The North Korean national soccer team won 2-0 in the round of 16 of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games against Bahrain at the east stadium of Zhejiang Normal University in Jinhua, China on the 27th. 스포츠토토

With four games played, the North’s starting lineup should be noted. Surprisingly, North Korea has never revised its starting list until the three group matches and the round of 16. It’s literally copy and paste.

Starting with goalkeeper Kang Joo-hyuk, Jang Kook-chul, Kim Kyung-seok, Kim Yoo-sung, Ri Il-sung, Kang Kook-chul, Baek Cheong-sung, Kim Kook-beom, Kim Bum-hyuk, Ri Jo-guk and Kim Kook-jin are the main characters. North Korea’s director Shin Yong-nam gives them absolute trust.

The Asian Games are notorious for their tight schedule. The game continues every two to three days. Just like South Korea, North Korea played the first group match on the 19th, the second on the 21st, and the third on the 24th.

Unlike South Korea, which properly utilizes the rotation and prepares for more than a tournament, North Korea came up with the same lineup every game.

The replacement card was also almost unchanged. Hwang Chan-joon No. 2, Kim Hyun No. 7, Gye Tam No. 8, and Park Kwang-cheon played as replacements in the first match against Taiwan, while Hwang Chan-joon, Kim Hyun and Park Kwang-cheon played in the second match against Kyrgyzstan. In the final group match against Indonesia, only Hwang Chan-joon was deployed, and Kim Ji-sung (12) participated in the round of 16 for the first time along with Hwang Chan-joon.

Of the 22 players on the list, only 16 players played, including 11 starters and five substitutes. Korea used the rotation to run the group stage in preparation for important tournaments. North Korea is clearly different from South Korea, where even the replacement input is similar.

Nevertheless, the North Korean players showed great physical strength. North Korea attacked the defense with active movements and activities in an offensive situation. Although the detail was somewhat inferior, the attack that broke the side in an instant was impossible unless strong physical strength supported it.

North Korea will take three days off and play the winner of Japan and Myanmar in the quarterfinals on the 1st of next month. As they have secured enough recovery time, the same lineup is expected to appear in the quarterfinals. If North Korea advances to the finals, there is a good chance that the starting list will be the same team from the first preliminary match to the final match of the tournament.