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North Korea at the FIFA World Cup

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

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 qualifying in the 2010 World Cup, and did not pass the group rounds after losing in all three group competitions. Some public (but unconfirmed) conspiracies circulated around 2010s FIFA World Cup, with reports that the North Korean government sentenced the team to work in mines proceeding their losses within the competitions.

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

In 1930, 1934, and 1938 North Korea entered and was present at the FIFA World Cup as part of Japan. However, in the additional years, North Korea either withdrew (1970 & 1978), or did not enter or qualify in 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After South Africa being disqualified and South Korea having withdrawn due to logistical reasons, North Korea had to compete in a play-off match against Australia in order to qualify, which they won 9-2 on aggregate.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 has 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 22 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.[15] 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.[16] 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.

Record at the FIFA World Cup

Year Round Position GP W D* L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Part of  Japan
Italy 1934
France 1938
Brazil 1950 Did not enter
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962
England 1966 Quarter-finals 8th 4 1 1 2 5 9
Mexico 1970 Withdrew
West Germany 1974 Did not qualify
Argentina 1978 Withdrew
Spain 1982 Did not qualify
Mexico 1986
Italy 1990
United States 1994
France 1998 Did not enter
South Korea Japan 2002
Germany 2006 Did not qualify
South Africa 2010 Group stage 32nd 3 0 0 3 1 12
Brazil 2014 Did not qualify
Russia 2018
Qatar 2022 To be determined
Canada Mexico United States 2026
Total Quarter-finals 2/21 7 1 1 5 6 21
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks

By Match

World Cup Round Opponent Score Result Venue Scorers
1966 Group stage  Soviet Union 0–3 L Middlesbrough —
 Chile 1–1 D Middlesbrough Pak S.Z.
 Italy 1–0 W Middlesbrough Pak D.I.
Quarter-finals  Portugal 3–5 L Liverpool Pak S.Z., Li D.W., Yang S.K.
2010 Group stage  Brazil 2–1 L Johannesburg Ji Y.N.
 Portugal 7–0 L Cape Town —
 Ivory Coast 0–3 L Nelspruit —

Record by Opponent

FIFA World Cup matches (by team)
Opponent Wins Draws Losses Total Goals Scored Goals Conceded
 Brazil 0 0 1 1 1 2
 Chile 0 1 0 1 1 1
 Italy 1 0 0 1 1 0
 Ivory Coast 0 0 1 1 0 3
 Portugal 0 0 2 2 3 12
 Soviet Union 0 0 1 1 0 3

North Korea at the 1966 World Cup

Group 4

Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
 Soviet Union 3 3 0 0 6 1 6.00 6
 North Korea 3 1 1 1 2 4 0.50 3
 Italy 3 1 0 2 2 2 1.00 2
 Chile 3 0 1 2 2 5 0.40 1
Soviet Union 3–0 North Korea
Malofeyev 31', 88'
Banishevskiy 33'		 Report
Attendance: 22,000
Chile 1–1 North Korea
Marcos 26' (pen.) Report Pak Seung-zin 88'
Attendance: 16,000
North Korea 1–0 Italy
Pak Doo-ik 42' Report
Attendance: 18,000

Quarter-finals

Portugal 5–3 North Korea
Eusébio 27', 43' (pen.), 56', 59' (pen.)
José Augusto 80'		 Report Pak Seung-zin 1'
Li Dong-woon 22'
Yang Seung-kook 25'
Attendance: 51,780

South Africa 2010

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup Group G

Group G

Template:2010 FIFA World Cup Group G

Brazil 2–1 North Korea
Maicon 55'
Elano 72'		 Report Ji Yun-nam 89'
Attendance: 54,331
Portugal 7–0 North Korea
Meireles 29'
Simão 53'
Almeida 56'
Tiago 60', 89'
Liédson 81'
Ronaldo 87'		 Report
Attendance: 63,644
Referee: Pablo Pozo (Chile)
North Korea 0–3 Ivory Coast
Report Y. Touré 14'
Romaric 20'
Kalou 82'
Attendance: 34,763

Record players

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

No. Name Matches
1 Han Bong-Zin 4
Im Seung-Hwi 4
Lee Chang-Myung 4
Lim Zoong-Sun 4
Pak Doo-Ik 4
Pak Seung-Zin 4
Shin Yung-Kyoo 4

Top goalscorers

No. Name Goals World Cups
1 Pak Seung-Zin 2 1966
2 Pak Doo-Ik 1 1966
Lee Dong-Woon 1 1966
Yang Sung-Kook 1 1966
Ji Yun-Nam 1 2010

References

  1. ^ "Referee designations for matches 1–16" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 5 June 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
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