North Korea’s national team made itsFIFA World Cup debut in1966, reaching the quarter-finals and defeatingItaly in the group stage, becoming the first men's Asian team in history to advance beyond the group stage. During the2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, controversy arose when the team's supporters rioted over the teams failure to qualify, interfering with the opposing team’s exit from the stadium. In 2009, the team secured qualification for the2010 FIFA World Cup, marking its second World Cup appearance in their history. North Korea has qualified for theAFC Asian Cup six times; finishing fourth in1980, and appearing in1992,2011, in2015, and in2019. The current squad includes both native North Koreans andZainichi Koreans.
TheNorth Korea Football Association was founded in 1945. It became a member of theAFC during the confederation's first year of existence in 1954, and has been affiliated withFIFA since 1958. The first official match of the North Korean national football team was played on 22 March 1964, inRangoon, againstBurma, as part of the1964 Olympic qualifiers. This first match in the history of the North Korean selection ended in a goalless draw. Thanks to their victory over the Burmese in the second leg, theChollimas reached the next round againstThailand, a two-legged affair also hosted in Rangoon. They won easily (7–0 over the two matches), but were forced to forfeit the final phase of the tournament because theIOC decided to ban any athlete who participated in theGANEFO—which several footballers from the national team did.[7]
In 1965, the national team took part again in GANEFO, and in1966 FIFA World Cup qualification for the first time. That year, FIFA decided to place all the selections entered from Africa, Asia and Oceania in a single qualifying group, with the aim of offering only one place. All registered African countries protested by withdrawing from the competition, leaving only North Korea andAustralia. The Australians started as favourites, but the North Koreans won both matches (6–1 and 3–1) and qualified for the final phase. The qualification of North Korea posed a diplomatic problem for the organizing country, theUnited Kingdom; since theKorean War, they had not recognized the legitimacy of the Pyongyang government and would not fly its flag or play its national anthem. The problem was only partly solved before the start of the competition in July 1966; the North Korean flag was flown alongside those of the other participants, but the national anthem was not played before the team's matches.[8]
In the1966 FIFA World Cup, they were drawn into group 4, along with theUSSR,Italy andChile, the first time North Korea would face teams from another continent. TheChollimas lost their first game against the Soviets, then managed a 1–1 draw against Chile (Pak Seung-zin scoring North Korea's first goal at a World Cup). The last match, against the Italian double world champions, was crucial, as the winner would obtain their ticket to the quarter-finals. The discipline ofMyung Rye-hyun's men managed to secure them a historic 1–0 upset victory with a goal fromPak Doo-ik. This was the first time an Asian team qualified for the quarter-finals of a World Cup. At the same time, the public began to take an interest in these disciplined players from a closed country. They were cheered on by locals in the town ofMiddlesbrough, where they were housed, including the team's star players,Pak Seung-zin andPak Doo-ik.[9][10] In the quarter-finals, North Korea facedPortugal, which had eliminated reigning world championsBrazil in the group stage. After 25 minutes of play, the Koreans led 3–0 (goals fromPak Seung-zin,Yang Seung-kook andLi Dong-woon) but began to lose their discipline. Portuguese star playerEusébio went on to score four goals, andJosé Augusto added another to defeat North Korea 5–3.[11] When the North Korean players returned home, the crowd cheered them on as heroes.Pak Seung-zin remains North Korea's top scorer in the FIFA World Cup with two goals in four games.[citation needed]
Thirty-five years later, British directorDan Gordon, made a film calledThe Game of Their Lives after finding the seven surviving players of the 1966 side, who had become favourites with the British public and were celebrated as heroes on their return to their country. The film screened in North Korea and South Korea and received the award for Best Sports Documentary from theRoyal Television Society.
Following the FIFA World Cup, North Korea only rarely took part in the qualifying campaigns for the various continental and world tournaments. TheChollimas forfeited the1968 Olympic qualifiers, and failed to enter the1968 AFC Asian Cup qualification and1970 FIFA World Cup qualifiers when they refused to face theIsraeli team in the second round of the playoffs. Between their World Cup quarter-final and 1971, they played only onefriendly againstAlgeria, losing 3–1 inAlgiers. This meeting was the first in the history of the North Korean team against an African side.
The North Koreans played their first official game since 1966 in 1972, as part of the1972 Olympic qualifiers. They defeatedSyria andIraq, but ended up losing againstIran 2–0 in a play-off match, following 0–0 draws in both of the first two legs. They decided again not to register for the1972 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. In May 1973,Pak Seung-zin's men were inTehran to play the first phase of the1974 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. They were in Group 2, along with host nationIran,Syria andKuwait. The team finished third in the group, behind the Iranians, who qualified for the rest of the competition, and Syria.
North Korea took part in Asian Cup qualification for the first time in1976. Placed in group 4-B, withJapan andSingapore, theChollimas finished first, then beatHong Kong in the semi-finals, ensuring their participation in the tournament proper, then beatingChina in the final match. But, likeSaudi Arabia andThailand, the North Koreans withdrew and missed the opportunity to take part in the continental tournament for the first time.
The following year, under the direction of former strikerPak Doo-ik, the team qualified for theOlympic football tournament for the second time. They finished first duringqualification and advanced following a penalty shootout againstIndonesia. InMontreal, they were placed in Group 3 with hostsCanada and theUSSR. The North Koreans beat Canada 3–1, then lost to the Soviets 0–3, but still qualified for the quarter-finals in second. They failed again at this stage, suffering a heavy 5-0 defeat against future silver medalist teamPoland. They played the last half hour with ten men against the Poles, led byGrzegorz Lato andAndrzej Szarmach, who each scored twice.
The following two qualifying campaigns, for the1978 FIFA World Cup and for the1980 Olympics, were failures. The former was cut short with a withdrawal for diplomatic reasons, the North Koreans finding themselves in the same qualifying group as their southern neighbors, and in 1980, theChollimas finished in 4th place in Group 3 of the pre-tournament, overtaken byIran,Singapore andChina.
In 1980, this time withYang Seung-kook on the bench, the North Koreans took part in1980 AFC Asian Cup qualification which saw successes againstThailand andMalaysia. They finished in second place in Group 1 of the1980 AFC Asian Cup, behind defending championsIran. In the semi-finals, they facedSouth Korea in an event of both sporting and political significance. After opening the scoring early, North Korea conceded two goals byChung Hae-won in the last ten minutes and saw their journey come to an end in the semi-final, their best performance in the Asian Cup of Nations. The game for third place was a disaster, with a 3–0 defeat againstIran.
In 1980, with former internationalHan Bong-zin on the bench, the North Koreans moved on to1982 FIFA World Cup qualification. After finishing top of their group (ahead ofHong Kong andSingapore), they eliminatedJapan in the semi-finals but lost toChina in the group final, ending any hopes of qualification. The following year, the selection participated in the1982 Asian Games. North Korean progressed through the first round (drawing againstSyria andSaudi Arabia and victory againstThailand), then beatJapan in the quarter-finals. They lost in extra time in the semi-finals, againstKuwait. The end of the match was extremely turbulent as the North Korean players attacked Thai refereeVijit Getkaew. The penalties from theAFC were heavy with a two-year suspension, which began as soon as the match ended, therefore they did not even play the match for the bronze medal, which automatically went to Saudi Arabia, the other unfortunate semi-finalists. The immediate consequence of this decision by the AFC, was the disqualification of North Korea from the1984 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers and from the1984 Olympic qualifiers which were boycotted by North Korea.
The selection therefore spent almost four years without playing official matches. For the1986 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, they entered Group 4 alongsideJapan andSingapore, two nations they had beaten four years previously. This time, it was the Japanese, led byHiromi Hara, who finished top of the group and continued their qualifying campaign.
In 1988, North Korea did not participate in the1988 Olympic tournament. North Korea had initially asked to be involved in the Games, a request refused by theInternational Olympic Committee, resulting in their boycott of the Games. As for the1988 AFC Asian Cup qualification, North Korea only placed third in their qualifying group, behindSyria andIran, both of which qualified for the tournament.
In 1990, North Korea took part in the inaugural1990 Dynasty Cup. North Korea finished in third place. The following year, in the1990 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, North Korea finished top of their first-round pool, winning all three of their home matches. In the final round, North Korea finished last, winning only one game, againstQatar.
Two years later, in 1991, the federation hired a foreign manager for the first time: HungarianPál Csernai, the former coach ofBayern Munich. North Korea finished the1992 AFC Asian Cup qualification in first, ahead ofMacao,Hong Kong andChinese Taipei. It thus qualified for the Asian Cup for the second time, twelve years after its successful debut in Kuwait. Csernai's team were drawn into Group 1, along with hostsJapan,Iran and theUnited Arab Emirates. This time, their tournament ended in the first round, finishing without a win and with only two goals scored, both byKim Kwang-min.
North Korea entered1992 Olympic qualifiers after two consecutive withdrawals. Placed in Group E,Pyongyang was chosen, along withBeijing, to host the qualifying matches. Once again, the final tournament escaped them, finishing in second place behindChina. Right after the Games, the team took part in the1992 Dynasty Cup. Like two years before, the team finished on the third step of the podium, behindJapan andSouth Korea.
Invigorated by their participation in the final phase of the1992 AFC Asian Cup, Csernai's men turned to qualification for the1994 FIFA World Cup. Placed intoGroup C, North Korea finished undefeated, ahead ofQatar,Singapore,Indonesia andVietnam. The next round took the form of a single pool bringing together the six winners of the first round, the matches again held in Doha. Unfortunately for the North Koreans, after an inaugural victory againstIraq (3–2), they suffered four defeats in a row. Csernai left his post after the last meeting and left for Europe without returning to Pyongyang, and the federation put the national team on hold for more than four years. During this period, which saw North Korea tumble in theFIFA rankings, they choose not to register for any competition. This period of withdrawal coincided with theNorth Korean famine (1994–1998), which caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, as well as the official three-year mourning following the death of PresidentKim Il Sung in 1994 and the accession to power of his sonKim Jong Il.
In 2003, it was withYun Jong-su on the bench that the North Koreans started the2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification. After a preliminary round where they defeated theIndian team, theChollimas finished last in the second round. These playoffs were marked by two incidents: first, during the game againstIran, where the North Koreans left the field as a result of smoke bombs which landed on the field; second, when North Korea refused to issue the Jordanian players visas, leading to the AFC grantingJordan a 3–0 victory and suspending North Korea from all competition in Asia for a year, including the2007 AFC Asian Cup.
In 2005, the North Koreans returned to the2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, twelve years after their last campaign. Placed in Group 5 in the second round, they finished top. In the next round, they saw their journey come to an end, finishing last behindJapan,Iran, andBahrain. A few months later, North Korea returned to the2005 East Asian Football Championship, thirteen years after their last participation. In the qualifying round, the North Koreans broke their record for biggest victory with a 21–0 victory againstGuam. As in the 1990 and 1992 editions, theChollimas finished on the podium, in third place, behindChina andJapan, whom they beat 1–0 in the first match of the final round.
First title and return to the FIFA World Cup (2006–2010)
The sanction imposed by the AFC on North Korea deprived it of participation in the qualifications for the2007 AFC Asian Cup. With coachKim Jong-hun at its head, the selection entered the2008 AFC Challenge Cup, a competition reserved for so-called developing nations by the AFC and whose winner obtained direct qualification for the2011 AFC Asian Cup. The North Korean selection had a good run which ended on the third step of the podium, after a defeat in the semi-finals againstTajikistan then a big success (4–0) in the third-placed match againstMyanmar.
North Korea andPortugal players before their2010 FIFA World Cup group match, in which North Korea suffered its heaviest-ever defeat.
In the2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, theChollimas easily dismissedMongolia (4–1 and 5–1) then finished second behindSouth Korea, without any defeats or even conceding a goal in the third round. North Korea again finished second behind South Korea in the fourth round, thus qualifying for the FIFA World Cup for only the second time after a 44 years hiatus. During these qualifiers there were diplomatic incidents with South Korea afterKim Jong Il refused to have the South Korean national anthem played, or even to fly the flag in the country, the two meetings against theTaeguk Warriors had to be relocated to China. At the end of the year, the North Koreans managed to qualify for the2008 East Asian Football Championship, after beatingHong Kong. During this four-man final phase played inChongqing, China, they finished last, with two draws (againstJapan andSouth Korea, who won the tournament, and a defeat againstChina).
To prepare for the FIFA World Cup and get used to the European style of play, the North Korean selection organized a preparation camp in the fall of 2009 in France. On this occasion, they played two friendly matches: againstNantes on 9 October atLa Roche-sur-Yon then againstCongo on 13 October atLe Mans.
North Korea's flag at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
In early 2010, a few months before the FIFA World Cup, North Korea participated in the2010 AFC Challenge Cup with the winner automatically qualifying for the final phase of the2011 AFC Asian Cup. TheChollimas, still led byKim Jong-hun, had an excellent run in the competition. After finishing top of their first round group, ahead ofTurkmenistan, they sweptMyanmar 5–0 in the semi-finals before winning, after the penalty shootout, again facing the Turkmens in the final. This success allowed them to secure a place in the continental finals, ten years after their last participation. It was also the first title obtained by the men's national team. The following month, in February, the North Koreans engaged in the2010 East Asian Football Championship where they entered in the second round. For the first time, they did not reach the final pool, beaten on goal difference byHong Kong.
With a final pre-tournament ranking of 105th, North Korea were the lowest-ranked team at the2010 FIFA World Cup. They were drawn in Group G alongsideBrazil,Portugal, andIvory Coast, in what some commentators referred to as a "Group of death".[12] After a 2–1 defeat against Brazil withJi Yun-nam scoring the only goal for North Korea in the FIFA World Cup, North Korea were eliminated after losing 7–0 to Portugal, the heaviest defeat in the team's history. After trailing 1–0 at halftime, they conceded six goals in the second half. The match was shown live in North Korea - an exceptionally rare occurrence for a foreign broadcast - but the broadcast was interrupted after Portugal's fourth goal.[13] North Korea went on to lose their final match against Ivory Coast 3–0 to record the worst performance of any team at that year's FIFA World Cup.
After the FIFA World Cup,Radio Free Asia reported based on anonymous reports that coach Kim Jong-hun had been punished by being sent to forced labor camps, while some players had been subjected to "harsh ideological criticism".[14][15]
Six months after the FIFA World Cup, North Korea entered the2011 AFC Asian Cup. The team managed to draw 0–0 against theUnited Arab Emirates and two 1–0 defeats againstIran andIraq. In the fall, the North Koreans entered the2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, with the hope of participating in a second consecutive tournament. They did not enter the competition until the third round, finding themselves in the same group asJapan,Uzbekistan andTajikistan (which benefited from the disqualification ofSyria). TheChollimas finished in 3rd place of the group. The round featured the first meeting of the Japanese team and their North Korean counterparts inPyongyang in 22 years. 150 Japanese supporters were allowed to be present but they received four-hour checks upon their arrival atPyongyang International Airport, an "icy" reception atKim Il Sung Stadium, where they were warned not to wave Japanese flags, and had their national anthem booed by the North Korean crowd.[16]
In March 2012, the North Koreans defended the2012 AFC Challenge Cup with the possibility again to qualify for the2015 AFC Asian Cup. TheChollimas advance to the finals after finishing top of their qualifying group, along withNepal. In the semi-finals, they beatPalestine and then managed to retain their title, following their success in the final againstTurkmenistan. This victory assured them of a second consecutive participation in theAFC Asian Cup, which was a first.
The team enjoyed a two-year unbeaten run, after the home defeat againstUzbekistan in the2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.TheChollimas played in the second round of the2013 EAFF East Asian Cup but failed to advance on goal difference, coming second toAustralia. In November 2013, the unbeaten streak ended with a loss toKuwait (2–1). They managed to finish first in the2015 EAFF East Asian Cup qualifying pool, getting their ticket to the finals for the first time since 2008.
A few weeks before the start of the2015 AFC Asian Cup, the North Korean federation relievedYun Jong-su of his duties, following his suspension of one year decided by the AFC. Jong-su was penalized for his unsportsmanlike behaviour towards the referees during the Asian Games soccer tournament final againstSouth Korea. North Korea left the competition at the end of the group stage, after losing their three matches. Following this competition, the team restored its image by winning several friendly matches before finishing on the podium of the2015 EAFF East Asian Cup, including a prestigious victory overJapan (2–1).
In the2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, North Korea got off to a flying start by winning their first three games, but failed to qualify for the 3rd round, following a defeat to thePhilippines at the very end of the match (2–3, having led 2–1 until the 85th minute) during the final match. North Korea finished in second place in their group with 16 points, but this defeat prevented theChollima from finishing among the four best runners-up and advancing to the next round. This led to the dismissal ofKim Chang-bok, replaced byJørn Andersen, the second European coach to manage North Korea after the HungarianPál Csernai. The early elimination in World Cup qualifying meant that North Korea had to enter the 3rd qualifying round for the2019 AFC Asian Cup. Thisqualifying campaign gave rise to a triple postponement by the AFC of the home match againstMalaysia, at the request of theMalaysian Federation, fearing the poisoning of its players if they went to North Korea following diplomatic tensions between the two countries - linked to theassassination of Kim Jong-nam, the North Korean leader's half-brother, atKuala Lumpur airport on 13 February 2017. The meetings between the two teams were finally held on neutral ground in Thailand, where North Korea needed two victories to give them a chance to qualify, dominatingMalaysia (4–1 and 4–1). At the2017 EAFF E-1 Football Championship, theChollima failed to win a single match and finished 4th and last in the final round, with two opening losses againstJapan andSouth Korea (0–1 each time) before ending the competition in a draw (1–1) againstChina.
In the2019 AFC Asian Cup, North Korea were swept away bySaudi Arabia (0–4),Qatar (6–0, suffering the second heaviest defeat in its history) and againstLebanon (1–4), leaving the competition with the worst record of the 24 teams involved (three defeats in as many games played, only one goal scored, 14 conceded, and two red cards received). North Korea then participated in the 2nd round of the2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and beatLebanon (2–0) thanks to a double fromJong Il-gwan. North Korea managed to follow up with a narrow victory inSri Lanka five days later (1–0) with a goal byJang Kuk-chol before facingSouth Korea. For the first time since a friendly match in 1990 and for the first time in a qualifier, the meeting between the two Koreas took place inPyongyang, however the match was not televised live and no Korean supporters or foreign journalists were allowed to attend the match, which ended in a scoreless draw (0–0), leaving the two teams at the top of Pool H tied. Following the match against their rivals, they lost for the first time in their history againstTurkmenistan (1–3) but managed to beat Lebanon 2–0. Five days later, they played Lebanon again, drawing 0–0, preserving their chances of qualifying for the next round. However, North Korea withdrew from qualifying due to fears related to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[17][18][19]FIFA and the AFC announced that all results of matches played by North Korea since the start of the 2nd qualifying round and2023 AFC Asian Cup were void and would not count towards qualification, thus North Korea would not play in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, their first miss out from the event since 2007.
In August 2023, North Korea announced interest in returning to sporting competitions, including football, and signaled interest in joining the2026 FIFA World Cup qualification. North Korea found themselves in Group B of thesecond round against Japan,Syria andMyanmar. The country's move was confirmed by FIFA and the AFC as North Korea sought to enhance its football reputation, already damaged due to the isolation related to the pandemic.[20] After more than 5 years of inactive international football, North Korea played against Syria on 16 November 2023, a game Syria won 1–0. On 21 November, North Korea thrashed Myanmar 6–1 at theThuwunna Stadium, withJong Il-gwan scoring a hat-trick in the match.
On 11 June 2024, North Korea advanced to thethird round of the FIFA World Cup qualification for the first time since 2010, and qualified to the AFC Asian Cup for the2027 edition, after missing out in2023. However, they would finish last in their FIFA World Cup qualifying group, eliminating them from contention.
Between 2014 and January 2024, the official kit provider for the North Korean national teams was the North Korean sports companyChoeusu.[21] In January 2024, Chinese sports brandInlang became the official kit sponsor.[22]
North Korea plays their home matches at theRungrado 1st of May Stadium onRungra Island,Pyongyang. It is the second largest stadium in the world with a capacity of 114,000. However, North Korea mostly used theKim Il Sung Stadium inPyongyang as their main stadium. Since 2019, North Korea has hosted their home matches in neutral venues.
^"多年"裸奔"结束，茵浪体育让朝鲜国家足球队有了官方赞助商" [Years of "naked running" comes to an end, as Inlang Sports provided the North Korea national football team an official sponsor].dongqiudi.com (in Chinese). Dongqiudi. 26 January 2024. Retrieved1 February 2024.
