Pop quiz: Whose 1966 World Cup anthem boasted “We can beat everyone, even the strongest team”? Nope, not the defending champions Brazil or the efficient Germans, not the Eusebio-inspired Portugal or even Sir Alf’s England. The 1,000-1 rank outsiders North Korea flew to British soil in 1966 on a wave of nationalist pride and catchy anthems (take note Ant and Dec, Embrace, et al), determined to honour their Communist system and leader Kim Il-Sung following the Korean War.

It was on this day in that fateful year that those plucky North Koreans acted out one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history by beating the pre-tournament favourites Italy 1-0.

North Korea’s participation in the ‘66 World Cup was almost over before it began. Due to the Korean War, North Korea did not have any diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom and the Foreign Office only let the team in after a number of compromises were met, such as the banning of their national anthem before any games. Things did not get much better for the Koreans on their arrival to Middlesbrough, as they were to lose their opening fixture 3-0 to the USSR. A 1-1 draw to Chile followed, and meant that their hopes of qualifying rested on an unlikely victory over Italy, who just needed a draw to secure their place in the knock-out phase.

However, the Koreans had been playing an attractive attacking style, as their manager Myong Rye Hyon had moulded a team who were physically fit, fast and full of energy. This soon won over the hearts of the Ayresome Park faithful, who had seen their Boro side relegated to the third division that season. The BBC’s commentator remarked that “they haven’t cheered Middlesborough like this for years,” as the 18,727 strong crowd, in true British style, backed the massive underdogs. Another enduring feature of this team was the stature of the players: the Koreans were an average height of 5′5″, leaving one Teesside fan to observe that “it was like watching a team of jockeys playing.”



The Italians started strongly, but were rocked in the 34th minute when their inspirational captain Giacomo Bulgarelli injured himself whilst making a tackle and was stretchered off. This was before the days of substitutes, so the Azzurri were down to ten men for the remainder of the game. The Koreans soon made their numerical advantage pay, as Pak Doo-Ik fired in a rocket from the right of the box in the 41st minute. In the second half the Italians dominated possession and peppered the Korean goal, but keeper Ri Chan Myong had the game of his life as North Korea held on to stun the football world and became the first ever Asian side to progress from the group stage in the World Cup.

In the quarter-finals North Korea almost surpassed this achievement, as they found themselves 3-0 up against Portugal, but came crashing back down to earth as Eusebio scored four straight goals, and the Iberians turned the tables in a 5-3 win. Due to the shadowy nature of the North Korean state, very little is known of what happened to the heroes of the 1966 squad. Rumours circulated that upon their return the players were imprisoned for their Western-style partying. In North Korea football and international sport in general has since been on a steep decline, due to the current regime’s isolationist policies. In 2002 the Italian side felt a certain sense of déjà vu, as it was the turn of South Korea to upset their World Cup hopes with a 2-1 win the second round in Daejeon.

Ever seen Bryan Robson in a hideous shirt, being overdubbed in Korean and introducing footage from North Korea’s finest moment before? You can now….

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (6 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...