North Korea women's national football team

The North Korea women's national football team (Munhwaŏ Korean: 조선민주주의인민공화국 녀자 국가종합팀, recognized as Korea DPR by FIFA) represents North Korea in international women's football.

North Korea is one of the Asian Football Confederation women's powerhouses alongside Japan, China and Australia. The Eastern Azaleas won the AFC Women's Asian Cup in 2001 (scoring 53 goals in 6 matches, a record that still stands), 2003, and 2008, and reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup.

History

1980s According to data from the Korean Central News Agency, women's football in the country began to take shape in 1985. The first football team was formed in the Society of Provincial Sports of South Pyongan Province (), and other women's football teams started emerging soon after. On May 19, 1986, the first exhibition match of women's football teams was played at the Kim Il Sung Stadium in Pyongyang.

The first national match of the North Korean national team was held on December 21, 1989, against the Chinese national team as part of the 1989 AFC Women's Championship. The match, which took place in Hong Kong, ended in a 1–4 defeat for the Koreans. Later in the same tournament, the national team played two more matches, losing 1–3 to Chinese Taipei and winning 4–0 against Thailand, thus finishing third in their group. In the following year, in 1990, the North Korean national team won their first international medal, securing bronze medals at the Women's Football Tournament of the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing. They only suffered one loss to the Chinese team during the tournament and achieved a 7–0 victory against the South Korean national team.

The 1991 AFC Women's Championship in Japan, in addition to its primary purpose, served as a qualification stage for the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup, with the top three East Asian teams earning a spot in the World Cup. The North Korean national team had a successful start in the tournament, finishing second in their subgroup, which qualified them for the semi-finals. In the semi-final match, the Koreans were defeated by the Chinese team with a score of 0–1. In the match for third place, they faced the Chinese Taipei team. The regular and extra time of the match ended in a goalless draw, and the winner was determined in a penalty shootout, in which the North Korean national team lost 4–5, finishing fourth in the tournament and narrowly missing qualification for the World Cup. The 1993 AFC Women's Championship brought silver medals to the North Korean team, as they only lost the final match to the Chinese team with a score of 3–0. The North Korean team missed the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup tournament as they were absent from the 1994 Asian Games held in Hiroshima, which served as a parallel qualification for the World Cup. The North Korean national team was also absent from the 1995 AFC Women's Championship.

For the first time in their history, the Korean women's team secured a spot in the World Cup after finishing as runners-up in the 1997 AFC Women's Championship. In the semi-finals, they defeated the Japanese national team with a score of 1–0. In the final match, they faced the Chinese team once more and were defeated 0–2. At the 1998 Asian Games, the North Korean national team reached the final again but lost 0–1 to their Chinese counterparts. In their first World Cup, the North Korean team was placed in a group with Nigeria, Denmark, and the tournament hosts, the United States. They lost their first match against Nigeria 1–2, but bounced back in the second match to defeat the Danish team 3–1. A 0–3 loss to the United States in the final group-stage match left the North Korean team in third place in the group, preventing them from reaching the tournament's knockout stage.

Disqualification from 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup During the team's participation at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, on 7 July 2011, FIFA announced that two of its players, Song Jong-Sun and Jong Pok-Sim, had failed doping tests during the tournament and were provisionally suspended prior to their team's match against Colombia. On 16 July, FIFA announced that three additional players from North Korea tested positive following target testing of the whole team. North Korea reasoned the positive doping results stemmed from deer musk-derived Chinese traditional medicine used to treat players hit by lightning. On 25 August 2011, the North Korean team was fined 400,000 which is equal to the prize it received by finishing 13th in the 2011 tournament, and was excluded from participation at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, including its qualification round.

2020s After it won the 2019 Cyprus Women's Cup in March 2019, the team was inactive until the 2022 Asian Games (played in September 2023) partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic; during this time, the team became unranked due to a lack of FIFA-recognized play. The team's ranking has since been restored. North Korea almost qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics, losing to Japan in the two-leg third round Olympic qualifiers.

As of the June 2024 FIFA rankings, the team is ranked 10th in the world.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

2025

2026

Coaching staff Current coaching staff

Role Name Head coach Pak Song-jin Assistant coach Jang Ok-gyong Ri Hyong-jin Sin Jae-namGoalkeeping coach Jong Sok-namTeam Doctor Pak Kyong-hui

Manager history NamePeriodTournament Myong Dong-chan1989–19991991 AFC Women's Championship: Fourth place1993 AFC Women's Championship: Second place1997 AFC Women's Championship: Second place1998 Asian Games: Silver medal1999 FIFA Women's World Cup: Group stage Ri Song-gun1999–2003 1999 AFC Women's Championship: Third Place2001 AFC Women's Championship: Champions2002 Asian Games: Gold medal2003 AFC Women's Championship: Champions2003 FIFA Women's World Cup: Group stage Kim Kwang-min2004–2011 2005 EAFF Women's Football Championship: Second place2006 AFC Women's Asian Cup: Third Place2006 Asian Games: Gold medal2007 FIFA Women's World Cup: Quarter-finalists2008 EAFF Women's Football Championship: Second place2008 AFC Women's Asian Cup: Champions2010 AFC Women's Asian Cup: Second place2010 Asian Games Silver medal2011 FIFA Women's World Cup: Group stage Sin Ui-gun2012 2012 Summer Olympics: Group stage Kim Kwang-min2013–2019 2013 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup: Champions2014 Asian Games: Gold medal2015 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup: Champions2017 EAFF E-1 Football Championship: Champions Jo Song-ok (caretaker)2016 Ri Yu-il2023–20242022 Asian Games: Silver medal Ri Song-ho2025–2026 Pak Song-jin2026–present2026 Asian Games: Silver medal

Players Current squad The following 23 players were called up for the 2026 Asian Games.

Caps and goals correct as of: 2 October 2026, after the match against Japan

Recent call ups The following players have been called up to a North Korea squad in the past 12 months.

Honours Major competitions AFC Women's Asian Cup Champions: 2001, 2003, 2008 Runners-up: 1993, 1997, 2010

Continental Asian Games Gold medal: 2002, 2006, 2014 Silver medal: 1998, 2010, 2022, 2026 Bronze medal: 1990

Regional EAFF E-1 Football Championship Champions: 2013, 2015, 2017 Runners-up: 2005, 2008

Friendly Albena Cup Champions: 2002 Australia Cup Champions: 2004 Cyprus Women's Cup Champions: 2019 Four Nations Tournament Champions: 2012

Competitive record FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup recordYearResultGPWD*LGFGAGD 1991Did not qualify 1995Did not enter 1999Group stage310246−2 2003310234−1 2007Quarter-finals411257−2 2011Group stage301203−3 2015Banned 2019Did not qualify 2023Did not enter 2027Qualified 2031To be determined 2035 Total:5/10Quarter-finals133281220−8 *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

FIFA Women's World Cup historyYearRoundDateOpponentResultStadium 1999Group stage20 JuneL 1–2Rose Bowl, Pasadena24 JuneW 3–1Civic Stadium, Portland27 JuneL 0–3Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough 2003Group stage20 SeptemberW 3–0Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia25 SeptemberL 0–128 SeptemberL 0–3Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus 2007Group stage11 SeptemberD 2–2Chengdu Sports Center, Chengdu14 SeptemberW 2–018 SeptemberL 1–2Tianjin Olympic Centre Stadium, TianjinQuarter-finals22 SeptemberL 0–3Wuhan Stadium, Wuhan 2011Group stage28 JuneL 0–2Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion, Dresden2 JulyL 0–1Impuls Arena, Augsburg6 JulyD 0–0Ruhrstadion, Bochum 2027Group stage

Olympic Games Summer Olympics recordHosts / YearResult 1996Did not qualify 2000 2004 2008 Group stage 3 1 0 2 2 3 –1 2012 3 1 0 2 2 6 –4 2016Did not qualify 2020Withdrew 2024Did not qualifyTotal:2/8Group stage620449-5

AFC Women's Asian Cup AFC Women's Asian CupQualificationYearResultMWDLGFGAGDMWDLGFGAGD 1975Did not participateNo Qualification 1977 1980 1981 1983 1986 1989 Group stage 3 1 0 2 6 7 −1 1991 Fourth place 6 3 1 2 25 2 +23 1993 Runners-up 5 3 1 1 18 4 +14 1995 Did not participate 1997 Runners-up 5 3 0 2 24 6 +18 1999 Third place 6 4 1 1 28 8 +20 2001 Winners 6 6 0 0 53 1 +52 2003 6 5 1 0 50 3 +47 2006 Third place 6 4 1 1 16 3 +13Directly Qualified 2008 Winners 5 5 0 0 14 1 +13 2010 Runners-up 5 3 1 1 7 2 +5 2014 Banned (see above) Banned 2018 Did not qualify 4310181+17 2022 Withdrew Withdrew 2026 Quarter-finals 5302144+103300260+26Total:10/21 3 Titles 58 40 6 12 255 41 +214 7 6 1 0 44 1 +43

Asian Games Football at the Asian GamesHosts / YearResultMWDLGFGAGD 1990 Bronze medal 5221193+16 1994 Did not enter 1998 Silver medal 5311264+22 2002 Gold medal 541080+8 2006 5410162+14 2010 Silver medal 421152+3 2014 Gold medal 5500162+14 2018 Quarter-finals 4202254+21 2022 Silver medal 4401305+25 2026 6420284+24Total8/937268514321+122

EAFF E-1 Football Championship EAFF E-1 Football Championship (women)Hosts / YearResultMWDLGFGAGD 2005 Runners-up320121+1 2008 Runners-up311163+3 2010 Withdrew 2013 Winners 321031+2 2015 Winners330094+5 2017 Winners330050+5 2019 Withdrew 2022 Did not enter 2025 WithdrewTotal5/9151122259+16

Algarve Cup

Algarve Cup recordYearResultMWDLGFGAGD20148th place430164+2Total 1/27 430164+2

Cyprus Women's Cup Cyprus Women's Cup recordYearResultGPWDLGFGAGD2017Third place430192+72018Third place431051+42019Champions4310126+6Total3/1312921269+17

Four Nations Tournament Four Nations Tournament recordYearResultGPWDLGFGAGD2012Champions321020+22014Runners-up320131+2Total2/18641151+4

See also

Sport in North Korea Football in North Korea Women's football in North Korea North Korea women's national under-20 football team North Korea women's national under-17 football team North Korea national football team North Korea–South Korea football rivalry

References

Further reading

External links