North Korea's soccer is competitive in international matches, even though North Korea has few opportunities to play against teams from other countries due to limited diplomatic relations.
North Korean women will play for national pride and a spot at the Olympics on Wednesday in the second leg of a two-legged qualifying match against Nadeshiko Japan at the 68,000-seat National Stadium in Tokyo.
The first match, held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday ended in a scoreless draw, with the North Koreans showing off their speed and physical strength, and the winner will advance to the Paris Olympics.
Players of the North Korean women's national soccer team and coaching staff led by coach Ri Yu-il (left) line up before the Olympic qualifying match against Japan on February 24, 2024 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Joint)
Soccer is one of the most popular sports in North Korea, and even the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, attends matches in the domestic league.
Men's and women's clubs supported by the military and businesses appear to be raising the level of the national team.
Both North Korean men's and women's teams have participated in multiple World Cups. The women's team has participated in the Olympics twice.
According to North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency and South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, both the men's and women's leagues are divided into three divisions.
Japan's Yoshino Nakajima (right) is challenged by North Korea's Ri Myung-geum during the women's soccer Olympic qualifying round held at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on February 24, 2024. (Kyodo News)
In the women's season, which ended in October last year, the army club “4.25'', named after April 25th, won the championship, and Naegohyang took second place.
Lee Yu-il, the coach of the women's national team, is the man who turned Naegohyang into a strong competitor. In the current team, 8 people are from Naegohyang and 7 are from 4.25.
According to Chosun Sinbo, published by the pro-North Korea General Federation of Korean Residents in Japan, his father is Ri Chang-myung, a goalkeeper for the North Korean national team that reached the quarter-finals of the 1966 World Cup in England.
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