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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Sport
Joey Lynch

Australia defeat North Korea to progress to Women’s Asian Cup final four – as it happened

AUS (Organization) Matildas Australia North Korea Asia Asian Cup Kaitlyn Torpey Steph Catley Matilda Courtney Nevin
Sam Kerr celebrates scoring as Australia defeat North Korea and progress to the Women’s Asian Cup semi-finals.
Sam Kerr celebrates scoring as Australia defeat North Korea and progress to the Women’s Asian Cup semi-finals. Photograph: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Match report

But that’s about all from me on this evening. I’ll be back with you for the Matildas semi-final, to be staged against either China or Taiwan next week but, for now, I’ll leave you with Sam Lewis’ match report.

Updated

The Matildas’ midfield owes the defenders behind them and Arnold in goal a beer. Or whatever their beverage of choice is. And then another. And another. And another.

It was a herculean effort from the backline to clog up the penalty area and contest the North Koreans enough to deny them the opportunity to convert their dominance of play into goals. And when that failed, Arnold was positioned well enough that she only had to make one or two really good saves – a sign of a goalkeeper on her game.

Indeed, this was a big game for Arnold. After the highs of 2023 she’s come back to earth a bit since, and she entered this tournament widely expected to back-up Teagan Micah. Injuries opened the door for her to start but then she went down herself.

But tonight, she made another memory with a big night.

The final stats tell a story. The Matildas had 39% of the ball over the course of the 90 minutes, had four shots and two -- the two goals -- on target. North Korea, meanwhile, had 21 shots, with ten attempts on target.

Football, eh?

Updated

FT: Australia 2-1 North Korea

The smash-and-grab is complete! The Matildas are off to the semifinals of the Asian Cup and have punched their tickets to the 2027 Women’s World Cup after, somehow, holding on for dear life against North Korea.

The North Koreans threw everything at the Australians, they dictated terms and dominated possession against a favoured side playing with home field advantage, they did everything but score multiple goals. Play this game 100 times and, if they play like that, they win 99 of them.

But as it turns out, the Australians did score multiple goals: Alanna Kennedy and Sam Kerr’s goals in each half doing enough to secure a win. They’re going through.

Updated

98 Mins: The ball comes out to Choe Il-Son at the back post but she lifts a tentative volley over the bar. Have the Matildas done enough?

97 Mins: Kim Kyong-Yong tries to fire off a shot at the top of the box but it results in a fresh-airy, affording the Matildas some further breathing space.

60 more seconds to survive for Australia.

96 Mins: Cooney-Cross gives away a free kick that’s lifted into the penalty area and headed on goal but, once again, it’s tame and sent straight at a well-positioned Arnold.

95 Mins: Kim Kyong-Yong chests the ball down atop the Matildas penalty area and tries to get a shot off but she’s knocked off the ball just before she can by Torpey.

Torpey had to be precise there – it was a penalty if she got that wrong – but she was.

Kerr, meanwhile, has come off for Michelle Heyman.

93 Mins: I’m not sure how much the Matildas have actually missed Raso tonight – It’s doubtful the midfield would have been able to get the ball to her much with the way this game has gone – but they’ve absolutely missed Catley tonight as the Koreans target that right flank.

92 Mins: Ri Hak lifts a ball over the top of the Matildas’ defence but just before Myong Yu-Jong can collect it and shoot, Arnold gets off her line and makes the claim.

90+1 Mins: Ohhh boy. Eight minutes of added time to be observed at the end of this one.

Updated

90 Mins: The substitutions have seen the Matildas shift to a back five. It’s not just backs to the wall now but every other limb, too.

88 Mins: The Matildas repulse a North Korean attack and get the ball to Kerr but she’s the only player wearing green and gold not back behind the ball, forcing her to slow down and the Koreans snuff out the danger.

Two subs for Australia, Gorry and Kennedy making way for Charlie Rule and Kyra Cooney-Cross.

84 Mins: A collision between Wheeler and Myong Yu-Jong as the two go for a header – nothing malicious in it – leaves the former bleeding from a cut near the eye after an errant elbow.

The North Korean goes into the book for the challenge, ensuring she’ll miss her side’s next game.

Updated

84 Mins: Backs to the wall stuff for the Matildas.

They really do never say die… albeit I’m sure their supporters would much prefer it if they didn’t find themselves in positions wherein they needed to refuse to expire quite so often.

83 Mins: The resulting corner won by the save is initially cleared and the Matildas have the number in the box to clear away the second-phase return delivery, and then the third-phase return delivery.

Updated

83 Mins: A long-range blast from An Kuk-Hyang fizzes towards the back of the net and forces Arnold to stretch out to her right and make a really good save.

Updated

80 Mins: After their brief scare, the North Koreans immediately resume their attack.

Ten more minutes, plus stoppage time, remaining for the Matildas to hold out.

79 Mins: Almost something out of nothing for the Matildas. The ball is lifted over for Kerr, who lays it off for Wheeler who teases a ball across the face of goal for Sayer. The substitute, however, just can’t reach forward and make contact with the ball at point blank range.

78 Mins: The corner goes long, beyond the far post, and out for a goal kick. The crowd is announced as 16,466.

Updated

77 Mins: Torpey drags down Ri Myong-Gum to give away a free kick and earn a caution. Fortunately for the Newcastle utility, the North Koreans can’t make anything from the set piece.

Yet again, though, the Australians can’t go with the North Koreans ball movement, leading to an attempt for Kim Kyong-Yong that goes out for a corner.

76 Mins: Looking at the stats, the Matildas are now up to three shots, two on target, but the North Koreans have swelled their count to 15 attempts, with eight on target.

Remember, if it’s 2-2 at full-time, we’re off to extra time. And if we’re still level at the end of 30 extra minutes of football, we’re off to penalties.

72 Mins: Ri Hak again! She has time and lashes an effort on goal from outside the area but it just can’t dip down quickly enough to sneak under the crossbar.

71 Mins: The Matildas have made two changes as the game begins to more resemble the opening half of Korean dominance: Wheeler and Sayer coming on for Fowler and Van Egmond.

70 Mins: The North Koreans are laying absolute siege to the Matildas goal. After Arnold can’t hold an initial effort, the ball is worked to Ri Hak, who opens up an angle and finds the space needed to shoot from inside the area. She lifts it high and, really, should have done better.

Updated

69 Mins: Oh lord, it was almost 2-2. The North Koreans immediately resume their attacks after the re-start and, after getting down the right, find Myong Yu-Jong in the box. Her first-time effort, however, is dragged just across the face of goal.

Hold on… VAR review. Nope, waved off.

Goal! Australia 2-1 North Korea (Chae Un-Yong 64')

Game on in Perth!

After their initial foray into the Matildas penalty area was repulsed, Hong Song-Ok rolls a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Kim Kyong-Yong down the right, who in turn finds 17, who in turns drags the ball back in the direction of Chae Un-Yong. She gets to the ball in front of Torpey and passes the ball into the net, halving the deficit.

Updated

64 Mins: Arnold went down for an extended period after that save and required a bit of treatment.

Some concern there, given that at one stage the Matildas were losing so many goalkeepers to injury they were close to throwing a wig on me and putting me between the posts but, thankfully, she’s back on her feet.

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.

Updated

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.

Updated

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.

Updated

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: Ri Hak and Choe Il-Son on for Han Jin-Hong and Kim Song-Gyong

Updated

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.

Updated

47 Mins: No changes for either side at the half-time break.

Updated

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.

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.

Updated

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.

Updated

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.

Updated

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.

Updated

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.

Updated

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.

Updated

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.

Updated

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.

Updated

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.

15 Mins: Kim Song-Gyong whips a free kick into the penalty are but it’s headed away by Torpey.

14 Mins: The ball bounces off Kerr’s feet but goes straight to Foord, who returns the ball to her skipper at the top of the box.

She tries to turn and advance into the penalty area but is sandwiched by multiple defenders. Half-hearted calls for a penalty but it was never there.

Updated

13 Mins: The Matildas, thanks to Kerr’s work, win a corner on the right.

Van Egmond whips in a slicing effort looking for the run of Fowler at the back post but it’s just out of the reach of Yu Son-Gum. If that goes beyond the keeper’s gloves, it’s 2-0.

12 Mins: A bit more energy is evident from the Matildas now, as well as a bit more confidence after the early goal. Worth watching how the North Koreans react to this, meanwhile, given the headloss we saw from them in the loss to China.

Goal! Australia 1-0 North Korea (Kennedy 9')

lolAlannaKennedyscoresagain.

A goal arrives for the Matildas against the run of play and while Kennedy will get the headlines, it’s created by Kerr’s competitiveness and agrro.

The Aussie skipper comes upon An Kuk-Hyang like a librarian, bundling her off the ball, seizing upon it, and then carrying it inside.

She cuts the ball back in the Van Egmond direction and while she can’t get a shot away, the late arriving Kennedy can. She nets her fifth goal of the tournament and Australia leads.

Updated

7 Mins: Kerr applies some high pressure and forces an error that earns her side a throw-in. It eventually leads to an extended period of possession as the Matildas retreat and knock the ball around the backline but the press eventually arrives and forces the play to become disjointed once more.

5 Mins: Some more really short and sharp passing from the North Koreans eventually sees Chae Un-Yong lift a high, swerving cross into the box. It falls onto the head of Kim Kyong-Yong but her header is wayward. Early warning signs for the Australians – North Korea is on top early.

4 Mins: Katrina Gorry lays a crunching challenge on Han Jin-Hong on the left, sending the ball out for a throw-in and temporarily sending the winger to the turf in pain.

3 Mins: Foord picks up the ball in the middle of the park and tries to loft a ball over the defence and into the path of Kerr but it’s headed away before it land in front of the striker’s stride.

2 Mins: The Matildas have been able to grab a few early touches but for the most part the Koreans are monopolising the ball in these opening minutes, with plenty of short, sharp passing in tight areas.

1 Min: The North Koreans have the kick-off and come under an early press from the Matildas but they show really good technical ability to hold onto the ball and play through the pressure. Early indications that the hosts are in for a fresh challenge tonight.

Kick-off

We are underway at Perth Oval!

Let’s check in on how some of the Tillies’ faithful are handling things.

Keeping calm, I see.

The national anthems have been sung. Kick-off is imminent.

Before kickoff, let’s check in on Emily Van Egmond’s father, Gary, who is currently serving as caretaker coach of Western Sydney Wanderers’ A-League Men team.

Huh. Didn’t know he had it in him.

Players are making their way out onto the pitch.

Oh boy, there’s a lot of empty seats spread out around the ground. It’s a 6pm on a Friday evening – with not a lot of notice for punters that the Tillies were playing – but it’s still a sharp, sharp diversion from what we’re used to.

Omg is this an actual North Korean FA account on Twitter? Or is someone just larping?

The A-League Women paused during the international break but has resumed play this evening, albeit with only three domestic-based players in the squad – Melbourne City’s Holly McNamara, Canberra United’s Michelle Heyman, and Brisbane Roar’s Chloe Lincoln – this won’t be as disruptive as it could have been.

There’s one game of the Dub taking place tonight, the Newcastle Jets hosting Adelaide United and seemingly set to take out all three points.

Looking at the Matildas’ XI one of the biggest early questions they’re going to need to answer is if they can keep up and go physically with the North Koreans.

Kennedy and Van Egmond aren’t exactly the most fleet-of-foot midfielders to be deploying in a game at the best of times, let alone against a side that counter presses as high and aggressively as the North Koreans do.

Add to that Ri’s side are capable of running all day – the did a jog, in formation, this morning ahead of the game – and the Matildas are in for a hell of a physical challenge.

The Geordies clearly don’t have time for the official DPR Korea naming convention that most of the official accounts are rolling with for this tournament.

16 years ago, back before the Matildas experienced their explosion in popularity, they defeated North Korea in the final of the 2010 Asian Cup – the one and only time the side has lifted the trophy.

Plenty of things have changed since then but one thing has remained the same: Sam Kerr part of the squad that day and leading the line tonight.

North Korea XI

For the first time this tournament coach Ri has made a change to his starting XI, with 16 Song Chin-sim coming in at left-back in place of Yu-Yong Hwang.

Keep an eye on Choe Il-Son on the bench – the 19-year-old a member of the side that won both the U17 and U20 World Cup for North Korea.

Updated

We know that a handful of the Iranian team has remained in Australia on temporary protection visas, albeit that has been made more complicated too, given one of that cohort has reportedly now requested to return to Iran.

The players that do stay, however, have been inundated with offers of support from across Australian football, with Brisbane Roar first to offer their support.

Offering support, however, and providing meaningful and careful comfort are not always the same thing, however. So how does Australian football do both?

Well, in 2022, Melbourne Victory partnered with Professional Footballers Australia to support the Afghan Women’s Team in Australia after they fled the Taliban, helping them to remain together in the Victorian state leagues.

Legendary A-League Women coach Jeff Hopkins guided the team that season – and one only needed to see how the players interacted with the Welshman to see the trust he built with them – so I asked him today what needs to be remembered when supporting the Iranian players.

In the first place, I think it’s giving them support as young women, rather than footballers. It’s giving them a safe, comfortable place where they can come. That was the main thing that we tried to do with the Afghan women’s team, we gave them somewhere that they could come together, where they could feel safe, feel like they could play and they could and they could practice. And kind of move things on from there. That’s the number one thing. You treat them like young women, and then maybe football is second and and kind of move on from there.

Much of the coverage of the Women’s Asian Cup across the past few days has focused not on any of the competing teams but, instead, on Iran, as their time in Australia came to an end following their elimination.

Shiva Mokri and Moones Mansoubi, two members of Hamava Collective, a volunteer group of Iranian Australian women in Sydney advocating for gender equality, women’s rights and family wellbeing, have penned this, which you should read.

You’re going to have to wait for me to figure out the best way to share North Korea’s XI. They don’t exactly have an official Instagram account for me to grab a graphic from…

Standing across from the Matildas in the red corner are North Korea, playing in their first Asian Cup since 2010 and keen to re-assert themselves as one of Asia’s most dominant sides.

As long as their international exile has been, however, to describe Ri Song-ho’s side as ‘mysterious’ is getting a bit hackneyed at this point, especially given that we’ve had three games to watch them and, for the most part, they’ve played some tidy, high-tempo, aggressively pressing stuff.

Further, the North Koreans come into this tournament as the reigning U17 Asian Cup, U17 World Cup, U20 Asian Cup, and U20 World Cup champions, so we know that not only have they not been resting on their laurels during their time away from the international spotlight, they’ve been producing some pretty handy talent.

Of course… as we saw from whatever the hell that interminable delay following China’s second goal in their 2-1 defeat on the final day of group play, a game which set up their date with the Matildas, they’re also very capable of sillybuggers.

Updated

Matildas XI

The Matildas’ XI is in and, as forecast, Torpey comes into the XI to replace the concussed Catley. Emily Van Egmond, meanwhile, starts from the off.

Mackenzie Arnold starts in goal behind a back-four of Carpenter, Clare Hunt, Wini Heatley, and Torpey. Alanna Kennedy, fresh off two goals against South Korea, starts as the holding midfielder, behind Katrina Gorry and Van Emgond, who levels Clare Polkinghorne as the most-capped Matilda in history with appearance 169.

Up top, Caitlin Foord, Sam Kerr, and Fowler lead the line.

Updated

If you haven’t heard, the Matildas have already been struck two significant injury blows ahead of tonight’s game in the form of Hayley Raso and Steph Catley, both of whom are out with concussion.

Also missing the South Korea draw with the malady, Raso was replaced in the starting XI by Mary Fowler for that clash and, in all likelihood, that will remain the case for this evening’s contest.

Catley, meanwhile, was subbed off for Courtney Nevin in that game. And while Nevin has long since established herself as a regular back-up in squads, she was responsible for giving away the penalty that saw Kim Shin-ji level proceedings from the spot, and then – perhaps gunshy after giving away the handball for the penalty – afforded Kang Chae-rim far too much space on the go-ahead goal.

The Malmö FF defender is still the most likely starter and, after having a chance to gather herself and get a few arms wrapped around her in camp, will be eager to make amends. However, we can’t discount the possibility of utility Kaitlyn Torpey being thrown onto the left side of the defence – which, combined with Ellie Carpenter on the other flank – would give Australia a very zoomy backline.

Preamble

Howdy all, and welcome to the Guardian’s ongoing, live coverage of the Women’s Asian Cup, continuing tonight with minute-by-minute updates on the Matildas quarter-final clash with North Korea.

While they may have been forced to come-from-behind to snatch a 3-3 draw with the nation that did the actual damage in their last hit out, tonight offer’s a chance at redemption for Australia’s women: this the stage in which they were bundled out of the last tournament by South Korea – breaking a run that had seen them reach at least the semi-final in every iteration of the competition since officially joining the AFC.

That unfortunate evening, of course, would have seen the Matildas fail to qualify for the 2023 Women’s World Cup had they not been hosting and, four years on, a spot in the next Women’s World Cup, this one taking place in Brazil next year, is on the line in addition to a place in the final four.

The loser of tonight’s game doesn’t have their hopes completely dashed, though, as they’ll move on to a playoff on the Gold Coast with another chance at qualification. And even defeat in that game won’t end their dreams – instead sending them to a series of inter-confederation playoffs at the end of this year and the start of next year.

Nonetheless, it’ll be much easier for all involved, at least those of an Australian-bent, if Joe Montemurro’s side get the job done tonight.

Line-ups soon, with kick-off in Perth set for 6pm local/9pm AEDT

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