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 qualify in the 2010 World Cup, and did not pass the group stage after losing in all three group matches. 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 after their losses in the competition.

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 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After South Africa being disqualified and South Korea having withdrawn due to logistical reasons, North Korea had to compete in a play-off match against Australia in order to qualify, which they won 9-2 on aggregate.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 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 reports from Radio Free Asia and Chosun Ilbo that the North Korean government punished the coach and players for losing the matches through torture or sending them to labor camps.[1][2][3] However, FIFA's investigators could not confirm that.[4]

Record at the FIFA World Cup[]

Year Round Position Pld 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 Withdrew
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined
Total Quarter-finals 2/22 7 1 1 5 6 21
*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out

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

England 1966[]

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 Goal 31', 88'
Banishevskiy Goal 33'		 Report
Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough
Attendance: 22,000
Referee: (Spain)
Chile 1–1 North Korea
Marcos Goal 26' (pen.) Report Pak Seung-zin Goal 88'
Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough
Attendance: 16,000
North Korea 1–0 Italy
Pak Doo-ik Goal 42' Report
Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: (France)

Quarter-finals[]

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

South Africa 2010[]

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup Group G

Group G[]

Pos Team
  • v
  • t
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Brazil 3 2 1 0 5 2 +3 7 Advance to knockout stage
2  Portugal 3 1 2 0 7 0 +7 5
3  Ivory Coast 3 1 1 1 4 3 +1 4
4  North Korea 3 0 0 3 1 12 −11 0
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria
Brazil 2–1 North Korea
Maicon Goal 55'
Elano Goal 72'		 Report Ji Yun-nam Goal 89'
Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
Attendance: 54,331
Portugal 7–0 North Korea
Meireles Goal 29'
Simão Goal 53'
Almeida Goal 56'
Tiago Goal 60', 89'
Liédson Goal 81'
Ronaldo Goal 87'		 Report
Attendance: 63,644
Referee: Pablo Pozo (Chile)
North Korea 0–3 Ivory Coast
Report Y. Touré Goal 14'
Romaric Goal 20'
Kalou Goal 82'
Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Attendance: 34,763
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

Record players[]

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

Rank Player 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. ^ "North Korea's failed World Cup footballers undergo public mauling". The Guardian. 2010-07-30. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  2. ^ JOHN M. GLIONNA; ETHAN KIM (2010-08-13). "North Korean soccer team reportedly punished". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021.
  3. ^ "Fifa investigates North Korea World Cup abuse claims". BBC News. 2010-08-11. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  4. ^ Chris Paraskevas (August 26, 2010). "FIFA End Investigation Into Claims About North Korea Squad Punishment". Goal.com. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  5. ^ "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.
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