YouTube - EAFF Championship North Korea vs Australia

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North Korea in King`s Cup

North Korea has been invited for King`s Cup in Thailand in late January .

Thailand , North Korea and Finland has been confirmed participating . The fourth team was going to be North Korea or Malaysia , but it seeems that North Korea has been chosen as fourth team.

Other teams that will participate will be Thailand , Sweden and Finland.

The matches are expected to be "A" matches. Sweden and Finland will be field Scandianavian based players, because the matches are not on FIFA Match days.

Swedish squad has been released by Swedish FA : LINK

Hong Kong 0-4 North Korea

By Paul Brown

Hong Kong 0-4 North Korea9 December 2012
EAFF East Asian Cup Semi Final Competition
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong
Scorers: Pak Nam-Chol II, Ryang Yong-Gi, Pak Nam-Chol I, Pak Song-Chol I

Another comfortable win in this EAFF East Asian Cup Semi Final preliminary competition saw North Korea retain the UFWC title today. Hosts Hong Kong were defeated 4-0 as the Chollima finished the competition unbeaten. However, in an unexpected twist, North Korea failed to qualify for the EAFF Finals due to an extraordinary feat of goal scoring by rivals Australia.

The Chollima were 3-0 up at half-time at the Hong Kong Stadium. Both Pak Nam Chols scored (the defender and the midfielder), and Ryang Yong-Gi scored the third. In the second half, the midfielder Pak Song-Chol made the score 4-0.

This result means North Korea have won three and drawn one of their four EAFF semi final matches, scoring a massive 16 goals. However, that goal scoring feat was surpassed by a resurgent Australia, who topped the competition’s group ahead of the Chollima. The young Socceroos side laboured in a 1-0 win over Hong Kong, then drew 1-1 with North Korea, before finally finding form to beat Guam 9-0 and Chinese Taipei 8-0. Australia scored 19 goals in their four matches and finished above North Korea at the top of the table. In doing so, the Socceroos claimed the only available qualifying place for the 2013 EAFF Finals.

Most importantly for UFWC followers, however, North Korea remain Unofficial Football World Champions. The Chollima currently have no fixtures lined up, so we must wait to see what 2013 has in store.

Over the next few days we’ll take a look back over the Chollima’s 13-month reign as UFWC champions and take a closer look at where the title could go next. Watch this space and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

UFWC

EAFF : Hong Kong 0-4 North Korea

North Korea won 4-0 against Hong Kong in last group match in EAFF Qualifiers.

Australia won 8-0 against Taiwan and qualified for EAFF finals on better goal difference than North Korea

North Korea 1-1 Australia

5 December 2012
EAFF East Asian Cup Semi Final Competition
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong
Scorers: Thompson, An Yong-Hak
North Korea retained the UFWC title with this unspectacular draw against a disappointing Australia team in Hong Kong today. The Chollima have been Unofficial Football World Champions since November 2011, when they took the UFWC title from Japan. Australia’s Socceroos have held the title once, in 1992 when they defeated then-champs the USA, but were unable to topple the Chollima.
Today’s match, part of the EAFF East Asian Cup Semi Final Competition, was played at the Hong Kong Stadium, also known as the So Kon Po Stadium. The winner of this league-format semi final competition will progress to the EAFF East Asian Cup Finals alongside Japan, China and hosts South Korea. It now seems a good bet that the winner will be North Korea.
Socceroos fans had been disappointed with Monday’s narrow win over Hong Kong, courtesy of a late Brett Emerton goal. And they were wary ahead of this match against high-flying North Korea, with coach Holger Osieck selecting a defensive-looking line-up, and leaving teenage star Tom Rogic on the bench. However, it soon became clear that the Socceroos were not intending to sit back and defend.
Early pressure saw Archie Thompson get on the end of an Emerton cross, but Thompson’s header was turned away by the keeper. However, from the resulting corner, Mark Milligan’s header was blocked, and Thompson knocked home the rebound. 1-0 Australia.
The Chollima fought back, and began to put pressure on the Socceroos, but struggled to create any real clear cut chances. Korea’s frustration was demonstrated when coach Yun Jong-Su withdrew An Il-Bom after just 23 minutes, despite the young striker having scored in both previous matches for his country.
20-year-old Socceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan was forced into making a couple of saves, but there were no further goals in the first 45 minutes, and Australia held the advantage at half-time.
The second half saw North Korea again press Australia, but again fail to create many goal-scoring chances. Then, in the 64th minute, a fluffed clearance from the Australian defence allowed Korean midfielder An Yong-Hak to score an equaliser. 1-1, and the Chollima had their hands back on the UFWC trophy.
Osieck immediately introduced Rogic in an attempt to spark the Socceroos back into life. That seemed a big ask for the 19-year-old, although he did impress with some clever touches. As the clock ran down, Osieck introduced another 19-year-old striker, Adam Taggart, with goalscorer Thompson the man replaced. Rogic and Taggart almost combined to match-winning effect, but Taggart failed to convert Rogic’s cross.
As the game approached its conclusion, both sides were visibly tired. North Korea had played three games in six days, and Australia two in four. Oddly, rather than introduce three sets of fresh legs, Chollima coach Yun Jong-Su subbed his substitute, and then subbed his substitute again…
Despite their tired legs, though, North Korea held on, despite a couple of late Australian chances, to draw 1-1 and retain the UFWC title. Socceroos fans voiced their disappointment after the game, and it was a pretty poor performance, but recent UFWC history has shown that a draw with North Korea is not a bad result.
The next UFWC title match is on Sunday, when North Korea take on hosts Hong Kong in the last round of the semi final competition. Kick off is 2.20pm local time (GMT+8). Hong Kong have never participated in the UFWC, and North Korea should certainly be favourites. But the Chollima looked very weary today. Can they recover and retain the UFWC title? Or will Hong Kong seize the chance to become Unofficial Football World Champions?
Watch this space and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

ufwc

North Korea 5-0 Guam

North Korea 5-0 Guam
3 December 2012
EAFF East Asian Cup Semi Final Competition
Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong
Scorers: An Il-Bom, Pak Nam-Chol, Jong Il-Gwan, Ri Myong-Jun (2)

A second successive five-goal victory for North Korea saw the Chollima comfortably retain the UFWC title. The reigning Unofficial Football World Champions dominated the match, and could have scored many more goals if not for a string of saves by Guam goalkeeper Doug Herrick. For Guam, the result could be seen as a relative improvement – North Korea beat the Pacific islanders 21-0 back in 2005.

The match, North Korea’s second in this EAFF East Asian Cup Semi Final Competition, saw the Chollima again play at the Mong Kok Stadium in Kowloon, north of Hong Kong Island. North Korea had beaten Chinese Taipei here on Saturday, and there were several similarities between that game and today’s.

Against Guam, just as against Chinese Taipei, North Korea’s first goal came from 21-year-old striker An Il-Bom. His 26th minute goal was followed in the 34th minute by one from his strike partner Ri Myong-Jun. North Korea led 2-0 at half-time.

Ri Myong-Jun scored his second goal, and North Korea’s third, in the 60th minute. The 22-year-old had also scored two against Chinese Taipei on Saturday. Pak Nam-Chol made the score 4-0 with eight minutes left to play. The Chollima’s star midfielder had also scored his side’s fourth goal against Taipei.

The rout was completed in the 87th minute, when the highly-rated young striker Jong Il-Gwan, who has been linked with moves to several high-profile European clubs, netted to make the final score 5-0 to North Korea.

The match was North Korea’s 11th as Unofficial Football World Champion. The Chollima have held the UFWC title since defeating Japan in November 2011. However, their toughest test will come in two days’ time.

Excitingly, today’s result sets up a UFWC title match on Wednesday between North Korea and Australia. The Socceroos have been Unofficial Football World Champions once before, in 1992 when they defeated then-champs the USA courtesy of a Warren Spink goal. They last played a UFWC title match in January 2011, losing 1-0 to then-champions Japan.

Australia, who are participating in the EAFF tournament as invited guests, might be considered clear favourites to win Wednesday’s match, being ranked 33rd in the world by FIFA, some 48 places higher than North Korea. However, the UFWC rankings show North Korea in the ascendancy, ranked 21st, 21 places above Australia.

More importantly, the Socceroos have entered this tournament with an unfamiliar squad, with many regulars unavailable due to club commitments. Coach Holger Osieck has mostly young and inexperienced players at his disposal, but can call on some exciting talents, like hotly-tipped 19-year-old attacking midfielder Tom Rogic, plus Aaron Mooy and Adam Taggart, alongside established names like Brett Emerton.

North Korea, on the other hand, have a solid and established side that blends exciting young talent with experience and quality. Few UFWC watchers, who have followed the progress of North Korea over the past year or so, will write off their chances against the Socceroos.

The North Korea vs Australia title match will be played at the Hong Kong Stadium, and kick off is 8.30pm local time (GMT+8). It is being live-streamed free online by SBS.com.au, although may be geo-blocked for those outside of Australia.

A reminder that the winner of this league-format semi final competition will progress to the EAFF East Asian Cup Finals alongside Japan, China and hosts South Korea. The remaining matches in the semi final competition that could have UFWC significance are:

5 December 2012 20:30 North Korea v Australia (UFWC title match)
7 December 2012 17:50 Guam v Australia
9 December 2012 14:20 Hong Kong v North Korea
9 December 2012 17:00 Australia v Chinese Taipei

So if North Korea retain the UFWC title on Wednesday, the next UFWC title match will see them play hosts Hong Kong on 9 December. However, if Australia win on Thursday and become Unofficial Football World Champions, the next title match will see the Socceroos face Guam on 7 December. A title match between the Socceroos and Chinese Taipei could follow on 9 December.

Watch this space and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

ufwc

YouTube : North Korea vs Taiwan

EAFF Championship Qualifiers

EAFF Championship Qualifiers :

North Korea - Taiwan 6-1 (3-0)

Ri Myong-jun scored twice for DPR Korea and teammates An Il-bom, Pak Song-chul, Ri Kwang-hyok, and Pak Nam-chul each scored once. Chinese Taipei’s lone goal came from Chen Hao-wei in the 79th minute.

North Korea vs Chinese Taipei: EAFF Semi Final Preview

North Korea vs Chinese Taipei
1 December 2012
EAFF East Asian Cup Semi Final Competition
Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong

The Unofficial Football World Championships resumes on Saturday as current champions North Korea take on challengers Chinese Taipei (better known outside of sporting circles as Taiwan). The match is part of the EAFF East Asian Cup Semi Final competition, a five-team league format tournament taking place over nine days in Hong Kong. The other tournament participants are hosts Hong Kong, Guam, and Australia. The five teams will play each other over 10 matches. The team that finishes at the top of the league table at the end of the tournament will qualify for the EAFF East Asian Cup Finals in South Korea in 2013.

The Semi Final competition opens with a double header of Guam vs Hong Kong followed by North Korea vs Chinese Taipei. The venue for the opening fixtures is the recently-renovated Mong Kok Stadium, the home ground of Hong Kong First Division sides Citizen and Sun Hei. It’s located in Kowloon, north of Hong Kong Island, and has a capacity of 6,664.

Unofficial Football World Champions North Korea have held the UFWC title for nine matches now, and have been champions for more than a year. They took the title from Japan in November 2011, and have subsequently remained unbeaten, winning the AFC Challenge Cup along the way. The ‘Chollima’ have scored 17 goals in their nine UFWC title matches, and have risen up to 23rd in the UFWC rankings. They’ve also risen up the FIFA rankings, entering the top 100, and currently standing at 81st in the world.

Coached by Yun Jong-Su and captained by defender Ri Kwang-Chon, North Korea has several star players who have caught the eye in previous UFWC title matches, including Ri Myung-Guk, Pak Song-Chol and two Pak Nam-Chols. The attacking midfielder Pak Nam-Chol has particularly impressed in recent games, with a formidable work-rate combined with the ability to pull strings and create goals. The Chollima will be strong favourites in their first Semi Final fixture, but are likely to face tougher tests in the days that follow.

The first challengers, Chinese Taipei, are perhaps better known as the Republic of China (ROC), or Taiwan. The name ‘Chinese Taipei’ is used in sporting circles because of a disagreement between the ROC and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Chinese Taipei have played five matches so far this year, and only won one of them (a 2-0 win over Guam). They have never previously participated in the UFWC, and have no UFWC ranking. FIFA’s world rankings have Chinese Taipei at 176, one place lower than noted world football minnows American Samoa.

The team is coached by Chiang Mu-tsai and captained by Xavier Chen, a defender who plays for KV Mechelen in Belgium. Goalkeeper Lu Kun-chi is the country’s most-capped player. Taipei’s best hope for goals looks to be attacking midfielder Chen Po-liang, who plays for Philippe Troussier’s Shenzhen Ruby in China. As noted in a previous article, the squad also includes twin brother strikers called Lo Chih-an and Lo Chih-en.

The last match between the two sides, in 2010, ended in a 2-1 victory for North Korea. Chang Han scored Taipei’s goal, and he looks likely to play in the title match. It seems unlikely that this game will be as close, with North Korea having improved considerably since 2010. But experience has shown that anything can happen in the UFWC, and there is a chance that on Saturday the Unofficial Football World Champions could be Chinese Taipei.

Whether or not Taipei manage to relieve North Korea of the UFWC title, the other Semi Final competition participants are likely to get the chance to challenge for the title in subsequent games. Guam and Hong Kong would be as unlikely champions as Chinese Taipei. They’re ranked 181 and 172 respectively in FIFA’s world rankings, and again neither have participated in the UFWC. Australia, however, are a rapidly improving team. They’re currently ranked as the 33rd best team in the world by FIFA, and they’re 42nd in the UFWC rankings, having won the title once, in 1992. They last played a UFWC title match in January 2011, losing 1-0 to then-champions Japan.

The full semi-final competition fixture list is shown below. The first four matches will be played at the Mong Kok Stadium, and the remainder at the Hong Kong Stadium. All times are GMT+8.

1 December 2012 14:30 Hong Kong v Guam
1 December 2012 17:10 North Korea v Chinese Taipei
3 December 2012 17:50 North Korea v Guam
3 December 2012 20:30 Hong Kong v Australia
5 December 2012 17:50 Chinese Taipei v Guam
5 December 2012 20:30 North Korea v Australia
7 December 2012 17:50 Guam v Australia
7 December 2012 20:30 Hong Kong v Chinese Taipei
9 December 2012 14:20 Hong Kong v North Korea
9 December 2012 17:00 Australia v Chinese Taipei

North Korea have already retained the UFWC title through one tournament this year (the AFC Challenge Cup). Can they retain it through the EAFF Semi Final competition? Will they fall at the first hurdle, and lose the title to Chinese Taipei? Or will Hong Kong, Guam or Australia emerge from the tournament as Unofficial Football World Champions? Whatever happens, there look to be a few exciting days ahead for the UFWC.

Watch this space and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

Unofficial Football World Championship

EAFF Championship qualifiers in Hong Kong starts today

EAFF Championship qualifiers in Hong Kong  :

Today  : North Korea vs Taiwan


3. Dec : North Korea vs Guam

5. Dec : North Korea vs Australia

9. Dec  : North Korea vs Hong Kong


All matches at Mong Kok Stadium in Hong Kong