In her home city of Perth, Kerr scored in the third consecutive match and made it four goals in five games at the Asian Cup.

The Matildas got off to a solid start with an excellent team goal, finished off by Caitlin Foord.

Carpenter was involved in the build-up when she received a pass from Mary Fowler and made a trademark run down the right wing. The Blues full-back then picked out Fowler with a pass, and the Manchester City forward pulled the ball back to Foord, who scored with a first-time finish.

Yet China got themselves back into the contest almost immediately when they were awarded a penalty following a lengthy VAR review. Goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold was adjudged to have brought down Zhang Linyan in the box, and the midfielder stepped up and converted the penalty herself.

Chelsea supporters will not be surprised at how Kerr's 58th-minute strike played out, as she played the ball to Foord on the left and made a typical run between the lines. Now in a perfect position, she received a pass, rounded goalkeeper Peng Shimeng, and rolled a shot from a tight angle over the line.

Australia will now play either Japan or South Korea in that game, with those two sides set to meet at 9am Friday UK time in Homebush.

The Matildas will hope they can lift the Women's Asian Cup for the second time in the 21st edition of the competition.