North Korea women's national football team

North Korea women's national football team
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea women's national football team (Munhwaŏ Korean: 조선민주주의인민공화국 녀자 국가종합팀, recognized as Korea DPR by FIFA) represents North Korea in international women's football.
North Korea won the AFC Women's Asian Cup in 2001 (scoring 51 goals in 6 matches, a standing record), 2003, and 2008, and reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup. The team has not played since it won the 2019 Cyprus Women's Cup in March 2019 until 2022 Asian Games in September 2023 and thus is currently unranked.
History
1980s
According to data from the Korean Central News Agency, women's football in the country began to take shape in the year 1985. The first football team was formed in the Society of Provincial Sports of South Pyongan Province, and soon after, other women's football teams started emerging. On May 19, 1986, the first exhibition match of women's football teams was played at the Kim Il Sung Stadium in Pyongyang.
The first international match of the North Korean national team was held on December 21, 1989, against the Chinese national team as part of the 1989 AFC Women's Championship. The match, which took place in Hong Kong, ended with a defeat for the Koreans, with a score of 1–4. Later in the same tournament, the national team played two more matches, losing 1–3 to the Chinese Taipei national team and winning 4–0 against the Thai national team, thus finishing third in their group. In the following year, in 1990, the North Korean national team won their first international medal, securing bronze medals at the Women's Football Tournament of the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing. They only suffered one loss to the Chinese team during the tournament and achieved a 7–0 victory against the South Korean national team.
The 1991 AFC Women's Championship in Japan, in addition to its primary purpose, served as a qualification stage for the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup, with the top three Asian teams earning a spot in the World Cup. The North Korean national team had a successful start in the tournament, finishing second in their subgroup, which qualified them for the semi-finals. In the semi-final match, the Koreans were defeated by the Chinese team with a score of 0–1. In the match for third place, they faced the Chinese Taipei national team. The regular and extra time of the match ended in a goalless draw, and the winner was determined in a penalty shootout, in which the North Korean national team lost 4–5, finishing fourth in the tournament and failing to qualify for the World Cup. The 1993 AFC Women's Championship brought silver medals to the North Korean team, as they only lost the final match to the Chinese team with a score of 3–0.
the North Korean team missed the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup tournament as they were absent from 1994 Asian Games held in Hiroshima, which served as a parallel qualification for the World Cup. The North Korean national team was also absent from the 1995 AFC Women's Championship.
For the first time in their History, the Korean women's team secured a spot in the World Cup. after finishing as runners-up in the 1997 AFC Women's Championship. In the semi-finals, they defeated the Japanese national team with a score of 1–0. In the final match, they faced the Chinese team once more and were defeated 0–2. At the 1998 Asian Games, the North Korean national team reached the final again but lost to its Chinese counterparts with a score of 0–1. In their first World Cup, the North Korean team was placed in a group with the national teams of Nigeria, Denmark, and the tournament hosts, the United States. They lost their first match against Nigeria with a score of 1–2, but the North Korean team bounced back in the second match, as they defeated the Danish team with a score of 3–0. a 0–3 loss to the USA national team in the final group-stage match left the North Korean team in third place in the group, preventing them from reaching the tournament's knockout stage.
Disqualification for 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
During the team's participation at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, on 7 July 2011, FIFA announced that two of its players, Song Jong-Sun and Jong Pok-Sim, had failed doping tests during the tournament and were provisionally suspended prior to their team's match against Colombia. On 16 July, FIFA announced that three additional players from North Korea tested positive following target testing of the whole team. On 25 August 2011, the North Korean team was fined 400,000 which is equal to the prize it received by finishing 13th in the 2011 tournament, and was excluded from participation at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, including its qualification round.
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Legend
2023
2024
Coaching staff
Current coaching staff
Manager history
Myong Dong-chan (명동찬) (1989–1999)
Ri Song-gun (리성근) (1999–2003)
Sin Ui-gun (신의근) (2012)
Kim Kwang-min (김광민) (2004–2011, 2013–2019)
Jo Song-ok (조성옥) (2016)
Ri Yu Il (리유일) (2023–present)
Players
Current squad
The following 22 players were called up for the 2024 AFC Olympic qualifying second round in Xiamen, China.
Match dates: 26 and 29 October – 1 November 2023
Opposition: and
Caps and goals correct as of: 29 October 2023, after the match against
Recent call ups
The following players have been called up to a North Korea squad in the past 12 months.
Honours
Continental
AFC Women's Asian Cup
Champions: 2001, 2003, 2008
Runners-up: 1993, 1997, 2010
Asian Games
Champions: 2002, 2006, 2014
Runners-up: 1998, 2010, 2022
Bronze Medalists: 1990
Regional
EAFF E-1 Football Championship
Champions: 2013, 2015, 2017
Runners-up: 2005, 2008
Other invitational tournaments
Albena Cup
Champions: 2002
Australia Cup
Champions: 2004
Cyprus Women's Cup
Champions: 2019
Four Nations Tournament
Champions: 2012
Competitive record
FIFA Women's World Cup
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
Olympic Games
AFC Women's Asian Cup
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
Asian Games
EAFF E-1 Football Championship
Algarve Cup
Cyprus Women's Cup
Four Nations Tournament
See also
Sport in North Korea
Football in North Korea
Women's football in North Korea
North Korea women's national under-20 football team
North Korea women's national under-17 football team
North Korea men's national football team
North Korea–South Korea football rivalry
References
External links
Korea DPR