AFC U16 - Saudi Arabia 1-2 DPR Korea

Tehran: A spectacular Ri Kwang-song goal eight minutes from time saw DPR Korea defeat Saudi Arabia 2-1 at the PAS Stadium on Tuesday and keep alive their hopes of retaining the AFC U-16 Championship crown.

DPR Korea took the lead through Ri Ryong's 48th minute strike only for Abdulkarim Al Qahtani to equalise for the Saudis from the penalty spot five minutes later. But with the clock ticking down and the draw looking inevitable Ri Kwang-song struck from distance to give the defending champions victory.

Both sides lost their opening Group D matches with DPR Korea going down 3-0 to Korea Republic, who booked their place in the last eight with a 3-1 defeat of Japan in the earlier match at the PAS Stadium, and Saudi Arabia losing 2-0 to the Japanese, so three points were a must for either of them to have any chance of a place in the quarter-finals.

The Saudis had the first crack on goal but Abdullah Al Megbas' sixth-minute shot was comfortably gathered by Korean keeper Kim Yu-il, who was starting in place of Ha Jin-myong, before Kim's counterpart Waleed Abu Milah had to react sharply to prevent Kim Song-min's cross reaching An Song-il after some good build up play on the left flank seven minutes later.

The East Asians dominated the opening exchanges with the Saudis mostly trying to capitalise on the pace of Abdulaziz Hazazi, who started in place of Mohammed Al Shahrani, and Al Megbas with long balls played over the top of the DPRK defence.

They almost had better luck from the set-piece in the 27th minute when a free-kick from the right was met by the leaping Sumayhan Al Nabit only for the Saudi midfielder's bullet header to be brilliantly saved by Kim Yu-il.

Keeper Kim again came to the Koreans' rescue in the 35th minute when he got down smartly to save Al Nabit's well-taken volley as the Saudis began to take a grip on the game.

Five minutes from the break, a pinpoint pass from Jon Kum-song released Ri Ryong into a scoring position but the DPR Korea forward missed the target before An Song-il's fierce drive drew a flying save from Abu Milah.

The Saudi keeper was again called into action in first-half stoppage-time, with another superb save to keep out Kim Ju-hyok's free-kick.

Just as they did at the end of the first-half DPR Korea dominated the start of the second and took the lead just three minutes after the restart when Ri Ryong dispatched the ball past Abu Milah after being teed-up inside the box by Kim Song-min's intelligent pass.

But the lead lasted just five minutes, with Abdulkarim Al Qahtani equalising from the penalty spot after Hassan Ghazwani had been bundled over in the box while charging towards goal.

As the second-half wore on, the draw was looking the most likely outcome until a moment of individual brilliance put DPR Korea in the driving seat, with a spectacular long-range effort from skipper Ri Kwang-song eight minutes from time settling the contest.

DPR Korea's hopes of retaining the AFC U-16 Championship title the East Asian nation won by beating hosts Uzbekistan in 2010 now rest on taking all three points against Japan at the PAS Stadium on Thursday and while the Saudis have only pride to play for when they take on Korea Republic in the other Group D match kicking off simultaneously over at the Rah Ahan Stadium.

source : the-afc.com

11-goal Korea DPR crush Gambia

© Getty Images

Korea DPR laid down a gauntlet on the opening day of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup by thrashing Gambia 11-0 in their Group B encounter in Baku.
The North Koreans, winners of this tournament four years ago, were far too strong for their African opponents, who are appearing at a major FIFA competition for the very first time.
Ri Un Sim and Ri Kyong Hyang both bagged trebles as one of the genuine contenders for the title sent a message to section rivals France and USA against admittedly shell-shocked opponents.
From the first whistle the Asian side were dominant and although it took them almost 20 minutes to register, three goals in as many minutes put the result beyond doubt.
Choe Yun Gyong capitalised on a rebound to break the deadlock on 18 minutes, and further goals from Ri Un Sim and Ri Kyong Hyang followed a minute apart as Gambia struggled to regain their composure.
Ri Un Sim completed a hat-trick before half-time, first converting a spot-kick and then a smart finish from the edge of the area, before Kim Phyong Hwa made it half-a-dozen in the opening period for Korea DPR.
Korea DPR took their foot off the gas to a degree in the second half but wasteful passing from Gambia, allied to some clinical counter-attacking play, saw them extend their advantage by another five goals.
Ri Kyong Hyang secured a treble of her own after scoring in the 63rd and 77th minutes, sandwiching an effort by Kim So Hyang. Ri Hyang Sim rounded off the result with two late individual efforts as Korea DPR proved their credentials immediately.
They will now face France on Tuesday while Gambia will attempt to resurrect their campaign against USA on the same day, with both games taking place in Baku.
The quote
"I am obviously very happy with the result and the score, but we have two more games ahead of us and we have to give our best in each of them. The first match was very important to give more experience to the girls and this is a process that will continue in the next couple of games. Gambia is not a weak side at all and some of their players did quite well today, but the first match is always tense", Hwang Yong Bong, Korea DPR coach

FIFA.com

YouTube - Indonesia 0-2 North Korea

North Korea win 2-0 against Indonesia

North Korea won 2-0 against Indonesia in a friendly today in Jakarta


HT result was 0-0

Indonesia friendly for North Korea

North Korea Men`s NT will play  a friendly against Indonesia in Jakarta on 10. September

Extra-time herartbreak for DPR Korea

Saitama: DPR Korea were knocked out of the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup after Chioma Ubogagu scored in extra-time to give the USA a 2-1 victory over the East Asians.
The USA, who defeated the North Koreans 2-1 in the 2008 final in Chile, broke the deadlock seven minutes into the second-half at the Komaba Stadium through a spectacular long-range drive from Vanessa Di Bernardo.
But with quarter-of-an-hour left to play Kim Un-hwa's short pass unlocked the American defence to allow Kim Su-gyong to level for DPR Korea, champions in 2006 after a 5-0 hammering of China in Russia.
With neither side able to add to their tally the match went into extra-time and the decisive moment came eight minutes into the first period when Ubogagu – a 71st minute substitute for Maya Hayes – headed home Crystal Dunn's cross to send the two-time champions through to the semi-finals where they will meet Nigeria.

the-afc.com