Photo courtesy of Foto-Net.

England's incredible run to the last four of the World Cup in New Zealand came to an end as North Korea proved too strong to book their spot in the Final.

Lois Fidler's players will take on Germany in the third place play-off on Sunday, and they fully deserve another opportunity on the world stage after some thrilling performances throughout this tournament. England showed great courage and determination once more against an organised and powerful North Korean side, but this time there would be no glorious comeback akin to their performance against Japan in the quarter-final. North Korea took the lead against the run of play on 19 minutes when Ho Un Byol made the most of space in the English defence to fire the ball inside Lauren Davey's near post. Jordan Nobbs came close to levelling the scores before half-time, but it became an uphill task as North Korea doubled their lead shortly before the interval. Jon Myong Hwa sneaked in to poke home her fourth goal of the tournament from close range, after Kim Un Hyang had scuffed her initial shot. Hopes were raised of another great English escape when Rebecca Jane scored with 16 minutes remaining, running through on to a Lauren Bruton reverse pass and slotting a side-foot shot beyond Hong Myong Hui.
The dramatic equaliser would not come, and Korea held on to take their place in the Final alongside USA on Sunday.