North Korea national football team
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea national football team (Korean: 조선민주주의인민공화국 축구 국가대표팀, recognized as Korea DPR by FIFA)[4] or simply known as North Korea national football team represents North Korea in men's international football and it is governed by the DPR Korea Football Association, the governing body for football in North Korea. The team represents both FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=icon}
.svg.png){kind=icon}
North Korea surprised with a good showing at their World Cup debut, reaching the quarter-finals in 1966, beating Italy in the group stage, being the first Asian team in history to make it past the group stage. During the 2006 World Cup Qualifiers, controversy arose when the team's supporters rioted, interfering with the opponents' safe egress from the stadium, because of North Korea's failure to qualify. In 2009, the team qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the second World Cup appearance in their history. North Korea has qualified for the AFC Asian Cup five times; in 1980, when they finished fourth, in 1992, 2011, in 2015, and in 2019. The current team is composed of both native North Koreans and Chongryon-affiliated Koreans born in Japan.
History
1966 World Cup
Qualification
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 4 |
| 2 | .svg.png){kind=small} |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0 |
| — | .svg.png){kind=small} |
0 | – | – | – | – | – | — | 0 |
| — | .svg.png){kind=small} |
0 | – | – | – | – | – | — | 0 |
(D) Disqualified; (W) Withdrew.
FinalsIn the 1966 World Cup, North Korea played their matches at Middlesbrough's home ground Ayresome Park, when the team caused an upset, beating Italy 1–0 to gain a spot in the quarter-finals. There, they lost 5–3 to Portugal, despite taking a 3–0 lead after thirty minutes. The North Korea team was the first team from outside Europe or the Americas to progress beyond the first round of the World Cup finals.[5] In a 1999 documentary featuring interviews with surviving members of the team,[6] they describe themselves as having been welcomed home as national heroes.
|
1976 Olympic football tournament
The North Korea football team finished second in their group in the 1976 Summer Olympics, but lost 5–0 to Poland in the quarter-finals.[7]
2006 World Cup qualifying stage controversy
In March 2005, the North Korean team was playing Iran in Pyongyang when North Korean fans became enraged when the referee failed to award North Korea a penalty kick after a controversial incident near the end of the match. Demanding a penalty, the North Korean footballers rushed Syrian referee Mohamed Kousa, who instead gave a North Korean player a red card. Bottles, stones and chairs were thrown onto the field following the play. After the match was over, North Korean fans refused to let the Iranian team leave the stadium on their team bus. The violence was so severe that riot police forced back the crowd.[8] Following this incident, North Korea lost its right to host the subsequent home match with Japan and the game was instead played behind closed doors in Bangkok, Thailand.[9]
2010 World Cup
Qualification
The North Korea football team qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup after finishing 2nd place in Group B of Asian qualifying.[10] Their finishing place was not decided until the day of the last fixture of the group, in which they needed not only to avoid defeat in a match against Saudi Arabia, but also relied on Iran losing to South Korea. After the Koreans scored the same number of points as Saudi Arabia, North Korea qualified through goal difference.[11][12] With a final pre-tournament FIFA ranking of 105th in the world, North Korea was the lowest-ranked team to qualify for the World Cup since the rankings began in 1993.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.svg.png){kind=small} |
8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 4 | +8 | 16 |
|
8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 12 |
 |
8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 12 |
 |
8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 11 |
 |
8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 17 | −11 | 1 |
(Q) South Korea and North Korea qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.; (A) Saudi Arabia advanced to the AFC play-off..
Finals
2010 was North Korea's first appearance at the World Cup since 1966.[13] The draw placed North Korea in Group G. They played their first match against five-time winners Brazil on 15 June. Despite their best efforts, they were nevertheless outmatched and lost 1–2. In their next game against Portugal on 21 June, they were defeated 0–7. Despite starting well (as against Brazil), their defensive and well organised approach unravelled after Portugal scored on them. The Koreans lost their final match against Ivory Coast 0–3 on 25 June. Having lost all three group matches, they were knocked out, finishing at the bottom of Group G. It was reported that the small contingency of apparent North Korean football fans were actually Chinese people who bought tickets reserved for North Korean government officials.[14] North Korea subsequently denied the report, and claimed instead that the Chinese were small in number, and that the regime had permitted their travel. There were also reports that the North Korean government punished the coach and players for losing the matches by sending them on a hard labour in mines. However, FIFA's investigators could not confirm that.[15]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 |  |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 | 5 | |
| 3 |  |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | |
| 4 | |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 | −11 | 0 |
| Portugal | 7–0 | |
|---|---|---|
Meireles  Simão Almeida Tiago Liédson Ronaldo |
Report |
| North Korea | 0–3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Y. Touré Romaric Kalou |
Recent results and fixtures
2019
| 8 July 2019 Intercontinental Cup | Syria  | 5–2 | | Ahmedabad, India |
| 20:00 | AIFF |
|
Stadium: TransStadia Arena Attendance: 7,293 Referee: Venkatesh Ramachandran (India) |
| 13 July 2019 Intercontinental Cup | India  | 2–5 | | Ahmedabad, India |
| 20:00 | AIFF |
|
Stadium: TransStadia Arena Attendance: 9,590 Referee: Akhrol Riskullaev (Uzbekistan) |
| 15 July 2019 Intercontinental Cup | North Korea | 1–0 |  | Ahmedabad, India |
| 20:00 |
|
AIFF | Stadium: TransStadia Arena Attendance: 634 Referee: Venkatesh Ramachandran (India) |
| 19 July 2019 Intercontinental Cup | Tajikistan | 0–1 | | Ahmedabad, India |
| 20:00 | AIFF FFT |
|
Stadium: TransStadia Arena Attendance: 1,832 Referee: Akhrol Riskullaev (Uzbekistan) |
| 5 September 2019 2022 FWC Q | North Korea | 2–0 |  | Pyongyang, North Korea |
| 17:30 UTC+9 |
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
Stadium: Kim Il-sung Stadium Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Sherzod Kasimov (Uzbekistan) |
| 10 September 2019 2022 FWC Q | Sri Lanka  | 0–1 | | Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
Stadium: Colombo Racecourse Attendance: 1,258 Referee: Timur Faizullin (Kyrgyzstan) |
| 15 October 2019 2022 FWC Q | North Korea | 0–0 |  | Pyongyang, North Korea |
| Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
Stadium: Kim Il-sung Stadium Attendance: 100 Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar) |
| 14 November 2019 2022 FWC Q | Turkmenistan  | 3–1 | | Ashgabat, Turkmenistan |
| 16:00 UTC+5 |
|
Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
|
Stadium: Ashgabat Stadium Attendance: 26,100 Referee: Sivakorn Pu-udom (Thailand) |
| 19 November 2019 2022 FWC Q | Lebanon | 0–0 | | Beirut, Lebanon |
| 19:00 UTC+2 | Report (FIFA) Report (AFC) |
Stadium: Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Yaqoob Abdul Baki (Oman) |
2020
| 8 October 2020 2022 FWC Q | North Korea | v | | Pyongyang, North Korea |
| Stadium: Kim Il-sung Stadium |
| 12 November 2020 2022 FWC Q | South Korea | v | | Seoul, South Korea |
| Stadium: Seoul World Cup Stadium |
| 17 November 2020 2022 FWC Q | North Korea | v | | Pyongyang, North Korea |
| Stadium: Kim Il-sung Stadium |
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup
AFC Asian Cup
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
Asian Games
- Football at the Asian Games has been an under-23 tournament since 2002.
| Asian Games record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA | |
| Did not enter | |||||||
 | ||||||||
.svg.png){kind=small} | ||||||||
 | ||||||||
 | ||||||||
| ||||||||
.svg.png){kind=small} | Fourth place | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 8 | |
| Champions | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 3 | |
| Fourth place | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 8 | |
.svg.png){kind=small} | Did not enter | |||||||
 | Runners-up | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| Did not enter | |||||||
| 13th place | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 8 | |
| 2002–present | See North Korea national under-23 football team | |||||||
| Total | 5/13 | 28 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 40 | 29 | |
AFC Challenge Cup record
| AFC Challenge Cup Finals | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA |
 | Did not enter | ||||||
| Third place | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| Champions | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 2 |
 | Champions | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
 | Did not enter | ||||||
| Total | Best: Champions | 15 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 4 |
East Asian Cup
| EAFF East Asian Cup record | Preliminary round | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
 | Withdrew | ||||||||||||||
| Third place | 3rd | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 | |
| Fourth place | 4th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | |
| Did not qualify | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 3 | ||||||||
|
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 2 | |||||||||
| Third place | 3rd | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | |
| Fourth place | 4th | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Did not qualify | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | ||||||||
| Total | Best: Third place | 4/8 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 13 | 22 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 90 | 9 | |
Dynasty Cup
| Dynasty Cup record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| Third place | 3rd | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Third place | 3rd | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
.svg.png){kind=small} | Did not enter | |||||||
| ||||||||
| Total | Best: Third place | 2/4 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
Coaching staff
| Position | Name | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Yun Jong-su | |
| Assistant coach | Kim Yong-jun | |
| Goalkeeper coach | Baek Nam-chol | |
| Technical director | Kim Jong-yong | |
Players
Current squad
The following 23 players were selected for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Turkmenistian and Lebanon on 14 and 19 November 2019, respectively.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | GK | Ri Kwang-il | 13 April 1988 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1 | GK | An Tae-song | 21 October 1993 | 6 | 0 | |
| 21 | GK | Sin Hyok | 3 July 1992 | 1 | 0 | |
| 3 | DF | Jang Kuk-chol | 16 February 1994 | 62 | 5 | |
| 13 | DF | Sim Hyon-jin | 1 January 1991 | 41 | 2 | |
| 16 | DF | Pak Myong-song | 31 March 1994 | 23 | 0 | |
| 6 | DF | Kim Chol-bom | 16 July 1994 | 23 | 0 | |
| 2 | DF | Ri Thong-il | 20 November 1992 | 10 | 1 | |
| 17 | DF | Ri Chang-ho | 4 January 1990 | 7 | 0 | |
| 18 | DF | Ri Yong-chol | 8 January 1991 | 5 | 0 | |
| 5 | DF | Hong Jin-song | 22 February 1994 | 3 | 0 | Unattached |
| 11 | MF | Jong Il-gwan (captain) | 30 October 1992 | 76 | 26 | |
| 15 | MF | Ri Un-chol | 13 July 1995 | 25 | 1 | |
| 12 | MF | Ri Yong-jik | 8 February 1991 | 23 | 1 | |
| 8 | MF | Han Thae-hyok | 20 June 1988 | 6 | 0 | |
| 10 | MF | Kim Kum-chol | 7 April 1997 | 5 | 0 | |
| 19 | MF | Song Jong-hyok | 28 June 1995 | 3 | 0 | |
| 4 | MF | Choe Song-hyok | 28 February 1998 | 2 | 0 | Unattached |
| 9 | FW | Pak Kwang-ryong | 27 September 1992 | 41 | 14 |  |
| 14 | FW | Kim Yong-il | 6 July 1994 | 19 | 1 | |
| 7 | FW | Han Kwang-song | 11 September 1998 | 10 | 1 |  |
| 20 | FW | Pak Hyon-il | 21 September 1993 | 8 | 2 | |
| 22 | FW | Choe Ju-song | 27 January 1996 | 6 | 0 | |
Recent call-ups
The following players have been called up to the North Korea squad within the last twelve months.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MF | Ri Un-il | 15 August 1998 | 5 | 0 | |
v. |
| FW | Rim Kwang-hyok | 5 August 1992 | 11 | 3 | |
2019 Intercontinental Cup |
| FW | Ri Hyong-jin | 19 July 1993 | 6 | 3 | |
2019 Intercontinental Cup |
| FW | Jo Sol-song | 27 October 1995 | 1 | 0 | |
2019 Intercontinental Cup |
Records
As of 7 June 2019. Players in bold are still active at international level.
|
|
Honours
- Hero Intercontinental Cup (India)
- Winners (1): 2019
- AFC Challenge Cup
Kit providers
Since 2014, North Korea's official kit provider is currently produced by the North Korean sports company Choeusu.[17]
| Period | Kit Provider |
|---|---|
| 1948–1992 |  |
| 1992–2002 |  |
| 2002–2003 | |
| 2003–2005 |  |
| 2005–2006 | |
| 2006–2008 |  |
| 2008–2010 | |
| 2010–2014 | |
| 2014–present | |
See also
References
- Montague, James (12 December 2017). "Inside the Secret World of Football in North Korea". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
- North Korea matches, ratings and points exchanged
- "World Cup 2010 team guide: North Korea". BBC News. 15 June 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
- "When Middlesbrough hosted the 1966 World Cup Koreans". BBC News. 15 June 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
- "The Game of their Lives". BBC News. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010.
- "XXI. Olympiad Montreal 1976 Football Tournament". rsssf.com. 15 June 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
- "N Korea football violence erupts". BBC News. 30 March 2005. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- Peck, Grant (6 July 2005). "No fans allowed at Japan, North Korea qualifying match". USA Today. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
- "North Korea qualify for World Cup". BBC News. 15 June 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
- "World Cup guide – North Korea". BBC News. 15 June 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
- "Groups and Standings". FIFA. 15 June 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
- "North Korea revive World Cup memories". BBC News. 15 June 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
- Holton, Kate (15 June 2010). "Chinese 'volunteer army' arrive to back North Korea". Reuters. Pretoria, South Africa. Retrieved 13 July 2010. Indicating only that Chinese supporters of North Korea were present, but not necessarily excluding North Korean fans.
- Frayer, Lauren (16 June 2010). "Diplomats: North Korean Soccer Fans Are Genuine". Aol News. Cape Town, South Africa. Archived from the original on 21 July 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
- Bobrowsky, Josef; King, Ian (1 January 2006). "Nehru Cup 1993". The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- "Home-made Football Popular among DPRK People". KCNA. 1 July 2014. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
External links
- Blog about football Democratic People's Republic of Korea (in Italian)
- Korea DPR by FIFA, 15 June 2010
- North Korea – The World Cup's Mystery Men by BBC News, 9 June 2010
- The story of North Korea at the 1966 World Cup, BBC News, 15 June 2010
- Video of Italy's shock loss to North Korea in the World Cup 1966 by Youtube.com, 15 June 2010
- Northern Exposure: The People's Team Abroad by Soccerlens, 25 July 2010
 |
| .svg.png) | |
.svg.png){kind=small}
%3B_Flag_of_Syria_(1963%E2%80%931972).svg.png){kind=small}
| National teams | |
|---|---|
| League system |
|
| Cups | |
| |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
.svg.png){kind=small}
