I've done it for 16 years! North Korea's Women's Soccer, Brazil World Cup 'Riding the Last Train'... "Hong Seong-ok hat trick" with a 4-0 complete victory over Taiwan

*This content was translated by AI.

North Korea's women's soccer team will return to the FIFA World Cup finals for the first time in 16 years.

North Korea won 4-0 in the playoff (PO) showdown of the '2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Asian Cup' against Taiwan at Gold Coast Stadium in Australia on the 19th (Korea time).

North Korea, which lost to Australia 1-2 in the quarterfinals earlier and missed a ticket to the semifinals, won the PO, a consolation match. This marks the first time in 16 years that North Korea has advanced to the World Cup finals since the 2011 German competition.

This Asian Cup will give a total of six countries the right to participate in the 2027 Brazil Women's World Cup, combining two PO winners between the semifinals and the quarterfinals eliminated.

North Korea, ranked 10th in the FIFA rankings, showed off its overwhelming power gap against Taiwan, ranked 40th. The top contributor to the victory was front-line striker Hong Sung-ok, who exploded a hat trick.

Hong Sung-ok scored the first goal in the 32nd minute of the first half by pushing a cross by Kim Kyung-young with his head, and in the 4th minute of the second half, Choi Il-seon's cross was once again scored in the header. North Korea, which solidified its victory with Kim Kyung-young's net goal in the 7th minute of the second half, ended the victory with Hong Sung-ok shaking the third net with a right-footed shot in the 24th minute of the second half.

Meanwhile, in another PO match held on the same day, the Philippines defeated Uzbekistan 2-0 to reach the finals for the second consecutive time.

As a result, a total of six countries will participate in the Asian region of the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil, including South Korea, which has settled in the semifinals of the tournament, Japan, Australia, China, and North Korea and the Philippines, which passed the PO.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.