No matter that they are the "defending champion," they were too strong. Neighboring Japan also paid attention to the result of the under-20 (U-20) women's soccer match between Korea and North Korea.
The Republic of Korea U-20 women's national team, led by coach Park Yoon-jeong, suffered a 0-5 defeat to North Korea in the third match of group B in the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-20 Women's Asian Cup group stage, held on the 8th (Korea time) at Thailand's Pathum Thani Stadium.
This match was to decide the group winner. Korea and North Korea had both secured quarterfinal qualification early by recording back-to-back wins in their previous two matches. The final third match was a pride contest for the top spot in the group.
But the match was one-sided. Korea held on thanks to goalkeeper Kim Chae-bin (Gwangyang Girls' High School)'s saves, but they collapsed sharply after conceding the opening goal to Kang Ryu-mi in the 37th minute of the first half. They conceded again to Park Ok in the 45th minute and in the 1 minute of stoppage time, going into halftime trailing 0-3. Then they conceded consecutively to Park Il-sim in the 3rd minute of the second half and Ho Kyung in the 6th minute of the second half, falling to their knees.
Above all, Korea did not record a single shot until the final whistle. By contrast, North Korea unleashed as many as 32 shooting attempts over 90 minutes. Of those, 15 were on target.
The AFC official record shows a shooting figure of 0-32. It was not only the shot count. Korea was also heavily outmatched in possession at 32.3%, and their aerial duel win rate was only 20.8%. Crosses were also extreme: Korea had 1, North Korea had 33.
Similarly, Japan, which also advanced to the tournament quarterfinals, praised North Korea's overwhelming performance. Football Channel highlighted, "North Korea's momentum, having finished the first half 3-0, did not stop in the second half. Ultimately North Korea showed an overwhelming performance, recording 68% possession and 32 shots," it noted.
The outlet also said, "In particular, North Korea allowed Korea not a single shot and won with perfect game management," adding, "As a result, North Korea finished first in group B, Korea second, and Uzbekistan third, securing advancement to the final tournament."
Japan's Soccer Digest Web also emphasized, "North Korea, which achieved a 5-0 rout, displayed overwhelming attacking power. They dominated possession and duels and recorded 32 shots. By contrast, Korea had an incredible 0 shots. It was literally a complete defeat."
Among Japanese fans who watched the match, some even suggested that North Korean players might have falsified their ages. On Yahoo Japan, comments continued such as, "North Korea is definitely too strong. It's suspicious whether they're really the same age group," "Are the ages of North Korean players accurate? There have been age falsifications among Chinese players in the past," and "They are always world-class at age-group levels, but it's strange that the senior national team is not as strong."
However, some assessed that the defeat was not humiliating, considering North Korea had scored 14 goals in the first and second group matches. One fan argued, "Korean women's soccer has traditionally been overwhelmingly weak in East Asia, but North Korea is the best in the world. Even Japan, which won the World Cup, struggles against them. In men's terms, it's like China challenging Spain. It's actually a miracle they limited it to five goals."
In fact, this North Korea U-20 team is regarded as a powerful generation even among the traditionally strong North Korean women's teams. That is because the players who won both the 2024 U-17 Asian Cup and the World Cup have stayed together on the team. North Korea coach Han Cheol-hak even said after the match, "We showed only about 70 to 80% of the ability we can show. I'm not 100% satisfied."
Meanwhile, Park Yoon-jeong's journey is not yet over. Korea, which finished second in the group by beating Uzbekistan and Jordan, advanced to the tournament quarterfinals. Their opponent is host country Thailand. The two teams will clash at Thailand's Thammasat Stadium at 10 p.m. on the 12th.
If Korea beats Thailand and advances to the semifinals, they will also secure a spot in the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup to be held in Poland in September. After the 2022 Costa Rica tournament and the 2024 Colombia tournament, only one win remains to qualify for the World Cup finals for the third consecutive time.
Depending on the bracket, another inter-Korean matchup could occur. If Korea reaches the semifinals, they would face the winner of the North Korea-Australia match. Australia is a team that finished second in group C. Can Korean women's soccer find a chance to make up for the humiliation of a 0-32 shot count?
[Photo] AFC, Korea Football Association social media.
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