North Korea has participated in five AFC Asian Cup and finished in fourth place, their best performance to date, during their maiden appearance in 1980.

However, unlike their Southern neighbor, North Korea often struggles to have the best performances, due to poor quality of the national team and their squad, as well as outside sanctions on the nation for its repressive nature. North Korea, after their 1980 appearance, would have to wait for 12 years for their next qualification, and they made further tournament appearances in the 2011, 2015 and 2019 editions. North Korea has not won an Asian Cup match since 1980, a drought of nearly 40 years.

Squads

1980 Asian Cup

Main article: 1980 AFC Asian Cup

Group A

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Iran 4 2 2 0 12 4 +8 6
 North Korea 4 3 0 1 9 7 +2 6
 Syria 4 2 1 1 3 2 +1 5
 China 4 1 1 2 9 5 +4 3
 Bangladesh 4 0 0 4 2 17 −15 0
North Korea 3–2 Bangladesh
Choi Jae-pil 44', 45'
Kim Jong-man 90'		 Salahuddin 60' (pen.)
Chunnu 88'
Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, Kuwait City
North Korea 2–1 China
Kim Bok-man 20' Li Fubao 7'
Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, Kuwait City
Iran 3–2 North Korea
Alidousti 27'
Danaeifard 57'
Fariba 60'		 Hwang Sang-hoi 68'
Pak Jong-hun 90'
Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, Kuwait City
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Enrique Mendoza (Mexico)
North Korea 2–1 Syria
Suleiman
Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, Kuwait City

Semi-finals

South Korea 2–1 North Korea
Chung Hae-won 80', 89' Pak Jong-hun 19' (pen.)
Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, Kuwait City
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Toshikazu Sano (Japan)

Third place play-off

Iran 3–0 North Korea
Fariba 49'
Faraki 66', 76'
Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, Kuwait City
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Enrique Mendoza (Mexico)

1992 Asian Cup

Main article: 1992 AFC Asian Cup

Group A

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
 Japan 5 3 1 2 0 2 1 +1
 United Arab Emirates 5 3 1 2 0 2 1 +1
 Iran 4 3 1 1 1 2 1 +1
 North Korea 1 3 0 1 2 2 5 −3
North Korea 0–2 Iran
Report Pious 30'
Ghayeghran 80'
Bingo Sports Park, Onomichi
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Omer Al Mehannah (Saudi Arabia)
Japan 1–1 North Korea
Nakayama 80' Report Kim Kwang-min 29' (pen.)
Hiroshima Big Arch, Hiroshima
Attendance: 32,000
Referee: Rasheed Al-Jassas (Kuwait)
United Arab Emirates 2–1 North Korea
K. Saad 81'
Bakhit 85'		 Report Kim Kwang-min 69'
Hiroshima Big Arch, Hiroshima
Attendance: 33,000
Referee: Neji Jouini (Tunisia)

2011 Asian Cup

Main article: 2011 AFC Asian Cup

Group D

Main article: 2011 AFC Asian Cup Group D
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Iran 3 3 0 0 6 1 +5 9
 Iraq 3 2 0 1 3 2 +1 6
 North Korea 3 0 1 2 0 2 −2 1
 United Arab Emirates 3 0 1 2 0 4 −4 1
11 January 2011
North Korea  0–0  United Arab Emirates
15 January 2011
Iran  1–0  North Korea
19 January 2011
Iraq  1–0[1]  North Korea

2015 Asian Cup

Main article: 2015 AFC Asian Cup

Group B

Main article: 2015 AFC Asian Cup Group B
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  China 3 3 0 0 5 2 +3 9 Advance to knockout stage
2  Uzbekistan 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6
3  Saudi Arabia 3 1 0 2 5 5 0 3
4  North Korea 3 0 0 3 2 7 −5 0
Source: Asian Cup Australia 2015
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
10 January 2015
Uzbekistan  1–0  North Korea Stadium Australia, Sydney
14 January 2015
North Korea  1–4  Saudi Arabia AAMI Park, Melbourne
18 January 2015
China  2–1  North Korea Canberra Stadium, Canberra

[2]

2019 Asian Cup

Main article: 2019 AFC Asian Cup

Group E

Main article: 2019 AFC Asian Cup Group E
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Qatar 3 3 0 0 10 0 +10 9 Advance to knockout stage
2  Saudi Arabia 3 2 0 1 6 2 +4 6
3  Lebanon 3 1 0 2 4 5 −1 3
4  North Korea 3 0 0 3 1 14 −13 0
Source: AFC
Saudi Arabia 4–0 North Korea
 Report
Rashid Stadium, Dubai
Attendance: 5,075
Referee: Peter Green (Australia)
North Korea 0–6 Qatar
Report
Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
Attendance: 452
Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)
Lebanon 4–1 North Korea
 Report
Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah
Attendance: 4,332
Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)

Record

AFC Asian Cup finals record AFC Asian Cup qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D* L GF GA
Hong Kong 1956 Did not enter Did not enter
South Korea 1960
Israel 1964
Iran 1968
Thailand 1972
Iran 1976 Withdrew after qualifying 5 3 1 1 7 4
Kuwait 1980 Fourth place 4th 6 3 0 3 10 12 2 1 1 0 4 2
Singapore 1984 Did not enter Did not enter
Qatar 1988 Did not qualify 4 2 1 1 3 2
Japan 1992 Group stage 8th 3 0 1 2 2 5 3 2 1 0 8 0
United Arab Emirates 1996 Did not enter Did not enter
Lebanon 2000 Did not qualify 3 2 1 0 11 7
China 2004 8 1 2 5 3 15
IndonesiaMalaysiaThailandVietnam 2007 Banned Banned
Qatar 2011 Group stage 12th 3 0 1 2 0 2 Qualified as 2010 AFC Challenge Cup winners
Australia 2015 Group stage 14th 3 0 0 3 2 7 Qualified as 2012 AFC Challenge Cup winners
United Arab Emirates 2019 Group stage 24th 3 0 0 3 1 14 14 8 3 3 27 18
Qatar 2023 Withdrew[3] Withdrew
Total Fourth place 5/18 18 3 2 13 15 40 39 19 10 10 63 48

See also

References

  1. ^ "Asian Cup 2011: North Korea Striker Jong Tae-Se: We Have To Score Against Iraq | Goal.com".
  2. ^ "North Korea bow out amid hope that bridges can be built | Joe Gorman". TheGuardian.com. 15 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Latest update on Asian Qualifiers". Asian Football Confederation. 16 May 2021.
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