Group G - Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Group G

Brazil

North Korea

Ivory Coast

Portugal

Nickname: Chollima (Pegasus)

Colors: Red and white

Current World Ranking: 105

Manager: Kim Jong-Hun

History: Much like their country, not a whole lot is known about this team. This is only their second World Cup. In the first in 1966 they actually made it to the Quarter-finals by shocking Italy 1-0 before losing to Portugal 5-3 after being up 3-0 in the 24^th minute. Outside of that they’ve only qualified for the Asian Cup 3 times.

Without fact checking I believe they are the lowest ranked team in the World Cup this year.

This is an interesting tidbit from Wikipedia:

“In March 2005, Korea DPR entered a match with Iran with limited chances of qualifying for the World Cup finals due to poor performance in early fixtures. During the match hosted in Pyongyang, North Korean fans became enraged when the referee failed to award North Korea with a penalty kick after a controversial play near the end of the match. Demanding a penalty, they rushed Syrian referee Mohamed Kousa, who instead gave a North Korean player a red card. Bottles, stones and chairs were thrown on to the field following the play. After the match was over, North Korean fans refused to let the Iranian team leave the stadium on their team bus. The violence was so severe that riot police were forced to step in to force back the crowd. Following this incident, North Korea lost its right to host the subsequent home match with Japan and the game was instead played in an empty stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.”

Who knew North Korea had soccer hooligans?

They performed well in qualifying for this Cup and were the only team to not get a bye, which means they had to play a total of 16 games to qualify. They upset Saudi Arabia and finished second behind South Korea after losing to their neighbors 1-0, after which the North Korean coach suggested his team had been poisoned by the southerners. This wasn’t the first bit of controversy between the two teams though. In 2008 before an Asian Cup qualifying match to be held in Pyongyang, the North refused to display the South’s flag or play their national anthem. After failing in negotiations the South turned to FIFA who moved the game to Shanghai. It ended in a draw. I don’t need to get into the politics between the two countries but it’s fair to say their two soccer teams don’t like each other much either.

Players: Until just recently North Korean players were not allowed to play outside the nation and the team was used largely for propaganda within the country. The rules have been relaxed a bit but it still hasn’t really benefited the team much. They’re very defensive minded, foul a lot, and are generally considered to be extremely fit. According to FSC.com, North Korea has been known to change player numbers and names before a match for one reason or another so you might not know exactly who you’re going to get.

Their two top players appear to be two strikers, Hong Yong-Jo, who plays for FC Rostov in Russia and Jong Tae-Se who plays in Japan.

Prediction: No chance. Their biggest impact will likely be any injuries they deliver to the other teams. That and the excuses the coach comes up with for why they lose so he doesn't end up in a hard labor prison when he returns home humiliated.