teammate in a similar position. One wonders if a Clare Wheeler or Amy Sayer may soon enter.
Tough half.
Nth Korea good football, fast, direct on the ground, then lot of crosses.
Really good ball movement, technically strong both sides of the body.
🇦🇺 fortunate to be ahead.
Needs to be better. More football, too direct. More midfield. https://t.co/BLI82gQwsJ
— Craig Foster (@Craig_Foster) March 13, 2026
Somehow, the halftime stats say that North Korea only ended that opening 45 minutes with 57%. It feels incongruous because there was a period during the middle of that half in which it felt like they were forever on the ball, launching an attack.
The shot count somewhat bears that out, with the Australians only having one shot on goal — Kennedy’s strike — compared to the eight attempts, five on target, from the Koreans.
HT: Australia 1-0 North Korea
If games were awarded, boxing-style, on points, then North Korea would be well in front at the main break.
But games aren’t won on points. They’re won on goals. And that means that Alanna Kennedy’s early strike has the Matildas ahead heading into the main break.
45+2 Mins: North Korea hits the post! Taking up position in the penalty area, Hong Song-Ok allows the ball to run beyond her, losing her marker in the process, and then swivels and lashes a shot on goal.
The ball slides across the face of goal and crashes into the post and, fortunately, for the Matildas, bounces away from the net.
HT | A late chance goes begging for DPR Korea 🇰🇵
Hong Song-Ok’s stoppage time strike was denied by the woodwork, and @TheMatildas take a 1-0 advantage into the break after Alanna Kennedy’s go-ahead goal in the 9th minute
Watch #AUSvPRK live on Paramount+ 📺 pic.twitter.com/g50E4Aqejv
— Paramount+ Australia (@ParamountPlusAU) March 13, 2026
45 Mins: Another nicely constructed move springs the North Koreans down the right but the Matildas are just able to scramble the ball away… and then again… and again.
Kerr puts her body through an opponent to win the ball back in the midfield but she’s very isolated and can’t build on that.
We’ll have two minutes of added time.
44 Mins: The North Koreans get the ball down the left but the cross sent in the direction of Kim Kyong-Yong is a difficult one to reach and she can’t redirect it goalward.
43 Mins: The Koreans attempt to transition quickly but Gorry slides in with a momentum breaking challenge, one not enough to win the ball but enough to slow her opponents down long enough to allow her teammates to assume their defensive shape.
42 Mins: The Matildas get the ball forward, with Foord working ever-so-hard to keep the play alive on the left despite some sloppy passing. It doesn’t result in a shot, however, as the ball is marshalled to the waiting arms of Yu Son-Gum.
40 Mins: The tidal wave of North Korean possession is somewhat receding as the Matildas get more of a foot on the ball but that’s not leading to much actual cleanly-constructed attacking play from the Matildas.
38 Mins: A rare move forward by the Matildas ends quickly, Fowler’s searching pass looking for Gorry’s run into the box swallowed up by keeper Yu Son-Gum.
37 Mins: Replays show that the ball did hit the arm of Van Egmond but her limb was tucked well into her body. Never a penalty.
36 Mins: The North Koreans have a free kick on the right flank, continuing on their almost unending pressure across the opening 45 minutes.
Kim Song-Gyong sends it in and Chae Un-Yong tries to glance it on with a header. The Koreans appeal for a penalty but it’s waved away. No sign of a VAR review yet.
33 Mins: More North Korean pressure. And while it’s yet to result in a goal, they’re creating better chances. A short corner routine gets the ball to Kim Song-Gyong, who in turns drives a low ball to Chae Un-Yong. She swivels and shoots a wicked effort towards the near post but Arnold knocks it clear for a corner.
30 Mins: So there are two headlines from the first 30 minutes of this game.
The first is that Kennedy has got on the scoresheet once more and, as it stands, the Matildas are on the way to the semifinals of the Asian Cup.
The second is that the midfield of Kennedy, Van Egmond, and Gorry is being overrun by their ferociously pressing Korean counterparts, leading to constant questions being asked of an Australian defence that has been forced deep into their own half.
Of course, complete control of the game and no goals counts for nothing, so let’s see how the remaining hour of football plays out.
29 Mins: Torpey tries to break rapidly in transition but she’s hacked down by Chae Un-Yong as she does so, earning a free kick. The North Koreans, however, snuff out the chance in transition and will be able to get numbers behind the ball.
26 Mins: That was a really good chance for North Korea. An early cross in from Chae Un-Yong is met by Kim Kyong-Yong with a really good header, one that demands a really good save from Arnold as she gets down low and to her left to keep the ball out.
25 Mins: The Koreans continue to come forward in wave after wave, without yet producing a gilt-edged chance. Another shot comes in from Kim Kyong-Yong, but Arnold is once again able to save comfortably.
23 Mins: The North Korean press is giving the Australians all kinds of trouble across the opening stages of this game and the Matildas effectively ceded all control of the midfield amid frequent turnovers.
21 Mins: The North Koreans transition on Australia’s attempt to transition, with Kim Kyong-Yong sending in a dangerous cross that Torpey sends out for a corner. That short corner routing is cleared away but the visitors retain possession.
Chae Un-Yong sends in a deflected cross and… oh dear, Han Jin-Hong’s attempt to get on the end of it has seen her boot Hunt directly in the head.
Fortunately, it doesn’t look like the Spurs defender will join the concussion worries as she gets straight back to her feet.
20 Mins: The North Koreans try to get in behind the Australian lines and, while that doesn’t succeed, they shift field position enough to win the ball back in a dangerous area with their counter-press.
The attack ends, however, when Myong Yu-Jong brings down Gorry – moments after Fowler was scythed down with no call.
16 Mins: Kerr gets cleaned up by Ri Myong-Gum but no whistle comes. The North Koreans then move the ball up the other end and win a corner, one swung in by Kim Song-Gyong but is headed clear by Heatley.
On the second-phase, Hong Song-Ok lashes a shot in from range that clears the mass of bodies in the box but which is got behind and saved by Arnold.