2010 World Cup Spotlight: North Korea

Welcome to North Korea! North Korea is the ultimate minnow team, but that does not mean they won't fight for victory.

Population: 23,906,000
FIFA ranking: 84
Home stadium: Kim il-Sung Stadium (50,000)

Odds: 90:1 to make it out of group, 450:1 to win

World Cup appearances: 1966 (quarter-finals)

Of the North Korean squad, only one player has any experience for a European team. Most of their players play in the PRK (that's People's Republic of Korea for you imperialist dogs) football league, while a few play in Japan.

A story of the North Korea World Cup would not be complete without a retelling of the 1966 World Cup, their biggest achievement in football.

The 1966 World Cup

Qualifying

No African or Asian countries qualified for the previous 1958 or 1962 World Cups, so FIFA created a combined CAF (Africa) and AFC (Asia) zone playoff for '66. Eighteen CAF and AFC countries met in their own tournament for precisely one World Cup spot. The African nations thought this was unfair, since they would have to both win their zone and beat an Asian team to qualify for the World Cup. All of the CAF teams withdrew in protest.

This left three nations to play for one qualifying spot: the three AFC sides North Korea, South Korea, and Australia. The group's matches were to be played in Cambodia which made South Korea withdraw in protest (Protesting seemed to be popular in the '60s) leaving only North Korea and Australia. They played two matches. North Korea won both of them (6-1, 3-1) and qualified for the '66 World Cup.

According to Ring Jung-sun, a defender on the 1966 team, before they left for England Kim Il-Sung said to the team, "European and South American nations dominate international football. As the representatives of the Africa and Asian region, as colored people, I urge you to win one or two matches."

The Cup

North Korea was placed in Group Four with the Soviet Union, Italy, and Chile, with home matches played at Ayresome Park, home ground of Middlesbrough. In the first match, they lost to the USSR 3-0. They scored an 88th minute equalizer to draw against Chile, and went into the final match against favorites Italy with one point to Italy's two (wins were worth two points at this time).

The North Koreans played fast attacking football, in contrast to the rest of the world's national teams at the time. The Middlesbrough fans, converted into North Korean fans by their fantastic performances, were fully behind them from the minute they stepped onto the pitch. They shocked the world by beating Italy 1-0 on a 57th minute goal, putting them second in their group with three points and qualifying for the quarter-finals.

The quarterfinal game was a brilliant showing from the North Koreans against Portugal, for at least the first half hour anyway. North Korea scored three goals (1', 22', 25') and were dominating before Portuguese superstar Eusébio stepped in and scored four unanswered goals himself (27', 43' (pen), 56', 59' (pen)). A fifth goal from José Augusto (80') ended the North Korean run at the World Cup, 5-3 to Portugal.

Since 1966

North Korea has had a somewhat less spectacular record since then. They did not enter or failed to qualify for every World Cup since. A 2006 World Cup qualification match against Iran held in Pyongyang ended in a riot after angry fans rushed the field and beat a referee who did not give North Korea a penalty kick after a foul.

2010

North Korea qualified for the 2010 World Cup through the AFC qualifiers starting in the first round (beating Mongolia 9-1 aggregate in the first, good enough for a bye to the third round) and remaining undefeated until the fourth round, the second group stage. They placed second in Group B to South Korea (their only loss in the qualifiers) and qualified for the World Cup.

The Squad

A word about the squad. The national squad is known as the International Friendship Tournament played a few weeks ago and the AFC qualifiers, but information on the players and their statistics at their clubs is nigh-impossible to come by. There is usually little to no information about these players out there.

Manager: Kim Jong-hun

Kim Jong-hun has been manager of the North Korean national side since at least 2007. Not much is known about him, but he favors the strong, defensive play which has served him well through the qualification process but a lack of goals going forward may hamper his progress.

Starting XI (based on squad from AFC qualifiers and other recent international matches)

         Jong     Hong



     An       Mun       Pak     



J.Ri   K.Ri   Cha    Pak    Ji



             M. Ri

GK: #1 Myong-Guk Ri, 23, 23 caps, plays for Pyongyang City (PRK)
Allowed six goals in 15 matches during qualification. Also seems to have a penchant for picking up yellow cards.

DF: #3 Jun-Il Ri, 22, 27 caps, 0 goals, plays for Sobaeksu (PRK)

DF: #5 Kwang-Chon Ri, 24, 38 caps, 1 goal, plays for April 25 (PRK)

DF: #2 Jong-Hyok Cha, 24, 27 caps, 0 goals, plays for Amrokgang (PRK)
A skilled defender.

DF: #4 Nam-Chol Pak, 24, 24 caps, 4 goals, plays for April 25 (PRK)
Picks up the occasional Man of the Match award in international tournaments.

DF: #8 Yun-Nam Ji, 25, 31 caps, 7 goals, plays for April 25 (PRK)

MF: #9 Yong-Hak Ahn, 31, 22 caps, 2 goals, plays for Omiya Ardija (JPN)
The skilled midfielder was born in Japan and played in the South Korean league for years before moving to Omiya. He doesn't fall for propaganda from either Korean nation. He loves Oasis and Green Day, and wants to play in the EPL so he can meet Cristiano Ronaldo. Google this guy, his interviews are pretty cool.

MF: #11 In-Guk Mun, 31, 36 caps, 5 goals, plays for April 25 (PRK)
MVP of the East Asian Football Championship qualifiers in 2009. North Korea took fourth place.

MF: #13 Chol-Jin Pak, 24, 31 caps, 0 goals, plays for Amrokgang (PRK)

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FW: #12 Tae-Se Jong, 25, 20 caps, 11 goals, plays for Kawasaki Frontale (JPN)

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Jong is North Korea's top striker. The pacy player from Pohang picked up the nickname " The People's Rooney" after he defected from South to North. His performance will be vital to the North Korean effort.

FW: (C) #10 Yong-Jo Hong, 28, 38 caps, 11 goals, plays for FC Rostov (RUS)
Hong is the only North Korean player to play in Europe, for a Serbian club and as a sub for FC Rostov in the Russian First Division. He was the captain of the squad during the World Cup qualifiers.

The Group
North Korea is in the Group of Death with Brazil, Portugal, and Ivory Coast.

Expectation: Draw a match for Dear Leader and go home at the end of the group stage.