Tuesday, June 15, 2010

North Korea scores, still loses to Brazil

By Anthony Vasquez


The last time the North Korean national team played in the World Cup was in 1966 in England. Earlier today, they played Brazil and lost 2-1 in Johannesburg.

After a scoreless first half in which Brazil had its chances to make some goals, the North Korean defense proved itself a legitimate rival to the five-time World Cup champion. According to the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, Brazil was 1st and North Korea was 105th. A draw with Brazil would have made big news indeed.

It was in the 55th minute, however, that Maicon scored Brazil’s first. In the 72nd minute, Elano added to the lead, making it 2-0. Though it appeared that Brazil might score again, it was not to be. In the 89th minute, North Korea’s Ji Yun-Nam rushed toward the Brazilian goal and scored.

The official attendance of the game was 54,331. ESPN Soccernet's Leander Schaerlaeckens reported that wind chills during the night game were in the 20s.

North Korea’s next game is against Portugal on Monday June 21 in Cape Town. Kick off is at 1:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. in North Korea, and 4:30 a.m. Pacific in the United States.

Links+

The Christian Science Monitor
Brazil vs. North Korea: Kim Jong Il's soccer soldiers hold firm, deny Brazil goal fest
By Andrew Downie
June 15, 2010

FIFA.com
Brazil - Korea DPR
June 15, 2010

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