Midfielder Myong Yu-Jong scored her fourth goal of the Women’s Asian Cup on Friday to lead North Korea to a 5-0 victory over Bangladesh and its second win of group play.
The three-time Asian champions scored eight goals in two games without conceding any and have all but qualified for the quarter-finals.
After two previous North Korean goals were canceled out by video replays on Friday, Kim Kyong Yong and Myong scored in first-half extra time to put the Koreans up 2-0.
Myong’s goal came from a penalty with a right-footed shot into the bottom right corner after Bangladesh’s Afida Khandaker was shown a yellow card for a foul.
North Korea scored goals two minutes apart in the second half, with Kim scoring her second of the match, preceded by Chae Un Yong’s right-foot shot from close range that found the center of the net. Kim Hye-Yong completed the scoring for North Korea in the 90th minute.
Later Friday, defending champions China played Uzbekistan, also in Sydney, in another Group B match.
In the first group matches on Tuesday, Myong had a first-half hat-trick in North Korea’s 3-0 win over Uzbekistan and China beat Bangladesh 2-0.
Group B play ends in Sydney on Monday when North Korea plays China in a match likely to decide top spot in the group and Bangladesh takes on Uzbekistan.
The top two teams in each of the three groups will advance to the quarter-finals, along with the top two teams in third place.
In Group C, Vietnam will play Chinese Taipei and Japan will take on India in Perth, Western Australia, on Saturday.
Wins over Japan and Vietnam would set up quarter-finals. Japan beat Taiwan 2-0 and Vietnam defeated India 2-1 on Wednesday with a goal in stoppage time.
In Group A, Australia, which defeated war-scarred Iran 4-0 on Thursday, and South Korea have already qualified. Australia and South Korea, who defeated the Philippines 3-0, meet in Sydney on Sunday to determine top spot in the group.
After consecutive losses, Iran needs a big victory over the Philippines (0-2) on Sunday to have a chance of reaching the quarter-finals and qualifying for next year’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Published on March 6, 2026
