15 June 2010 - North Korea's Glorious Defeat

On 15 June 2010, North Korea marked their return to the World Cup with an impressive showing against Brazil, albeit in a losing effort.

In 1966, their only previous tournament, they delivered a shocking 1-0 first-round upset of Italy before falling to Portugal in the quarterfinals. That set a high standard for their return forty-four years later, secured on the back of a defense that conceded only five goals in fourteen qualification matches.

They continued that performance in their opening match against Brazil, at least for the first half. Playing with a back line of five defenders, they prevented the Brazilians from getting a good look at the goal. Only Maicon got a shot on target in the first half and that one was handled comfortably by keeper Ri Myong-Guk. It was a surprising performance, as most observers expected Brazil to run riot over the North Koreans.

Brazil finally cracked the defense in the second half, however, with Maicon scoring in the 55th minute, then Elano doubling the lead seventeen minutes later. North Korea's Ji Yun-Nam (pictured) got a goal in the 89th minute for a final scoreline of 2-1. It was North Korea's closest margin of the tournament, followed by a 7-0 hammering by Portugal and a 3-0 loss to Côte d'Ivoire.

19 July 1966 - North Korea Send Italy Pak-ing

On 19 July 1966, North Korea staged one of the World Cup's biggest upsets, beating Italy 1-0 in the first round.

After winning the World Cup in 1934 and 1938, the Azzurri went into decline and failed to progress past the first round in 1950, 1954, and 1962 (they failed to even qualify for the 1958 competition). Still, their 1966 squad included several of the era's most talented footballers, including Milan's Gianni Rivera and Inter duo Sandro Mazzola and Giancinto Facchetti. North Korea, on the other hand, were appearing in their first World Cup with a collection of semi-professional players who were relative unknowns outside of their home country.

Playing before a crowd of 18,000 at Middlesbrough's Ayresome Park, the Italians needed only a draw to advance into the second round, having already secured a win and a draw in their first two matches. After their early attacks were denied by Korean goalkeeper Ri Chan Myong, the Azzurri fell back into a defensive formation designed to win the critical point.

The Koreans, however, needed to win, with a loss and a draw in their first two matches. Taking advantage of Italy's reluctance to press, North Korea controlled the midfield and sent waves of attacks into the Italian area. They were rewarded with a 40th-minute match-winner from Pak Doo-Ik.

The goal sent Italy home, where they were pelted with eggs and tomatoes by an angry crowd upon their arrival. The Koreans advanced to the second round, but were eliminated by Portugal. They returned to obscurity in North Korea, sparking several rumors that they had been punished by North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, but the rumors were later proven to be false.

25 July 2012 - Better Late Than Never (Unless You're Colombia)

On 25 July 2012, North Korea delayed their opening-day Olympic match against Colombia by over an hour after the organizers displayed the wrong flag on the scoreboard.

Scheduled to start 7:45 p.m. local time, the match was the second of the day at Glasgow's Hampden Park, following the USA's win over France earlier that day. As game time approached, the Colombian players lined up in the tunnel and prepared to take the field, but the Koreans remained in their locker room. They soon made clear that their failure to appear was a protest, made after they realized that the stadium's scoreboard was showing the South Korean flag next to their players' profiles, which they interpreted as a major insult.

Officials eventually corrected the mistake and the game kicked off at 8:50 p.m. Colombia probably would have preferred that it remain delayed, as North Korea won 2-0 with both goals coming from Kim Song-Hui (pictured).

23 July 1966 - It Helps To Have A Ballon D'Or Winner On Your Team, Apparently

On 23 July 1966, four goals from Eusébio helped Portugal rally from a 3-0 deficit to beat North Korea 5-3 in the World Cup quarterfinals.

North Korea had already delivered the shock of the tournament, beating Italy 1-0 in their final group stage match to qualify for the knockout rounds, while Portugal had breezed through their group by winning all three matches.

The teams met at Goodison Park in Liverpool, where a crowd of almost 52,000 gathered to watch what looked to be another upset. The Koreans took a staggering 3-0 lead just 25 minutes in with goals from Pak Seung-Zin (1'), Lee Dong-Woon (22'), and Yang Seung-Kook (25').

Two minutes later, however, Eusébio--the 1965 Ballon d'Or winner--started the comeback by scoring his first of the day. He followed that with a 43rd-minute penalty kick to close the gap to 3-2 at the break, then the second half belonged to Portugal. Eusébio completed his hat-trick in the 53rd minute, then added a fourth via the penalty spot three minutes later to give the Portuguese their first lead of the day.

His Benfica teammate José Augusto, who had assisted Eusébio's first goal, capped the win with an 80th minute strike to set the final margin at 5-3.

Despite the amazing effort--or perhaps because of it--Portugal fell to England in the next round, 2-1. But their comeback against North Korea remains one of the most dramatic matches in tournament history.

28 June 2011 - If I Sound Skeptical, It's Because I Am

On 28 June 2011, the United States women opened their World Cup campaign with a win over North Korea. But all was not as it seemed, apparently.

The North Koreans were one of the first teams to qualify for the tournament by finishing as runners-up in the 2010 Asian Cup, while the US were the last team to qualify after beating Italy in the UEFA-CONCACAF playoff. Nevertheless, the Yanks were favored when the two teams met on the opening day of Group C.

Playing before a crowd of almost 22,000 at Dresden's Rudolf-Harbig Stadium, the North Koreans kept the match close for the first half, taking a scoreless draw into the break. But they grew visibly tired after the restart and surrendered goals to Lauren Cheney (54') and Rachel Buehler (76') to end up on the wrong side of a 2-0 result. And that's when things got a little weird.

In the post-game press conference, North Korean manager Kim Kwang-min claimed that his side had under-performed because of an accident almost three weeks earlier in which a handful of players were struck by lightning. He said more than five of them had to go to the hospital, but it was unclear which players they were. According to the official FIFA translation of the press conference, Kim said that the goalkeeper, four strikers, and some midfielders were affected, but the North Korean press officer said it was four defenders.

Regardless, North Korea lost their next match to Sweden, then drew with Colombia to bow out of the tournament in the group stage. The US advanced all the way to the final, where they lost to Japan on penalties.

15 June 2010 - North Korea's Glorious Defeat

On 15 June 2010, North Korea marked their return to the World Cup with an impressive showing against Brazil, albeit in a losing effort.

In 1966, their only previous tournament, they delivered a shocking 1-0 first-round upset of Italy before falling to Portugal in the quarterfinals. That set a high standard for their return forty-four years later, secured on the back of a defense that conceded only five goals in fourteen qualification matches.

They continued that performance in their opening match against Brazil, at least for the first half. Playing with a back line of five defenders, they prevented the Brazilians from getting a good look at the goal. Only Maicon got a shot on target in the first half and that one was handled comfortably by keeper Ri Myong-Guk. It was a surprising performance, as most observers expected Brazil to run riot over the North Koreans.

Brazil finally cracked the defense in the second half, however, with Maicon scoring in the 55th minute, then Elano doubling the lead seventeen minutes later. North Korea's Ji Yun-Nam (pictured) got a goal in the 89th minute for a final scoreline of 2-1. It was North Korea's closest margin of the tournament, followed by a 7-0 hammering by Portugal and a 3-0 loss to Côte d'Ivoire.

19 July 1966 - North Korea Send Italy Pak-ing

On 19 July 1966, North Korea staged one of the World Cup's biggest upsets, beating Italy 1-0 in the first round.

After winning the World Cup in 1934 and 1938, the Azzurri went into decline and failed to progress past the first round in 1950, 1954, and 1962 (they failed to even qualify for the 1958 competition). Still, their 1966 squad included several of the era's most talented footballers, including Milan's Gianni Rivera and Inter duo Sandro Mazzola and Giancinto Facchetti. North Korea, on the other hand, were appearing in their first World Cup with a collection of semi-professional players who were relative unknowns outside of their home country.

Playing before a crowd of 18,000 at Middlesbrough's Ayresome Park, the Italians needed only a draw to advance into the second round, having already secured a win and a draw in their first two matches. After their early attacks were denied by Korean goalkeeper Ri Chan Myong, the Azzurri fell back into a defensive formation designed to win the critical point.

The Koreans, however, needed to win, with a loss and a draw in their first two matches. Taking advantage of Italy's reluctance to press, North Korea controlled the midfield and sent waves of attacks into the Italian area. They were rewarded with a 40th-minute matchwinner from Pak Doo-Ik.

The goal sent Italy home, where they were pelted with eggs and tomatoes by an angry crowd upon their arrival. The Koreans advanced to the second round, but were eliminated by Portugal. They returned to obscurity in North Korea, sparking several rumors that they had been punished by North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, but the rumors were later proven to be false.