North Korea beat Japan to win U-20 Women's World Cup

North Korea beat Japan 1-0 in the U-20 Women’s World Cup final on Sunday to win the biennial tournament for the third time, becoming the joint winningest team in tournament history alongside Germany and the United States.

North Korea celebrate winning the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup at the El Campin stadium in Colombia on Sunday. [EPA/YONHAP]

North Korea beat Japan 1-0 in the U-20 Women’s World Cup final on Sunday to win the biennial tournament for the third time, becoming the joint winningest team in tournament history alongside Germany and the United States.

Choe Il-son opened the scoring in the 15th minute at the El Campin stadium in Colombia, breaking through the defense from the edge and firing a shot in the penalty area. That goal was the winner of the match and Choe’s sixth in the tournament, allowing her to finish the competition as top scorer.

North Korea were on an impressive run from the beginning of this year’s World Cup, topping Group F with three wins and going on to beat Austria, Brazil, United States and Japan in order in the knockout stage to finish the tournament with seven wins, no draws and no losses.

North Korea also saw some big scores during the tournament, including the reclusive country’s 9-0 win over Costa Rica in the group stage.

That fixture was not the game with the most goals seen in this year’s tournament, however, with France taking the title with their 11-0 victory over Fiji.

North Korea’s World Cup title comes just six months after the country became champions at the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup, where they also beat Japan in the final to secure victory.

South Korea, meanwhile, crashed out of this year’s World Cup after losing to host country Colombia in the round of 16.

South Korea still beat three-time champions Germany in their last group stage match that sent them through to the knockout stage for the first time since 2014.

This year’s exit still extended South Korea’s title drought in the tournament, with a third-place finish in 2010 remaining their best result.

The 2026 U-20 World Cup will take place in Poland.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]