North Korea National Football Team

The national football team of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (recognized as Korea DPR by FIFA) is the national team of North Korea and is controlled by the DPR Korea Football Association. Their shining moment came in the 1966 World Cup at Middlesbrough F.C. home Ayresome Park, when North Korea upset Italy 1-0 to gain a spot in the quarterfinals. There, they went 3-0 up against Portugal, but the brilliance of Eusébio (and his four goals) stopped the fairy tale run, 5-3. The North Korean team was the first Asian team to progress beyond the first round of the World Cup finals. The documentary film The Game of Their Lives by Daniel Gordon is about the seven surviving members in 2002 of the 1966 national team.

The current team is composed of both native North Koreans and Zainichi Koreans born in Japan, of which Ahn Young-Hak is the best known; due to the country's political situation, only Zainichi are allowed to join clubs in countries outside North Korea, and it is under their own terms, rather than through state intervention. Similarly, fans who follow the team when playing away matches are often Zainichi, as ordinary Northerners are usually not allowed to travel abroad.

The two Koreas faced each other in a 2010 FIFA World Cup 3rd round Asian Qualification match. It was originally planned to be held in Pyongyang on March 26, 2008. The North Korean government stepped in to decide the South's national anthem would not be played, nor would the DPRK allow the South's national flag to be displayed at the game. South Korea was outraged by the decision. After three failed negotiation attempts by the South Korean football association, South Korea turned to FIFA for the official ruling. After FIFA intervention, the match was played in Shanghai, China, on March 26, 2008, and it ended 0-0. They went on to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, for the second time in their history.



Competitive Record

FIFA World Cup record
1930 to 1938 - Did not enter, was under Japanese rule.
1950 to 1962 - Did not enter
1966 - Quarterfinals
1970 - Withdrew
1974 - Did not qualify
1978 - Withdrew
1982 to 1994 - Did not qualify
1998 - Did not enter
2002 - Did not enter
2006 - Did not qualify
2010 - Qualified

Asian Cup record
1956 to 1972 - Did not enter
1976 - Withdrew after qualifying
1980 - Fourth place
1984 - Did not enter
1988 - Did not qualify
1992 - Round 1
1996 - Did not enter
2000 - Did not qualify
2004 - Did not qualify
2007 - Did not enter

AFC Challenge Cup record
2008 - 3rd place

East Asian Cup record
2003 - Withdrew
2005 - Third place
2008 - Fourth Place