North Korea are making their first Olympic appearance in women's football, but this young squad includes several members of the side that won the U20 Women's World Cup in 2005. In their six qualifying matches, they scored 51 goals and conceded none. Click to continue reading...

As Laurie recently reported, North Korean leader/Team America star Kim Jong-il is not dead. He's very much alive and spending his time watching football. Which is exactly what I'd do if I ever become a dictator. Unfortunately, Kim Jong-il didn't enjoy the Kim Il-sung University vs Pyongyang University game he took in, mostly because of the [. Click to continue reading...

Thailand's King's Cup will be held next January between the AFF Cup and the Asian Cup Qualifiers. With the team going to Hanoi next month for the Agribank Cup new coach Peter Reid is hitting the ground running.

The Thais have also appointed Tawan Siripin as Reid's assistant. Tawan was the first Thai player I came across during the dream team era of the mid 90's and it's good to see his experience is being put to good use. Click to continue reading...

There was no Shanghai Surprise. The only surprise was that some thought it was going to be any different. It could have been worse though, that was the one consolation for the few South Korean fans who, late Wednesday evening, had sat through a typically turgid Korean Derby. 1-1 was the score between the near neighbors in their 2010 World Cup qualification match in China. Click to continue reading...

After Saturday tossed up a schedule of almost exclusively bad international matchups across the world, Wednesday's World Cup qualifiers actually feature more than a few matches folks might actually want to see. Let's start in of all places, Asia. North Korea v . South Korea in Shanghai - Now this is a politically [. Click to continue reading...

World Cup 2010 Qualification: North Korea are meeting South Korea Wednesday September 10th.Watch Livestream and Highlights from the match at footiedb.com   Pre-register at the NEW football site 11×2 today   LIVESTREAM   Pre-register at the NEW football site 11×2 today Click to continue reading...

FIFA World Cup Qualifier: North Korea are meeting South Korea Wednesday September 10th. Livestream and Highlights from the match at footiedb.com Do not forget to sign up on the next big football site 11×2.com:  Pre-register at the NEW football site 11×2 today LIVESTREAM  Pre-register at the NEW football site 11×2 today Click to continue reading...

We'll discuss separately whether the USA's second 1-0 qualifying win is a wonderfully efficient and professional performance or a boring show by a team that should have the confidence to get after it.

No U.S. fans will be complaining about the standings, at least. With Trinidad and Tobago managing only a home draw against Guatemala, the USA could clinch a spot in next year's finals with two games to play.

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South Korea restarts its journey on the road to South Africa and the 2010 World Cup tonight in Shanghai. Pyongyang was supposed to be the location but the qualifier against North Korea has been moved to China as the communist authorities in the DPRK capital refused to fly the Taegukki or play the Aegukga. Click to continue reading...

On a busy day of World Cup 2010 qualifiers around the world, there were mixed results for teams from the British Isles. England, Wales and the Republic of Ireland all won, while Scotland and Northern Ireland lost tough matches in the heat of Eastern Europe.

England struggled to overcome the minnows of Andora 2-0 in Barcelona, Wales edged 10-man Azerbaijan 1-0 in Cardiff, and Ireland beat war-affected Georgia in neutral Mainz. Click to continue reading...

We had an idea this would happen, but we're sad nevertheless.

The Nigeria women's football team, the Super Falcons, were beaten 3-1 by Brazil on Tuesday at the Workers' Stadium in Beijing in their final group game at the Olympics.

The result left the Nigerian women bottom of the group with three defeats from three matches, and eliminated from the tournament.

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Brazil is up 3-0 on a hat trick by Christiane (and a 2nd goal that will be on the highlight reel)!  Germany and North Korea are tied at the half 0-0. Sphere: Related ContentSHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Halftime", url: "http://www.jordancornblog.com/halftime/" }); Click to continue reading...

Yup - Michael Phelps won another gold in world record time. Just amazing! And yup, here we go with game three of the preliminaries, starting with Germany v North Korea and Brazil v Nigeria - both interesting match-ups - both now underway. Then, starting at 7:45 the remaining 4 matches get underway. Click to continue reading...

I've been taking some time this morning to catch up on Olympic soccer news and, in particular, how the Swedish team is doing. Their performance at the Olympics has paralleled that of the USWNT in ways that have surprised me, as I thought they'd be one of the stronger sides coming out of the [...]SHARETHIS. Click to continue reading...

In 1966 North Korea shocked Italy 1-0 sending Italy home to a barrage of Tomato's.In 2002 South Korea sent Italy home again.Despite the controversy it was a result that should never have been. So when Italy faced South Korea today i had the niggling feeling that the universe had a special lock that Italy could not open when it came to the Korean peninsula. Click to continue reading...

And so to the fourth and final part of our round -up of the May and June World Cup 2010 qualifiers. Today we cover the Asia and Oceania sections...

Asia

Overview
A complicated process here. In Round 1, thirty-eight teams faced each other in nineteen home-and-away matches. Of the nineteen winners, the eleven highest-ranking teams (and by that we think FIFA mean those teams that won by the biggest margins) received a bye to Round 3 while the other eight played out Round 2 as a series of four home-and-away ties. Click to continue reading...

U.S. 2, Netherlands 2. Apparently a strong showing by the Yanks, until a last-minute error by Stuart Holden set up the Dutch equalizer from a free kick. Not that I can talk, I recorded the wrong channel with my DVR and missed it. Oops. (If you want insight on Italy/North Korea, I'm your guy.) Just my luck, the U. Click to continue reading...

beijing 6 Aug Tianjin soccer 045
Originally uploaded by lisamasson Los juegos olimpicos ya comenzaron y el futbol femenil fue la primer competencia , incluso antes de la ceremonia inaugural.

China 2 - Suecia(Sweden) 1 (Women's Olympics, August 6, 2008) Lotta Schelin anoto por Sweden en el 38th antes en el minuto 6 Xu Yuan ponia adelante a las chinas. Click to continue reading...

Yeah, I know it's been quiet around here lately. But frankly, there hasn't been much that I've felt like writing about. I'm choosing to ignore Toronto FC's terrible run of form, and the transfer window is no more exciting than it was a month ago, which is to say, not at all.

But finally, we have some games that actually matter. Click to continue reading...

Here are the results from Group F at the 2008 Beijing Olympics Women's Football Tournament. The four countries in this group are North Korea, Germany, Brazil and Nigeria. Team Played Won Lost Drawn GF GA GD Points Brazil 2 1 0 1 2 1 1 4 Germany 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 4 North Korea 2 1 1 0 2 2 0 3 Nigeria 2 0 2 0 0 2 -2 0 North Korea 1-0 Nigeria ( Shenyang- Aug 6) ( Kim Kyong Hwa) Germany 0-0 Brazil ( Shenyang- Aug 6) Nigeria 0-1 Germany (Shenyang- Aug 9) ( Kerstine Stegemann) Brazil 2-1 North Korea [. Click to continue reading...

What an interesting day. Given my location & internet connection, I was only able to see Germany/Brazil (0-0) and China/Sweden (2-1). As much as I wish I could have watched North Korea and Nigeria (two really interesting teams for all sorts of reasons - skill, history, international football politics), and I wish I could have seen more than highlights (or, really lowlights) of the US/Norway Click to continue reading...

What a nightmare start for the U.S. women.

I'm not covering the U.S. games for articles, because my assignment is to report on the other teams in the tournament (North Korea just missed a PK), but I do have the U.S. game on in the background.

Unfortunately for the U.S. the jitters of starting the match were fatal. Click to continue reading...

They are all groups of death.

Group 1 Australia Japan Uzbekistan Bahrain Qatar

In the last round, Qatar beat Iraq and Bahrain beat Japan. Finishing top two will be a mean feat and even top 3 commendable (for the playoff v New Zealand (or other Oceania?). Japan v Australia is always going to be close. Click to continue reading...

The final round of Asian World Cup qualifying has been set. The round will last from September 2008 through June 2009. Group One: Group Two: Bahrain Iran Japan Saudi Arabia Australia North Korea Uzbekistan South Korea Qatar United Arab Emirates... Click to continue reading...

Group: Australia, Japan, Uzbekistan, Qatar and Bahrain. Schedule: Uzbekistan (A), Qatar (H), Bahrain (A), Japan (A), Uzbekistan (H), Qatar (A), Bahrain (H), Japan (H) Other Group: Korea Republic, Iran, Saudi Arabia, North Korea and United Arab Emirates. Australia hasn't been handed an easy draw but it also isn't the hardest group possible either. Click to continue reading...

The two groups have been drawn for Asia's final round of World Cup Qualification. Each group has five teams with the top two from each group advancing to South Africa. The third place teams in the groups will meet in a two-legged playoff with the winner playing the champion of Oceania.
Here are the two groups:
Group A
Australia
Japan
Bahrain
Uzbekistan
Qatar

Group B
South Korea
Iran
Saudi Arabia
North Korea
UAE
Although both groups have their difficulties, it looks to me like Group B is the tougher one since three of the teams made it to Germany in 2006 (S Korea, Iran & Saudi Arabia), plus North Korea is always capable of a surprise. Click to continue reading...

Photo by ISI Photos

Good morning folks. It is the end of an unforgettable week of soccer action and while today may not have any games to look forward to, there is still plenty of news to go over.

Let's start the day with a few stories from last night and this morning to get your Friday going:

Villa set to miss Euro final

Spain striker and Euro 2008 goal-scoring leader David Villa looks set to miss Sunday's final against Germany with a leg injury.

Click to continue reading...

Photo by ISI Photos

Good morning folks. It is the end of an unforgettable week of soccer action and while today may not have any games to look forward to, there is still plenty of news to go over.

Let's start the day with a few stories from last night and this morning to get your Friday going:

Villa set to miss Euro final

Spain striker and Euro 2008 goal-scoring leader David Villa looks set to miss Sunday's final against Germany with a leg injury.

Click to continue reading...

Another weekend gone and one more match closer to the 2010 World Cup. June is almost over and a place in the final round of world cup qualification is assured. It is time to take stock of a busy period that has raised a number of questions.
The main issue is how the Taeguk Warriors will fare against stronger opposition when the action resumes in September. Click to continue reading...

We do not want Uzbekistan.
The draw is on Fox Sports at 7pm.
A shocking draw would be Australia, Iran, Japan, Uzbekistan and North Korea.
A great draw would be Australia, Iran, Bahrain, Qatar and North Korea or UAE. Click to continue reading...

North Korean striker Jong Tae-se was battling with a throng of reporters in the bowels of Seoul World Cup Stadium after the 0-0 World Cup qualification draw. He was obviously not enjoying himself. No sooner had he been presented with a bunch of CDs from South Korea's finest bands, he then had to field questions such as "Have you been to Lotte World? Click to continue reading...

Gruffgoat's World Soccer News Blurb: Attention Europe: if North Korea and South Korea can battle it out in a World Cup qualifier without their fans erupting in a firestorm of violence, you really have no excuse. Check out the full story at Yahoo.com. Click to continue reading...

The Qantas Under 23s and the Matildas will face New Zealand's Men's and Women's Olympic Football teams at North Sydney Oval on Saturday 12 July. FFA Release below.

Qantas Under 23s and Matildas Play Neighbours from Across the Ditch

The Qantas Under 23s and the Matildas will face New Zealand's Men's and Women's Olympic Football teams at North Sydney Oval on Saturday 12 July. Click to continue reading...

Damon's dismal run continues. It looks like Damian has the crown all sewn up, but Damon will never say die! 08 Summer Pod 5 DB DF RES Holland v Russia 2-1 Spain v Italy 2-1 Japan v Bahrain 2-0 South Korea v North Korea 1-0 Iran v Kuwait 1-0 Click to continue reading...

The Rainy Season arrived in Seoul on Wednesday, 24 hours before the North Koreans were due to touch down. Skies above the peninsula were more threatening than a Dutch counter-attack.

The ‘Sunshine Policy' of recent South Korean governments in regards to the communist North Korea had its critics who claimed that all the warmth was flowing one-way only. Click to continue reading...