For North Korea, silence is golden
We have drawn big teams, but we don’t know much about each other. As for us, we are a team. Our common objective is Cup trophy. ABDOUL K SANDA, Niger midfielder
KOCHI: WhenaNorthKoreanteam takes part in an international sporting event, it draws plenty of curiousobservers.Athletesfrom thereclusivenationrarelyspeak to the media except in formal press conferences.
Thatpracticeremainsinplace for the North Korea team taking part in the FIFA U-17 World Cup here as well. The North Korea U-17team,placedinGroupDwith Brazil,SpainandNiger,hasbeen shielded from the media.
The preparations were shrouded in secrecy to such an extent that until the North Korean football federation submitted the name of its new head coach with the 21-member players’ list, it wasn’t clear who had replaced their banned head coach, Yun Jong-su.
However, with four previous appearances in the U-17 World Cup, North Korea are no strangers to the tournament and will be determined to prove a point when they face Niger in their opening Group D game at the JawaharlalNehruInternational Stadium at 8 pm on Saturday.
Lastyear,theirshowingatthe AFC U-16 Championship impressedmanyobservers.They went on to reach the semifinals, where they lost to Iran on penalties. However, they also courted controversy in the group stages after goalkeeper Jang Paek-ho was found guilty of deliberately conceding a goal in the loss against Uzbekistan. That result meant they avoided Iran in the quartersandinsteadfacedOman, whomtheydefeatedonpenalties.
Jang and head coach Yun Jong-su were banned for a year. Yong Su-kim has taken over as the new head coach. With a talented squad at his disposal, he willaimtospring a fewsurprises in the tournament.
NIGERDEBUT
NigerareplayinginaWorldCup for the first time. Despite their lack of experience at this level, there is no dearth of confidence.
Midfielder Abdoul Karim Sandasaid his team’sobjective is towintheCup,while headcoach TiemogoSoumaliaalsosaidwinning the title was his dream.
Leading the line will be Ibrahim Boubacar Marou while AbdoulKarimSandaandSofiane HabibouareNigermidfielders. A lossonSaturdaywillleaveeither of the two sides with a mountain to climb, in terms of qualification to Round of 16.