North Korea have promised not to unleash any more sideline protests, but Sam Kerr and her Matildas teammates will be ready just in case during their quarter-final showdown in Perth.
A big stir was caused when North Korea's players refused to see out the first half of their 2-1 Women's Asian Cup loss to China earlier this week in protest to a VAR decision.
Wang Shuang's strike was initially deemed offside, but VAR reversed the decision to hand the Chinese a 2-1 lead.
North Korea's players converged on the sidelines in a bid to have the goal scrubbed out.
After several minutes of frustration, the referee eventually blew the halftime whistle, with North Korea resuming play after the break.
"If that kind of situation happens again in tomorrow's match, we will follow the referees, the match official's decision, and respect it," coach Ri Song Ho said through an interpreter on Thursday.
Kerr said being able to watch North Korea's game against China gave the Matildas a good insight into how to cope on Friday night if a similar situation arose.
She said just like China did, the Matildas would focus on themselves rather than any drama around them.
"It can be frustrating, but I think that's part of football now," Kerr said.
"And as professionals who have played for many years now, I think you're used to it.
"We've talked about it a little bit, because there's a few girls in the team who haven't played in the Asian Cup before.
"And it's probably nice to see a little bit of it the other day, just based on the fact we now know what we can expect. But just focusing on ourselves is the main thing."
North Korea are ranked ninth in the world, with the Matildas sitting 15th.
A crowd of close to 20,000 is expected for Friday's match at HBF Park, with the winner not only securing a spot in the semi-finals, but also World Cup qualification.
The Matildas are warm favourites on their home turf, but North Korea have the wildcard factor given their lack of exposure at the international level.
The last time the two nations met was in an Olympic qualifier in 2016, with Australia prevailing 2-1.
"We are facing very powerful team, and also the host team of this tournament," Song Ho said.
"That's why I feel it's very important, and which really makes us a little bit nervous as well.
"But we will overcome all the challenges mentally and physically."
North Korea's physicality was a key to their success in the group stage, which included a 3-0 win over Uzbekistan and a 5-0 demolition of Bangladesh.
