North Korea qualifies for 2010 World Cup

North Korea's football team have qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa! They secured qualification after drawing 0-0 with Saudi Arabia in Riyadh. Both teams ended up with equal number of points on the final standings, but North Korea (also known as DPR Korea) qualify because of a better goal difference. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia will have to enter the Asian playoffs to get to the World Cup.

Not many would have rated North Korea's chances of qualifying for the World Cup, given that their final round Asian qualifying group is tough, with opponents like Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates & neighbours South Korea. It's a tough line-up, so for North Korea to have gone through is a fantastic achievement. They join their southern neighbours in next year's tournament in South Africa.

Congratulations to the North Korean team. I am happy that they will be at next year's World Cup. This will be North Korea's first World Cup since their first appearance in the 1966 World Cup in England. Then, they had a fairy-tale run that saw them upset Italy 1-0 on the way to a quarter-final appearance against Portugal (led by the great Eusebio), when the North Koreans raced to a 3-goal lead before eventually succumbing 5-3. England ended up winning the 1966 World Cup on home soil, their sole World Cup triumph to date, & that was the only time North Korea appeared in the World Cup so far. So maybe, just maybe North Korea's presence at next year's World Cup for the second time may be seen as a lucky omen by some English fans who are hoping for England to win their second World Cup.

So much for omens! Whether England will win the World Cup next year is open to question. What is not so questionable is the great opportunity for North Korean football to step onto the grandstage & show what they have to offer. This is definitely, without question, a rare opportunity for North Korea's best footballers to display their abilities to the world. They, like every other teams who get to the World Cup, will be guaranteed 3 group matches. They will get more if they get past the group stage to the knockout stage. But at the very least, 3 World Cup matches is what they can get. Play decently in the group matches (& more if they get past the group stage), & the European scouts will take notice, which in turn may lead to a contract with a European football club. And the more North Korean players play overseas, the more exposure they get to higher level football, which will only benefit the North Korean team in the long run.

This, really, should be the way forward for them. Today, there are only a handful of players in the current North Korean squad (no more than 6) who play their club football outside North Korea - in Japan, China, South Korea, Russia & Switzerland. So that means that the North Korean squad has limited exposure to international football. At the risk of repeating myself, more players should play overseas (especially in other European countries) for them to improve. The quick way for the players to get a European club football contract is for the team to give a good showing at next year's World Cup.

Whether the North Korean team can make the most of this opportunity remains to be seen. I, for one, wish them the very best of luck (I have a "soft spot" for East Asian teams, as I am of Oriental Asian descent), & I will be keeping an eye on them at the World Cup.