North Korea at the FIFA World Cup
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After South Africa being disqualified and South Korea having withdrawn due to logistical reasons, North Korea had to compete in a play-off match against Australia in order to qualify, which they won 9-2 on aggregate.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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1930 | Part of Japan | |||||||
1934 | ||||||||
1938 | ||||||||
1950 | Did not enter | |||||||
1954 | ||||||||
1958 | ||||||||
1962 | ||||||||
1966 | Quarter-finals | 8th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
1970 | Withdrew | |||||||
1974 | Did not qualify | |||||||
1978 | Withdrew | |||||||
1982 | Did not qualify | |||||||
1986 | ||||||||
1990 | ||||||||
1994 | ||||||||
1998 | Did not enter | |||||||
2002 | ||||||||
2006 | Did not qualify | |||||||
2010 | Group stage | 32nd | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
2014 | Did not qualify | |||||||
2018 | ||||||||
2022 | To be determined | |||||||
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 |
Chile | 1–1 | North Korea |
---|---|---|
Marcos 26' (pen.) | Report | Pak Seung-zin 88' |
North Korea | 1–0 | Italy |
---|---|---|
Pak Doo-ik 42' | Report |
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' |
South Africa 2010
Group G
Template:2010 FIFA World Cup Group G
Brazil | 2–1 | North Korea |
---|---|---|
Maicon 55' Elano 72' |
Report | Ji Yun-nam 89' |
Portugal | 7–0 | North Korea |
---|---|---|
Meireles 29' Simão 53' Almeida 56' Tiago 60', 89' Liédson 81' Ronaldo 87' |
Report |
North Korea | 0–3 | Ivory Coast |
---|---|---|
Report | Y. Touré 14' Romaric 20' Kalou 82' |
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
- ^ "Referee designations for matches 1–16" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 5 June 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.