Korea DPR Stun Reigning Champions Spain To Win Third U17 World Title

North Korea have won a record third Women's World Cup at under-17 level following a penalty shoot-out victory over two-time defending champions Spain in Santo Domingo.

After falling behind in the final in the Dominican Republic, when the tournament's top goalscorer Pau Comendador crossed for Barcelona team-mate Celia Segura to tap in, North Korea equalised almost immediately to tie the game and force a shoot-out decider. There, Spain failed to convert two of their five kicks to leave Kang Ryu-mi to shoot home the winning penalty in front of a crowd of 18,410 at the Estadio Félix Sánchez.

Korea's goalscorer Jon Il-chong also won the adidas Golden Ball, awarded to the best player at the tournament, ahead of Comendador and Segura. However it was their goalkeeper Pak Ju-gyong who excelled in the final, pulling off a string of saves including one in the shoot-out from Iris Santiago.

"We’re proud to beat the best European team to become the best team in the world," said DPR Korea head coach Song Sung-gwon. "We were able to win because of our unity. We learned once again that if we fight together as one, winning is inevitable."

The Koreans had previously won all of their games at the competition, the eighth World Cup for women at U17 level. They had already beaten teams from England and the United States, the European and Olympic champions at senior level.

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Spain had also won their five previous games going into tbe final. World champions at senior level, the U17 Spain team had won the previous two editions of the Women's World Cup and the U17 European Championships held earlier in the year in Sweden.

The President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said that “DPR Korea have been extraordinary in the Dominican Republic and their tenacity and exceptional teamwork is indeed a tribute to the world-class players on the pitch and the tireless efforts of everyone working behind the scenes."

"The dedication of the DPR Korea Football Association to establish a consistent and dynamic pipeline of future stars must be applauded and we congratulate them, not only on this triumph, but also on being the only Member Association in world football to repeat the feat of capturing back-to-back women’s age-group titles in the same year."

Consistently dominant in the age groups, North Korean have failed to translate that success to full international level. They have not qualified for a senior Women's World Cup since 2011 despite consistently being placed in the top ten of the FIFA world rankings.

At the 2011 tournament, five of their players failed doping tests. FIFA failed to accept that the federation's explanation that the steroids in their player's systems were due to the deer-musk in traditional Chinese medicine. North Korea were banned from entering the subsequent World Cup.

Following the Covid-pandemic, the North Korean state prevented its national teams from playing international matches for over four years. This led to the women's team losing its FIFA world ranking. Although they have returned to the international game in the last year, they have played matches almost exclusively within Asia. The one exception was a double-header of games in Moscow against a Russian team currently excluded from all FIFA tournaments due to the war in Ukraine.

Whether their success at the U17 Women's World Cup can lead to qualification for the senior competition remains to be seen. Uniquely among the top ten of nations, none of North Korea's players earn a living outside their own country.

Salman added that "the AFC’s Vision and Mission of ensuring our teams succeed on the biggest stages and the achievements of our women’s teams are testament to our ambitions coming to life. I am confident that DPR Korea’s shining example will serve as an inspiration for others to emulate."