North Korea today qualified for the 2010 Fifa World Cup after a 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia. It has been more than 34 years since the North Korean soccer team has entered the Fifa World Cup. Their last World Cup appearance was in the year 1966. The team qualified on the basis of goal difference in the Asian qualifying Group 2.

The most interesting fact being that, arch rivals North and South Korea will face off each other for the first time in the Fifa World Cup, that is to be hosted in South Africa. According to the North Korean coach, Kim Yong-Jun Kim;

“We focused on the defending as we had come under a lot of pressure from the Saudis and I think our preparation for the game was one factor that earned the victory tonight. We monitored the Saudi team from the beginning of our campaign and I noticed that they have a problem in finding good strikers. We battled to qualify for the World Cup finals and I would like to thank my players for the great performance that they showed during the whole match.”

Even though North Korea is under immense pressure from the international community due to the political ramifications of its nuclear ambitions, still, soccer fans all over the world are keenly anticipating to see North Korea’s performance in this tournament.

North Korea, as of now stands, at second spot in the Group B, just behind South Korea who is at the top of the standing with 16 points. The qualification of North Korea was almost certain, since Iran failed to defeat South Korea. All North Korea needed to do was to achieve a draw against Saudi Arabia. As North Korean team’s defense is strong, hence, they did not face any problem in drawing the match with Saudi Arabia.

However, even in the soccer fields, the events in Iran made everyone feel their presence. Iranian players wore green wrist bands that are perceived by many to be an opposition to for the crushing defeat of the reformist candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Via CNN