Match Preview: Australia v Korea DPR | AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™

The CommBank Matildas learned their quarter-final opponents on Monday evening, when Korea DPR finished second in Group B after falling to a 2-1 defeat against China PR.

They will face off at Perth Rectangular Stadium on Friday evening, 13th March, for a place in the semi-finals. The winner will also automatically qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027™.

It is set to be a high-quality, high-tempo affair as two pre-tournament favourites meet in the knockouts.

The Tournament So Far

The CommBank Matildas defeated the Philippines and IR Iran to enter Matchday 3 against Korea Republic knowing that they had to win to secure their place on top of the group. An exhilarating 3-3 draw meant that they finished second in Group A, and knew that they faced the prospect of playing either China PR or Korea DPR in Perth on Friday.

Group B had a very similar situation heading into their final group stage matchday, with both China PR and Korea DPR on six points. China needed to win to finish top of their group and avoid taking on Australia in the quarter-final. Their 2-1 victory meant that Korea DPR was the team that finished second, locking them in as the CommBank Matildas' opponents.

Our Opponents

FIFA World Ranking: 9

Korea DPR came into this tournament – their first AFC Women’s Asian Cup™ since 2010 - as one of the heavyweights, and are expected to be one of the teams contending to lift the trophy.

They have one of the youngest teams at the tournament and their recent re-emergence onto the world stage has been built from extraordinary performances at youth level. They won the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup™ in 2024 and the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ in 2024 and 2025, beating teams like Spain and USA to do so.

Six of the players in their current squad are from that victorious U20 team from 2024. The most notable player from that group is Choe Il-Son, who won the AFC Women’s Youth Player of the Year in 2025 after securing the Golden Ball award at both the U-20 and U-17 World Cups in 2024.

However, Choe has not been one of the starting players for Korea DPR in this tournament. Coach Ri Song Ho has named the same Starting XI for all three group stage games and fatigue, as well as inexperience at senior-level tournaments, may have begun to show in their defeat to China PR.

A key player to watch for Korea DPR is Myong Yu-Jong, who scored a hattrick in their opening game win against Uzbekistan and currently sits top of the golden boot race alongside Alanna Kennedy on four goals. Kim Song-Gyong has also been key, creating a large number of chances from midfield.

Last Time We Met

The last time that we played Korea DPR was in March 2016 during qualification for Rio 2016™. The Matildas emerged 2-1 victors on that day, with goals to Michelle Heyman and Katrina Gorry ensuring the win. The win secured our place at the Olympics.

Seven players who were part of Australia's squad during the final round of qualifying are part of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026™. They are Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, Emily van Egmond, Michelle Heyman, Katrina Gorry, Alanna Kennedy and Mackenzie Arnold. None of the players who took the field for DPR Korea are at this year's tournament.

Australia has faced Korea DPR 15 times in senior women's national team games. The head-to-head record in that time reads four wins, five draws, and six losses.

AFC Women's Asian Cup 2010™ final

The last time the CommBank Matildas played Korea DPR at a senior Asian Cup was the historic final of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2010™, which Australia would go on to win.

16-year-old Sam Kerr scored in the first half of that game to give Australia the lead, before Jo Yun-Mi equalised late in the second for Korea DPR. The game would ultimately go to penalties in wet and wintry conditions. Kyah Simon scored the fifth penalty for the Matildas after an earlier miss from Korea DPR's Yun Song-mi to lift Australia to a famous victory.

Heather Garriock, who was a part of that team and recently served as Football Australia's Interim CEO, later reflected on the significance of that result.

“It [2010] was such a significant win for football in Australia, but also women's football, and I really think that put us on the map,” she said.

What To Expect

It is set to be a high-tempo, tense affair between two very strong teams on Friday evening.

Korea DPR have lined up in a 4-4-2 throughout the group stage. One of the reasons why China PR were able to succeed was that they were able to isolate those two strikers and use their own width to their advantage.

"They're a bit of a dark horse," CommBank Matildas midfielder Clare Wheeler said on Tuesday.

"Not many of us have played against them in recent years. A lot of us are reviewing the footage, and we watched the game [on Monday]. We're not really sure what to expect, but we'll try our best."

AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™

Click here to read article