North Korea and defending champions China secured comfortable victories on Friday to advance to the quarter-finals of AFC Women’s Asian Cup, joining South Korea and hosts Australia in the last eight.

China defeated Uzbekistan 3–0 in Sydney, while North Korea produced a dominant display to thrash Bangladesh 5–0 in their Group B matches.

Both teams have now progressed to the knockout stage without conceding a goal in the tournament so far.

China opened the scoring against Uzbekistan in the 30th minute after Shao Ziqin was brought down inside the penalty area. She calmly converted the resulting penalty to give the defending champions the lead.

The holders, who had earlier beaten Bangladesh 2–0 in their opening match, sealed the victory in the second half as Li Qingtong struck twice to ensure their place in the quarter-finals.

North Korea were equally impressive against tournament debutants Bangladesh. The three-time Asian champions initially saw two first-half goals ruled out by VAR, delaying their breakthrough.

Their pressure eventually paid off during first-half stoppage time when Myong Yu Jong converted a penalty to give North Korea the lead. Just two minutes later, Kim Kyong Yong doubled the advantage in the seventh minute of added time.

With momentum firmly on their side, North Korea continued their dominance after the break, adding three more goals in the second half to complete a convincing victory.

China and North Korea will now face each other in the final Group B match to determine the group winners.

Earlier, South Korea and hosts Australia had already secured their spots in the quarter-finals from Group A.