Nigeria, who needed to win to stand a chance of advancing, opened the scoring in the 15th minute through Oluwakemi Adegbuyi, who collected a ball down the left, muscled off a defender and finished with her right foot.

The African side wanted more and struck a second shortly in the 38th minute when Oluebube Umejiaku surged through the DPR Korea half and finished past goalkeeper Kim Son Gyong.

DPR Korea came out with a sense of urgency to start the second half, but Nigeria did well to withstand the pressure and then found a crippling third via Kanyinsola Yusuf’s exquisitely-taken free-kick in the 56th minute.

The reigning champions pulled a goal back through a Yu Jong Hyang penalty in the 82nd minute but the day belonged to Nigeria.

Photos: FIFA via Getty Images