North Korean National Football Team / World Championships

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North Korea
조선 민주주의 인민 공화국 축구 협회
Flag of North Korea.svg
World Cup record goalscorer: Pak Seung-zin (2)
World Cup record players: 7 players (4 each)
Rank : 58
Balance sheet
7 World Cup games
1 win
1 draw
5 defeats
6:21 goals
statistics
First World Cup game North Korea 0-3 USSR Middlesbrough ( ENG ); July 12, 1966
Korea NorthNorth Korea Soviet Union 1955Soviet Union
Biggest World Cup victory North Korea 1-0 Italy Middlesbrough ( ENG ); July 19, 1966
Korea NorthNorth Korea ItalyItaly
Biggest World Cup defeat North Korea 0: 7 Portugal Cape Town ( ZAF ); June 21, 2010
Korea NorthNorth Korea PortugalPortugal
successes

World Championship
Participation in the finals 2 ( first : 1966 )
Best results Quarter-finals 1966
Best placements in the countries that host the FIFA World Cup
North Korean World Cup placements.PNG
(Status: after the 2018 World Cup )

The article contains a detailed description of the North Korean national soccer team at world championships . North Korea has taken part in soccer world championships twice so far. In the all-time table of World Cup finalists, North Korea ranks 58th. North Korea is the first Asian team to score a goal, win a point and a game and survive the preliminary round at a World Cup.

overview

North Korea first took part in qualifying for the 1966 World Cup and was able to qualify straight away, but benefited from the withdrawal of the African teams and South Korea . In England, North Korea was the first Asian team to reach the quarter-finals. Until 2010, this was the only participation in the finals, as North Korea either failed in qualifying, did not participate or withdrew its team.

year Host country Participation until ... Last opponent Result Trainer Comments and special features
1930 Uruguay does not yet exist
1934 Italy does not yet exist
1938 France does not yet exist
1950 Brazil not participated Not a FIFA member
1954 Switzerland not participated Not a FIFA member
1958 Sweden not participated FIFA member only after qualification has started
1962 Chile not participated
1966 England Quarter finals Portugal 8th. Myung Rye-hyun 1-0 against Italy in the preliminary round
1970 Mexico disqualified North Korea refused to compete in Israel.
1974 Germany not qualified In qualifying on Iran have failed, but failed to qualify also.
1978 Argentina withdrawn North Korea was supposed to compete against Israel , Japan and South Korea in the first round of qualification , but decided not to participate. However, none of them could qualify either.
1982 Spain not qualified In the qualification of China failed that also failed to qualify.
1986 Mexico not qualified In the qualification of Japan failed, but which also could not qualify.
1990 Italy not qualified In the qualification in the final round of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates failed.
1994 United States not qualified In the qualifying in the third round of Saudi Arabia and South Korea failed.
1998 France not participated
2002 South Korea / Japan not participated
2006 Germany not qualified In the qualification of Japan and Iran failed.
2010 South Africa Preliminary round Brazil , Portugal , Ivory Coast 32. Kim Jong-hun After 3 defeats, including the 7-0 defeat in North Korea, eliminated with the worst goal difference of all teams.
2014 Brazil not qualified In the qualifying in the third round of Japan and Uzbekistan failed.
2018 Russia not qualified In the qualification in the second round of Uzbekistan failed.
2022 Qatar

Statistics (data including 2018: 21 World Championships)

  • No participation: 10 × (47.6%; 1930, 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1978, 1998, 2002)
  • Disqualified: 1 × (4.8%; 1970)
  • Unqualified: 8 × (38.1%; 1974, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 2006, 2014 and 2018)
  • Athletic qualification: 2 × (9.5% or 18.2% of the attempts)
    • Quarter-finals: 1 × (4.8%; 1966)
    • Preliminary round: 1 × (4.8%; 2010)

World Cup tournaments

World Championships 1930 to 1962

Before World War II, Korea was a part of Japan. Japan did not participate in any of the three pre-war soccer world championships. After the Second World War , the Korean peninsula was divided into a northern Soviet and southern American occupation zone. There has been an independent North Korean football association since 1945, but it has only been a member of FIFA since 1958, so North Korea could not take part in the first World Cup tournaments. But in 1962, North Korea did not take part either.

World Championship 1966

Before the start of qualification for the World Cup in England , 15 African teams and South Korea withdrew their registration, as the African, Asian and Oceanic teams were only allowed one starting place. Only North Korea and Australia took part in the qualification. Both played against each other twice in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh . North Korea won both games (6-1 and 3-1), qualifying for the World Cup finals for the first time. The two games against Australia were North Korea's very first full international matches!

In England, North Korea was drawn into the group with vice European champions USSR , ex-world champions Italy and Chile and was considered an outsider. As the United Kingdom had no diplomatic relations with North Korea and refused to play the North Korean anthem, FIFA decided to forego all national anthems during the tournament. Only the final was excluded from this special regulation. In their first World Cup match, the North Koreans lost 3-0 to the USSR. In the second game against Chile, in front of the negative crowd of 13,792 spectators, they were down 1-0 by the 88th minute. Then Pak Seung-zin scored the first goal for an Asian team, taking the first point in a World Cup for an Asian team. Because Italy, who had previously beaten Chile, lost to the USSR in the parallel game, the Italians had to play at least a draw in their last game against the North Koreans to reach the quarter-finals. Since the Milanese clubs Inter and AC had won the European Cup in 1963, 1964 and 1965 and players from these teams formed the core of the national team, Italy was the favorite. North Korea took the lead in the 41st minute with a goal from Pak Doo-ik and defended it to the end, which was the first time an Asian team won a World Cup game. Because Chile lost to the USSR in the parallel game, North Korea finished second and reached the quarter-finals. Here the team met the newcomer to the World Cup, Portugal , who had eliminated defending champions Brazil in his group and was therefore considered a favorite. After 24 minutes, North Korea led 3-0 and everything looked like another surprise. But then the later World Cup top scorer Eusébio was able to turn the game around with four goals, including two penalties, and in the end José Augusto made North Korea's elimination 5-3 perfect. Portugal then lost to hosts England in the semi-finals, but were able to finish third. North Korea said goodbye to the World Cup for 44 years.

World Championship 1970

In qualifying for the World Cup in Mexico , North Korea was supposed to play in a group of three with Israel and New Zealand but refused to compete in Israel and was therefore disqualified by FIFA. Israel first prevailed against New Zealand and then against Australia and qualified for the only time so far for the World Cup finals.

1974 World Cup

North Korea registered too late for the first World Cup in Germany , but since India withdrew, they were still admitted two years after the registration deadline and had to play against Iran , Syria and Kuwait in the qualification . All games took place in Tehran and with only one win against Syria, three draws and two defeats, the North Koreans only finished third and were eliminated. Group winners Iran then lost in the next round to Australia, which then prevailed against South Korea and qualified for the World Cup for the first time.

World Championship 1978

In the first qualifying round , North Korea was supposed to compete in the East Asia group with South Korea, Israel and Japan , but decided not to participate. South Korea won the East Asia group and came second in the final Asian group of the five group winners behind Iran , the only Asian representative of the 1978 World Cup in Argentina.

World Championship 1982

For the World Cup in Spain , the field of participants was increased to 24 teams and the teams from Asia and Oceania now received two starting places. North Korea first had to face Macau in a division game and won 3-0. In the subsequent intermediate round with Hong Kong and Singapore , North Korea won the group and then met Japan in the semi-finals and won 1-0. In the final, the North Koreans lost to China 2-4 after extra time. China then failed in the last round to Kuwait and New Zealand, who qualified for the first time.

1986 World Championship

In the qualification for the second World Cup in Mexico , West and East Asia each played a starting place. North Korea could not prevail against Japan in the first round and thus retired early, as only the home game against the other group opponent Singapore was won. Japan could not qualify either, as the team lost in the East Asian finals to South Korea , which was able to qualify again for the first time after 1954 and has been there ever since.

World Cup 1990

In qualifying for the second World Cup in Italy , North Korea was able to prevail against Japan, Indonesia and Hong Kong in the first group stage . In the final group stage, however, North Korea came in last behind South Korea, the United Arab Emirates , which qualified for the only time so far, Qatar , China and Saudi Arabia .

World Championship 1994

In qualifying for the World Cup in the USA , North Korea was able to prevail in the first round at tournaments in Qatar and Singapore as group winners against Qatar, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam . At the final tournament in Doha with Saudi Arabia, which qualified for the first time, South Korea, Japan , Iraq and Iran , North Korea again only came in last.

World Championship 1998

On the qualification for the second World Cup in France , North Korea did not participate. South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Iran qualified from the AFC zone.

World Championship 2002

Also at the qualification for the first World Cup in Asia , which was held in Japan and South Korea, North Korea did not participate. In addition to the two hosts, China and Saudi Arabia also qualified for the 2002 World Cup.

World Championship 2006

In qualifying for the second World Cup in Germany , North Korea was directly qualified for the first main round by bye. North Korea was able to prevail as group winners in Group 5 of the Asia zone against the United Arab Emirates, Thailand and Yemen . The second group stage was against Japan, Iran and Bahrain . North Korea could only win the last game against Bahrain, but lost all other games and were eliminated from the bottom of the group. From the AFC zone, Japan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and South Korea qualified for the World Cup finals in Germany.

World Championship 2010

North Korean fans during the game against Brazil
Scene from the game against Portugal

In qualifying for the first World Cup in Africa , North Korea had to face Mongolia in the first round and qualified directly for the third round with two wins (4: 1 and 5: 1). In Group 5 of the Asia zone, North Korea met South Korea, Jordan and Turkmenistan . North Korea and South Korea made it into the next round. There, South Korea was able to qualify as group winners for the World Cup in South Africa. North Korea finished second and after 44 years also qualified for the World Cup and thus for the only time so far both Korean teams. Other group opponents were Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. In addition to North and South Korea, Japan and Australia also qualified for the World Cup finals in South Africa from the AFC zone.

In South Africa, North Korea met record world champions Brazil in their first game and lost 2-1, which was considered a respectable success. The second game against Portugal , which was the first World Cup game to be shown directly on North Korean television due to the previous game, was lost 7-0, the North Korean team's biggest defeat ever. In the last game against the Ivory Coast , meaningless for North Korea , they lost 3-0. The victory was of no use to Ivory Coast either, as Portugal and Brazil separated 0-0 in a parallel game. North Korea thus said goodbye to the World Cup for at least twelve years.

World Championship 2014

In qualifying for the second World Cup in Brazil , North Korea went straight to the third round as a seeded team due to their participation in the previous World Cup. In Group C, however, only third place came in behind Uzbekistan and Japan, leaving only Tajikistan behind. So the fourth round was missed. From the AFC zone, Iran, South Korea, Japan and Australia qualified for the World Cup finals in Brazil.

World Championship 2018

In the qualification , the team did not have to intervene until the second round and met Bahrain , Yemen , the Philippines and Uzbekistan . North Korea started with four wins and one draw, putting the team in first place before the last three games. Ultimately, they lost first place to Uzbekistan and narrowly missed out on the fifth-best group runner-up.

player

Ranking of the North Korean World Cup players with the most appearances

01. Han Bong-zin , Im Seung-hwi , Lee Chang-myung , Lim Zoong-sun , Pak Doo-ik , Pak Seung-zin and Shin Yung-kyoo - 4 each in a tournament

Ranking of North Korean World Cup players with the most World Cup goals

01. Pak Seung-zin - 2 gates
03. Li Dong-woon , Pak Doo-ik , Yang Seung-kook and Ji Yun-nam - 1 goal each

World Cup captains

Share of players playing abroad in the World Cup squad

Year (games) Number (countries) Players (stakes)
1966 (4) 0
2010 (3) 3 (2 in Japan, 1 in Russia) Ahn Young-haki (3), Jong Tae-se (3); Hong Yong-jo (3)

Players banned from World Championships

No North Korean player was suspended in either of the two appearances.

Games

North Korea has played seven World Cup games so far. One of them was won, five lost and one ended in a draw. North Korea never met a host, defending champion and eventual world champion. North Korea met a newcomer once: in 1966, when they were newcomers themselves, Portugal. Portugal are also the most common two-game opponents.

All World Cup games
No. date opponent Result venue occasion Remarks
1. 07/12/1966 Soviet Union 1955Soviet Union Soviet Union 0: 3 Preliminary round Middlesbrough ( ENG ) First international game against the Soviet Union, first international game outside of Asia
2. 07/15/1966 ChileChile Chile 1: 1 Preliminary round Middlesbrough ( ENG ) First international game against Chile, first point for an Asian team in a World Cup game
3. 07/19/1966 ItalyItaly Italy 1-0 Preliminary round Middlesbrough ( ENG ) First international match against Italy, first win for an Asian team in a World Cup game
4th 07/23/1966 PortugalPortugal Portugal 3: 5 Quarter finals Liverpool ( ENG ) First international match against Portugal
5. 06/15/2010 BrazilBrazil Brazil 1: 2 Preliminary round Johannesburg ( ZAF ) First international match against Brazil
6th 06/21/2010 PortugalPortugal Portugal 0: 7 Preliminary round Cape Town ( ZAF )
7th 06/25/2010 Ivory CoastIvory Coast Ivory Coast 0: 3 Preliminary round Nelspruit ( ZAF ) First international match against Ivory Coast

The only win in a World Cup game is also the North Korean team's highest against Italy.

The North Korean team suffered their biggest defeats in World Cup tournaments against the following countries:

  • BrazilBrazil Brazil : Preliminary round 2010 - 1: 2 (only game against Brazil)
  • Ivory CoastIvory Coast Ivory Coast : preliminary round 2010 - 3-0 (only game against Ivory Coast)
  • PortugalPortugal Portugal : Preliminary round 2010 - 7-0 (biggest defeat)
  • Soviet Union 1955Soviet Union Soviet Union : preliminary round 1966 - 3-0 (only game against the USSR)

Records

  • A North Korean scored an anniversary tour: Pak Seung-zin scored the 700th World Cup goal on July 15, 1966 with a 1-1 final against Chile.

Negative records

  • Worst team at the 2010 World Cup: 3 defeats 1:12 goals.

See also

North Korean Women's National Football Team / World Championships

Web links

References and footnotes

  1. The placements from 5th place onwards were determined by FIFA without any placement games. See: All-time FIFA World Cup Ranking 1930-2010 (PDF; 200 kB)
  2. ↑ The Dutch East Indies lost 6-0 against Hungary in 1938 and South Korea lost 9-0 against Hungary in 1954 and 7-0 against Turkey.