North Korea at the FIFA World Cup

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Participation of North Korea's national football team in the FIFA World Cup

For the women's team, see North Korea at the FIFA Women's 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 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

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### 1966 in England

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After South Africa being disqualified and South Korea having withdrawn due to logistical reasons, North Korea had to compete in a play-off match against Australia in order to qualify, which they won 9–2 on aggregate.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

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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. Two of the players of the North Korean team fled to Germany.

## Record at the FIFA World Cup

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Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA

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1930 | Occupied by  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 | Withdrew
2026 | Did not qualify
2030 | To be determined
2034
Total  | Quarter-finals  | 2/25  | 7  | 1  | 1  | 5  | 6  | 21

*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out

### By match

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World Cup  | Round  | Opponent  | Score  | Result  | Venue  | Scorers

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1966 | Group 4 |  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 G |  Brazil | 1–2 | L | Johannesburg | Ji Y.N.
Portugal | 0–7 | L | Cape Town | —
Ivory Coast | 0–3 | L | Nelspruit | —

## England 1966

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* v
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North Korea squad – 1966 FIFA World Cup

* 1 Li Chan-myung
* 2 Pak Li-sup
* 3 Shin Yung-kyoo
* 4 Kang Bong-chil
* 5 Lim Zoong-sun
* 6 Im Shung-hwi
* 7 Pak Doo-ik
* 8 Pak Seung-zin (c)
* 9 Li Keun-hak
* 10 Kang Ryong-woon
* 11 Han Bong-zin
* 12 Kim Seung-il
* 13 Oh Yoon-kyung
* 14 Ha Jung-won
* 15 Yang Song-guk
* 16 Li Dong-woon
* 17 Kim Bong-hwan
* 18 Ke Seung-woon
* 19 Kim Yung-kil
* 20 Ryoo Chang-kil
* 21 An Se-bok
* 22 Li Chi-an
* Coach: Myung Rye-hyun

### Group 4

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Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts

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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

12 July 1966

19:30 BST

Soviet Union | 3–0|  North Korea

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Malofeyev 31', 88'
Banishevskiy 33' | Report |

Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough

Attendance: 22,000

Referee: Juan Gardeazábal Garay (Spain)

* * *

15 July 1966

19:30 BST

Chile | 1–1|  North Korea

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Marcos 26' (pen.) | Report | Pak Seung-zin 88'

Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough

Attendance: 16,000

Referee: Ali Kandil (United Arab Republic)

* * *

19 July 1966

19:30 BST

North Korea | 1–0|  Italy

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Pak Doo-ik 42' | Report |

Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough

Attendance: 18,000

Referee: Pierre Schwinte (France)

* * *

### Quarter-finals

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23 July 1966

15:00 BST

Portugal | 5–3|  North Korea

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Eusébio 27', 43' (pen.), 56', 59' (pen.)
José Augusto 80' | Report | Pak Seung-zin 1'
Li Dong-woon 22'
Yang Seung-kook 25'

Goodison Park, Liverpool

Attendance: 51,780

Referee: Menachem Ashkenazi (Israel)

## South Africa 2010

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North Korea squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup

* 1 Ri Myong-guk
* 2 Cha Jong-hyok
* 3 Ri Jun-il
* 4 Pak Nam-chol I
* 5 Ri Kwang-chon
* 6 Kim Kum-il
* 7 An Chol-hyok
* 8 Ji Yun-nam
* 9 Jong Tae-se
* 10 Hong Yong-jo (c)
* 11 Mun In-guk
* 12 Choe Kum-chol
* 13 Pak Chol-jin
* 14 Pak Nam-chol II
* 15 Kim Yong-jun
* 16 Nam Song-chol
* 17 An Yong-hak
* 18 Kim Myong-gil
* 19 Ri Chol-myong
* 20 Kim Myong-won
* 21 Ri Kwang-hyok
* 22 Kim Kyong-il
* 23 Pak Sung-hyok
* Coach: Kim Jong-hun

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup Group G

### Group G

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Pos | Team

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| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification

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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

15 June 2010

20:30

Brazil | 2–1|  North Korea

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Maicon 55'
Elano 72' | Report | Ji Yun-nam 89'

Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg

Attendance: 54,331

Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)[1]

* * *

21 June 2010

13:30

Portugal | 7–0|  North Korea

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Meireles 29'
Simão 53'
Almeida 56'
Tiago 60', 89'
Liédson 81'
Ronaldo 87' | Report |

Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town

Attendance: 63,644

Referee: Pablo Pozo (Chile)

* * *

25 June 2010

16:00

North Korea | 0–3|  Ivory Coast

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| Report | Y. Touré 14'
Romaric 20'
Kalou 82'

Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit

Attendance: 34,763

Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)

## Record players

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

Rank  | Player  | Matches

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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

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No.  | Name  | Goals  | World Cups

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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

## See also

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* Asian nations at the FIFA World Cup
* North Korea at the AFC Asian Cup

## References

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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.

* v
* t
* e

North Korea national football team

General|

* DPR Korea Football Association
* History
* Players
* Managers
* Results

Venues|

* Kim Il-sung Stadium
* Rungrado 1st of May Stadium

World Finals|

* Summary
* 1966
* 2010

Asian Finals|

* Summary
* 1980
* 1992
* 2011
* 2015
* 2019
* 2027

Notable matches|

* 2010 AFC Challenge Cup final
* 2012 AFC Challenge Cup final

Other tournaments|

* Summer Olympics
* Asian Games
* EAFF Championship
* AFC Challenge Cup

Rivalries|

* South Korea

Culture|

* The Game of Their Lives

Other PRKFA teams|

* Men's
* U-23
* U-20
* U-17
* Women's
* U-20
* U-17

* v
* t
* e

Countries at the FIFA World Cup

* Team appearances
* All-time table

AFC|

* Australia2
* China
* Indonesia1
* Iran
* Iraq
* Japan
* Kuwait
* North Korea
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* South Korea
* United Arab Emirates

CAF|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Cameroon
* DR Congo1
* Egypt
* Ghana
* Ivory Coast
* Morocco
* Nigeria
* Senegal
* South Africa
* Togo
* Tunisia

CONCACAF|

* Canada
* Costa Rica
* Cuba
* El Salvador
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Mexico
* Panama
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United States

CONMEBOL|

* Argentina
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Chile
* Colombia
* Ecuador
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Uruguay

OFC|

* New Zealand

UEFA|

* Austria
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Czech Republic1
* Denmark
* East Germany3
* England
* France
* Germany1
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Israel2
* Italy
* Netherlands
* Northern Ireland
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Republic of Ireland
* Romania
* Russia1
* Scotland
* Serbia1
* Slovakia1
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* Wales

1 Considered a successor team by FIFA, or have competed under another name(s). 2 Have been member of multiple confederations. 3 Team and national federation no longer exist.

## Head-to-head record

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Opponent  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win %

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Brazil | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1  | 000.00
Chile | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0  | 000.00
Italy | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1  | 100.00
Ivory Coast | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −3  | 000.00
Portugal | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 12 | −9  | 000.00
Soviet Union | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −3  | 000.00
Total  | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 21 | −15  | 014.29
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Pos]: Position
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[D]: Drawn
*[L]: Lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points