Remembering North Korea’s attempt to disguise a striker as a keeper at 2010 WC

Remembering North Korea’s attempt to disguise a striker as a keeper at the 2010 World Cup

At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, North Korea registered Kim Myong-won, a striker, as one of their three designated goalkeepers. That decision backfired.

In their opening match of the tournament, North Korea surprised everybody.

Facing Brazil, one of the best attacking sides in the world, the ‘Chollima’ looked destined for embarrassment.

But the underdogs played above themselves, keeping Brazil at bay for 55 minutes and only going behind through a sublime goal from Maicon. The match eventually finished 2-1 to Brazil, but the North Koreans more than showed their worth.

Kim Jong Hun’s team also surprised viewers in another way.

Their substitutes bench for the Brazil match comprised just seven players — five fewer than the capacity of 12 — with four members of the squad marked as ‘absent’ on the team sheet.

Unverified reports suggested that at least two of the players had fled to seek asylum in another African country, though FIFA and North Korea quickly denied that this was the case.

As it turned out, the four ‘missing’ players had been with the squad all along; coaching staff had simply omitted the names of those not expected to feature, perhaps believing the usual seven-man bench to be the requirement.

Although the selection mystery has never been fully explained, one of the four absentees probably wasn’t expecting to play anyway…

Imagine your joy when you receive the call: You’re in the World Cup squad!

Pack your bags for South Africa, because this is your moment — a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You’ll be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Four hundred million viewers will be watching your every