North Korean soccer has won its first A-match victory in more than four years.
The North Korean national football team cruised to a 6-1 victory over hosts Myanmar in the second Group B match of the 2026 North American Football Confederation (NAFTA) Asia Second Qualifying Round at the Thuunna Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar, on Sept. 21.
It was North Korea’s first A-match victory in more than four years and two months after a 1-0 win against Sri Lanka on Sept. 10, 2019, in the second Asian qualifier for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
North Korea was competing in Group H alongside South Korea and Sri Lanka at the time, but withdrew in 2020 in the wake of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
North Korean soccer then disappeared from the international scene for a while, returning at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, where the men’s national team competed in age-group competitions.
The North Korean national team also returned to the international scene in the second round of qualifying for the North American World Cup.
North Korea lost its first World Cup qualifier against Syria 0-1, but it was a different story against underdog Myanmar.
Striker Chung Il-kwan exploded for a hat trick to lead the way for North Korea.
He also scored North Korea’s first goal in the 30th minute.
Han Kwang-sung, the “People’s Ronaldo” who disappeared three years ago after playing in Europe and the Middle East, sealed the victory with a third goal in the 38th minute.
Born in 1998, Han Kwang-sung is considered one of the top prospects in North Korean soccer and was highly touted after joining the “prestigious” Juventus from Perugia, Italy.
However, after only half a season with Juventus, he moved to Qatar’s Al Duhail in January 2020 and was released in August that year.
He was reportedly deported after his contract with Alduhail was terminated due to UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea. 토토사이트