Whislt this possible propaganda this could create might be an issue for South Korea on the world stage, there is no overlooking the achievement here. North Korea are the proverbial underdogs. They do not have the best facilities, the best conditions for football or anywhere near the greatest team but the beautiful thing for football is that such an underdog story can still take place. Teamwork, and a passion for their country as well as the sheer determination to qualify has led to North Korea joining the likes of England, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Spain and Argentina at the finals of the greatest international football competiton in the world.
After drawing three games, winning three and losing two, the North Koreans came second of five teams in their Asian group 2, justifying their place in the world cup. National and political feelings aside, their is no doubt that they fully deserve to be in South Africa next year. Below is the table for the qualifying group-with links to the countries individual football association pages:
| Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | |
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Korea Republic * | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 16 |
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Korea DPR * | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 12 |
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Saudi Arabia | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 12 |
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Iran | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 11 |
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United Arab Emirates | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 1 |
Football in my opinion is a triumph every time we watch it. But to look at the varieties of teams, countries and political situations and ideaologies in these countries shows what a bridge football can be. As tensions rise in Asia over the Norths nuclear programme, countries who disagree entirely can get along fine on the football pitch, and if just for 90 minutes, a game can ease the tensions between countries. A varied group like this really deserves to be showcased, and in comparison with $131 million for Cristiano Ronaldo, this is a story with which we can all relate and we can just hope that the tensions in the Korea's and in Iran can be resolved as quickly and peacefully as possible-but in the meantime congratulations to both North and South Korea for their qualification and bring on South Africa in 2010.
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