Canada was knocked out of the FIFA under-20 Women's World Cup Monday after losing 2-1 to North Korea in the final group game.

The loss left Canada (1-2) third in its group, behind first-place North Korea and second-place Norway, 4-1 winners over Argentina (0-3) Monday.

Christine Exeter of Pickering, Ont., gave the Canadians the early lead after scoring 12 minutes in but Un Hwa Kim netted the equalizer before halftime. Hyon-Hi Yun's goal in the 78th minute gave the North Koreans the win.

"Playing in this World Cup was crucial for the development of the young players," Canadian coach Andrew Olivieri said on the tournament website. "The senior team has a lot of players who will retire before the 2015 World Cup and everybody is expecting that a lot of players from this U-20 team will play at that World Cup."

North Korea will play the United States in the quarterfinals while Norway gets Germany.