North Korea at the FIFA World Cup

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North Korea qualified and participated in the 1966 and 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Contents

In 1966, North Korea won the first round after competing against the Soviet Union, Chile, and Italy. North Korea progressed to the second round, thus making them the first Asian country to have qualified past the first round. However, they lost to Portugal in the quarter-finals. Seven players were consistently fielded during these matches.

North Korea was the lowest-ranking team to qualify for the 2010 World Cup and did not pass the group stage after losing in all three group matches.

North Korea had four top goalscorers in 1966, and only one goalscorer in the 2010 World Cup.

Prior to North Korea's debut in 1966, Korean Empire had entered qualification for the FIFA World Cup in 1930, 1934, and 1938 as part of Japan because Korea was occupied by Japan at that time. In later years, North Korea either withdrew (1970 and 1978), or did not enter or qualify for the World Cup.

Summary

1966 in England

After South Africa being disqualified and South Korea having withdrawn due to logistical reasons, North Korea had to compete in a play-off match against Australia in order to qualify, which they won 9–2 on aggregate.

In the third and decisive group match, North Korea beat title contenders Italy 1–0, eliminating them from the competition and advancing to the second stage. No team from Asia had ever progressed from the first round before, and the feat would not be repeated until 1994, when Saudi Arabia reached the Round of 16.

In the quarter-final against Portugal, North Korea managed to lead 3–0 after 25 minutes, but the game was turned around with a final score of 3–5, with Portuguese star player Eusébio scoring four goals.

2010 in South Africa

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.

2010 was North Korea's first appearance at the World Cup since 1966. 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 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-organized approach unraveled 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 apparent North Korean football fans were actually Chinese people who bought tickets reserved for North Korean government officials. North Korea subsequently denied the report and claimed that the Chinese were small in number and that the government had permitted their travel.

Record at the FIFA World Cup

YearRoundPositionPldWDLGFGA
Flag of Uruguay.svg 1930 Occupied by Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan
Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg 1934
Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg 1938
Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg 1950 Did not enter
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg 1954
Flag of Sweden.svg 1958
Flag of Chile.svg 1962
Flag of England.svg 1966 Quarter-finals8th411259
Flag of Mexico.svg 1970 Withdrew
Flag of Germany.svg 1974 Did not qualify
Flag of Argentina.svg 1978 Withdrew
Flag of Spain.svg 1982 Did not qualify
Flag of Mexico.svg 1986
Flag of Italy.svg 1990
Flag of the United States.svg 1994
Flag of France (lighter variant).svg 1998 Did not enter
Flag of South Korea (1997-2011).svg Flag of Japan.svg 2002
Flag of Germany.svg 2006 Did not qualify
Flag of South Africa.svg 2010 Group stage32nd3003112
Flag of Brazil.svg 2014 Did not qualify
Flag of Russia.svg 2018
Flag of Qatar.svg 2022 Withdrew
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Flag of Mexico.svg Flag of the United States.svg 2026 Did not qualify
Flag of Morocco.svg Flag of Portugal (official).svg Flag of Spain.svg 2030 To be determined
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg 2034
TotalQuarter-finals2/257115621
*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out

By match

World CupRoundOpponentScoreResultVenueScorers
1966 Group 4 Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 0–3 L Middlesbrough
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 1–1 D Middlesbrough Pak S.Z.
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 1–0 W Middlesbrough Pak D.I.
Quarter-finals Flag of Portugal (official).svg  Portugal 3–5 L Liverpool Pak S.Z., Li D.W., Yang S.K.
2010 Group G Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 1–2 L Johannesburg Ji Y.N.
Flag of Portugal (official).svg  Portugal 0–7 L Cape Town
Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast 0–3 L Nelspruit

England 1966

Group 4

TeamPldWDLGFGAGAvPts
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 3300616.006
Flag of North Korea (1948-1992).svg  North Korea 3111240.503
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 3102221.002
Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 3012250.401
Soviet Union  Flag of the Soviet Union.svg3–0Flag of North Korea (1948-1992).svg  North Korea
Malofeyev Soccerball shade.svg31', 88'
Banishevskiy Soccerball shade.svg33'
Report

Chile  Flag of Chile.svg1–1Flag of North Korea (1948-1992).svg  North Korea
Marcos Soccerball shade.svg26' (pen.) Report Pak Seung-zin Soccerball shade.svg88'

North Korea  Flag of North Korea (1948-1992).svg1–0Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Pak Doo-ik Soccerball shade.svg42' Report
Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Pierre Schwinte (France)

Quarter-finals

Portugal  Flag of Portugal (official).svg5–3Flag of North Korea (1948-1992).svg  North Korea
Eusébio Soccerball shade.svg27', 43' (pen.), 56', 59' (pen.)
José Augusto Soccerball shade.svg80'
Report Pak Seung-zin Soccerball shade.svg1'
Li Dong-woon Soccerball shade.svg22'
Yang Seung-kook Soccerball shade.svg25'
Goodison Park, Liverpool
Attendance: 51,780
Referee: Menachem Ashkenazi (Israel)

South Africa 2010

Group G

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 321052+37Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of Portugal (official).svg  Portugal 312070+75
3Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast 311143+14
4Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea 3003112110
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria
Brazil  Flag of Brazil.svg2–1Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea
Maicon Soccerball shade.svg55'
Elano Soccerball shade.svg72'
Report Ji Yun-nam Soccerball shade.svg89'
Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
Attendance: 54,331
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary) [1]

Portugal  Flag of Portugal (official).svg7–0Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea
Meireles Soccerball shade.svg29'
Simão Soccerball shade.svg53'
Almeida Soccerball shade.svg56'
Tiago Soccerball shade.svg60', 89'
Liédson Soccerball shade.svg81'
Ronaldo Soccerball shade.svg87'
Report
Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town
Attendance: 63,644
Referee: Pablo Pozo (Chile)

North Korea  Flag of North Korea.svg0–3Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Ivory Coast
Report Y. Touré Soccerball shade.svg14'
Romaric Soccerball shade.svg20'
Kalou Soccerball shade.svg82'

Record players

Seven players have been fielded on all four matches in 1966, making them record World Cup players for their country:

RankPlayerMatches
1 Han Bong-Zin 4
Im Seung-Hwi 4
Li Chan-myung 4
Lim Zoong-Sun 4
Pak Doo-Ik 4
Pak Seung-Zin 4
Shin Yung-Kyoo 4

Top goalscorers

No.NameGoalsWorld Cups
1 Pak Seung-Zin 21966
2 Pak Doo-Ik 11966
Lee Dong-Woon 11966
Yang Sung-Kook 11966
Ji Yun-Nam 12010

See also

References

  1. "Referee designations for matches 1–16" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 5 June 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 5, 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.

Head-to-head record