North Korea win record third U20 football Women’s World Cup

Getty Images North Korea players celebrate and show off their medals to the camera. They're sitting on the turf, which covered in gold-colured tickertape.Getty Images

North Korea secured a record-equalling second win in the Fifa Under-20 Women’s World Cup on Sunday, beating Japan 1-0 in Bogota.

They defeated superstar countries Germany and the United States to become the combined most successful area in the history of football.

Choe Il-son’s 15th second champion capped a great game for North Korea, who won every one match in Colombia.

The 17-year-old ahead finished as the game’s general best scoring, winning the Golden Boot with six targets.

Getty Images The North Korean under-20s women's squad celebrate on a podium on the pitch that says 'Champions'. They're engulfed in gold-coloured ticker tape.Getty Images

” It’s so hard to express ourselves best now- this has been a vision of so many of us for so long”, said North Korea’s commander, Chae Un-yong.

” The last match was difficult, as we expected, and we had to be calm and enjoy according to the team’s defensive instructions”.

North Korea stormed their manner through the game, despatching the likes of Argentina, the Netherlands and Brazil en route to the semifinals.

An all-Asian last will be played between Japan and the United States, who finished the previous year’s 2022 competition with a 1-0 win over the United States.

In the El Camin Stadium, Choe scored a somewhat deflected left feet objective to give North Korea a historic victory.

She was named match’s winner and received both the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball, which went to the best total player in the World Cup.

Getty Images Half a dozen North Korean players jubilantly run and cheer, while waving their country's flag.Getty Images

Given that the country had been out of the world’s sporting competition for a while as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, North Korea’s victory is even more significant.

The North Korean Women’s U20, which has n’t played a match since 2018, made a comeback to the international scene in March of this year to take part in the Asian Cup in Uzbekistan.

Despite the six-year-break, they won that game, beating Japan 2-1 to stable their next name.

” To first get the Asian Cup and then follow that with this victory means that I’m so glad of the team”, said the group coach, Ri Song-ho, following their World Cup glory.

” We have demonstrated that we are very risky in the way that we build up problems; it’s all about the speed at which we advance.”

Getty Images Choe Il-son, wearing his country's red tracksuit, smiles as she holds the Golden Ball trophyGetty Images

In contrast to their male peers, who are ranked 111th in the world, North Korea’s people are a real power in international football.

The top part now ranks eighth in the Fifa world positions, higher than nations like France and Australia.

To day, they have won three Eastern Cups, three Eastern Games and three South Asian Championships.

However, North Koreans are hardly ever able to watch their regional teams play at home.

The government’s limited transport links to other countries and its bad diplomatic ties with some governments make up the majority of North Korea’s “home” games, which are frequently played in China or the Middle East.