North Korea Women’s Soccer Team Beats Japan in U-20 World Cup Final, Wins Third Title |

The North Korean women’s national soccer team has won the FIFA U-20 World Cup for the third time. North Korea has lifted the trophy again after eight years since 2006 and 2016, joining the United States and Germany (both three times) as the most-winning countries in the tournament.

North Korea won 1-0 in the final against Japan held in Bogota, Colombia on the 23rd, thanks to a winning goal by striker Choe Il-sun (17) in the 15th minute of the first half. Choe Il-sun hit the ball with his left foot in front of the Japanese players on the right side of the penalty box, and it hit the head of the opposing defender and shook the goal net. North Korea controlled the flow of the game to the point that it gave Japan its first and only valid shot in the 37th minute of the second half. North Korea also had 9 shots, ahead of Japan (5).

North Korea won all seven matches from the group stage to the finals of this tournament, taking the top spot. They scored a total of 25 goals during the tournament, allowing only four goals to their opponents. They defeated the United States, the joint most-winning team in this tournament, 1-0 in the semifinals, and Brazil, the third-place team in the 2022 tournament, 1-0 in the quarterfinals. The FIFA website commented, “North Korea showed dynamic offense from the beginning of the tournament.” Choi Il-seon, the scorer of the winning goal, scored six goals and one assist in this tournament alone, winning both the Golden Ball, awarded to the best player, and the Golden Boot, awarded to the top scorer. Choi Il-seon also scored the winning goal in the semifinals against the United States, leading to a 1-0 victory. The FIFA website added, “Choi Il-seon scored goals in all three group matches, and scored the winning goals in the semifinals and finals, scoring at crucial moments. In the finals, he especially put an exclamation point on the team with a sensational goal.”

North Korea has once again frustrated Japan at the threshold of winning the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-20 Asian Cup final (2-1) held in Uzbekistan in March. North Korea has also maintained an absolute advantage in the U-20 national team match against Japan with 4 wins and 0 losses. It has been 18 years since the last time an Asian team faced China in the final of this tournament. North Korea won 5-0 then too.

Japan had to once again narrowly miss out on the final after losing 1-3 to Spain in the 2022 final. Japan midfielder Manaka Matsukubo, who scored three goals in this tournament, won the Silver Ball. Japan, the 2018 champions, had to settle for a third consecutive final appearance. The tournament, held every two years, was not held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.