North Korea's women's soccer is world-class, as expected.
North Korea's U17 women's national team crushed Taiwan 10-0 in the first match of Group C at the 2026 U17 Asian Cup held at Taizhou Taihu Football Center in Suzhou, China, on the 2nd. Earlier, South Korea in the same group beat the Philippines 5-0. With a superior goal difference, North Korea pushed South Korea to second place and rose to the top of the group.
The defending champion North Korea was strong in this tournament as well. North Korea has won this tournament four times overall, sharing the most titles with Japan. While men's soccer lacks competitiveness, women's soccer is world-class.
Once again, North Korean soccer fully demonstrated its strength. Forward Yu Jeong-hyang, who started as the lone striker, displayed remarkable power by scoring as many as five goals on her own. Yu Jeong-hyang is a world-class striker who last year scored two goals against Brazil in the World Cup to lead a 2-0 victory.
Kim Won-shin, who started as a second forward, also stood out with one goal and one assist. North Korea dominated Taiwan with an astounding 78% possession and 39-1 in shots. They had as many as 15 shots on target to 0.
North Korea's Kim Ju-gyeong scored the opener just five minutes after the match started. Two minutes later Kim Won-shim and three minutes after that Yu Jeong-hyang added goals. The match was already decided at 3-0 after just eight minutes of the first half.
Yu Jeong-hyang's scoring show was brilliant. She scored five goals by herself at the 8th minute of the first half, the 20th minute of the first half, the 23rd minute of the second half, the 25th minute of the second half, and until the 49th minute of the second half. Yu Jeong-hyang also assisted Li Ye-rim's second-minute goal in the second half, finishing with five goals and one assist.
South Korea will play its final group stage match against North Korea on May 8. The winner will claim first place in the group. With North Korea's current attacking power, it is difficult to guarantee a victory for South Korea.
[OSEN]