The Australian women's soccer team are expected to miss a berth at the Beijing Olympics after going down 2-0 to Asian heavyweights North Korea in their must-win qualifier.

The Matildas had lost their first group match 2-0 against North Korea in Pyongyang last weekend, and needed a victory to have a realistic chance of making next year's Olympics.

There are still two rounds of qualifying remaining, but North Korea, the world No.5 side and highest ranked Asian team, only need to earn a point against Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei, and should easily grab the sole Games spot on offer from Group B.

The loss is big blow to the Australians, who have qualified for the past two Olympics, and are currently ranked at an all-time high of No.14 in the world.

Australia put up a strong fight but after a goalless first half, North Korea finally broke the deadlock and gained momentum with captain Ri Kum Suk scoring the opening goal, a close-range header, at the 60-minute mark of the match.

Her teammate Kim Kyong Hwa followed it up with a goal shot from outside the penalty area only nine minutes later.

Australia came close to scoring with midfielder Collette McCallum floating a free kick just over the crossbar and onto the roof of the net just before North Korea's opening goal.

Matildas coach Tom Sermanni commended his teams' efforts but admitted the stronger side won on the day.

"Sometimes you simply get beaten by a better team," Sermanni said of the side which has defeated Australia in five out of six of their meetings since 1998.

"At the moment I would say that DPR Korea are probably as close to being as unbeatable as any women's team that I have seen.

"So in that sense I am very disappointed for the players because I believe that had we played like we did against virtually any other team we would have won the game.

"The effort was absolutely unbelievable and the players gave everything possible.

"The unfortunate thing today was that we were having our best spell of the game and had built up some good momentum when we conceded that opening goal so that was heartbreaking."

Australia is now set to concentrate their efforts on preparations for the World Cup in September.

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