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North Koreanational football team record

154
Wins
106
Draws
122
Defeats

382 matches, 1956 to 2025TFN Elo rating 1481, 109th in the world

North Korea have played 382 internationals since 1956: 154 wins, 106 draws and 122 defeats. Their most frequent opponent is China, with 27 meetings. Their biggest win is 21–0 against Guam in the EAFF Championship on 11 March 2005.

North Korea's record

Overall record
MatchesPlayedWonDrawnLostGoalsWin rate
All382154106122603–43340%
Competitive2931307786492–32144%
Friendlies89242936111–11227%
At home40278570–1968%
Away135374355147–18527%
Neutral venues207905562386–22943%

Record against every opponent

North Korea have played 72 different national teams. Opponents with a head-to-head page are linked.

Record by opponent
OpponentPWDLGoalsLast met
China27871226–332017
Iran2104179–362025
Japan2074914–202024
South Korea1911086–172019
Thailand1895429–182017
Hong Kong16106028–92018
Kuwait1417612–202014
Qatar1446418–262025
UAE1235412–112025
Uzbekistan121297–222024
Saudi Arabia111466–182019
Singapore1081119–82010
Syria1033412–162024
Jordan93338–82025
Lebanon91356–152019
India871023–62019
Indonesia871021–42012
Iraq83147–82016
Malaysia843116–72017
Vietnam834110–72018
Bahrain741210–102018
Mongolia770043–42018
Myanmar761025–42024
Turkmenistan72417–72019
Tajikistan64116–22019
Yemen642022–32015
Guam550042–32016
Macau550026–12009
Nepal440011–12011
Philippines42117–42016
Taiwan440016–12018
Australia321010–32012
Bulgaria30031–121986
Kyrgyzstan31116–32025
Sri Lanka33008–02019
Sweden30212–62013
Cambodia4–0 (1965), 2–0 (1966)22006–01966
Canada0–0 (1986), 2–0 (1986)21102–01986
Egypt1–1 (1963), 0–1 (2001)20111–22001
Latvia1–1 (2005), 1–2 (2005)20112–32005
Palestine5–1 (1966), 2–0 (2012)22007–12012
Portugal3–5 (1966), 0–7 (2010)20023–122010
Russia0–3 (1966), 1–0 (1987)21011–31987
Afghanistan2–0 (2011)11002–02011
Algeria3–1 (1969)11003–11969
Bangladesh3–2 (1980)11003–21980
Bolivia2–1 (1993)11002–11993
Brazil1–2 (2010)10011–22010
Burkina Faso3–3 (2017)10103–32017
Chile1–1 (1966)10101–11966
Congo0–0 (2009)10100–02009
Finland3–2 (1993)11003–21993
Greece2–2 (2010)10102–22010
Guinea3–0 (1965)11003–01965
Israel0–2 (1974)10010–21974
Italy1–0 (1966)11001–01966
Ivory Coast0–3 (2010)10010–32010
Kazakhstan0–0 (2006)10100–02006
Laos1–0 (2013)11001–02013
Mali1–0 (2009)11001–02009
Mexico1–2 (2010)10011–22010
Nigeria1–3 (2010)10011–32010
Norway0–3 (1973)10010–31973
Oman2–2 (2007)10102–22007
Pakistan0–0 (1985)10100–01985
Paraguay0–1 (2010)10010–12010
Poland2–2 (1986)10102–21986
Somalia14–0 (1963)110014–01963
South Africa0–0 (2010)10100–02010
USA2–1 (1991)11002–11991
Venezuela1–2 (2010)10011–22010
Zambia1–4 (2009)10011–42009

Biggest wins and heaviest defeats

Biggest wins

  1. v GuamEAFF Championship, 11 Mar 200521–0 for North Korea
  2. v YemenGaNEFo, 30 Nov 196614–0 for North Korea
  3. v SomaliaFriendly, 11 Nov 196314–0 for North Korea
  4. v MongoliaFriendly, 10 Oct 196010–1 for North Korea
  5. v MacauEast Asian Games, 4 Dec 20098–0 for North Korea

Heaviest defeats

  1. v PortugalWorld Cup, 21 Jun 20100–7 for North Korea
  2. v QatarAFC Asian Cup, 13 Jan 20190–6 for North Korea
  3. at BulgariaFriendly, 25 May 19741–6 for North Korea
  4. at LebanonAFC Asian Cup qualifying, 10 Oct 20170–5 for North Korea
  5. at QatarWorld Cup qualifying, 20 Mar 20251–5 for North Korea

Latest results

  1. at IranWorld Cup qualifying, 10 Jun 20250–3 for North Korea
  2. v KyrgyzstanWorld Cup qualifying, 5 Jun 20252–2 for North Korea
  3. v UAEWorld Cup qualifying, 25 Mar 20251–2 for North Korea
  4. at QatarWorld Cup qualifying, 20 Mar 20251–5 for North Korea
  5. at JordanFriendly, 14 Mar 20251–1 for North Korea
  6. v UzbekistanWorld Cup qualifying, 19 Nov 20240–1 for North Korea
  7. v IranWorld Cup qualifying, 14 Nov 20242–3 for North Korea
  8. at KyrgyzstanWorld Cup qualifying, 15 Oct 20240–1 for North Korea
  9. at UAEWorld Cup qualifying, 10 Oct 20241–1 for North Korea
  10. v QatarWorld Cup qualifying, 10 Sept 20242–2 for North Korea

North Korea's rating through history

The TFN Elo rating rises with wins and falls with defeats, weighted by the opponent’s strength, the margin and the competition.

End of 1956: 1516End of 1959: 1524End of 1960: 1536End of 1963: 1588End of 1965: 1670End of 1966: 1709End of 1969: 1721End of 1973: 1632End of 1974: 1631End of 1975: 1668End of 1976: 1656End of 1978: 1718End of 1979: 1744End of 1980: 1708End of 1981: 1676End of 1982: 1634End of 1985: 1616End of 1986: 1639End of 1987: 1663End of 1988: 1661End of 1989: 1618End of 1990: 1613End of 1991: 1628End of 1992: 1554End of 1993: 1613End of 1998: 1579End of 1999: 1580End of 2000: 1552End of 2001: 1573End of 2002: 1603End of 2003: 1520End of 2004: 1561End of 2005: 1577End of 2006: 1571End of 2007: 1582End of 2008: 1630End of 2009: 1646End of 2010: 1609End of 2011: 1621End of 2012: 1690End of 2013: 1686End of 2014: 1650End of 2015: 1641End of 2016: 1627End of 2017: 1563End of 2018: 1550End of 2019: 1495End of 2023: 1490End of 2024: 1507End of 2025: 1481
Rating at the end of each year. Peak: 1768, reached on 18 September 1980. Hover the chart for any year.

Record by competition

Record by competition
CompetitionPWDLGoals
World Cup qualifying103442435140–105
Friendly89242936111–112
AFC Asian Cup qualifying341610853–37
EAFF Championship32198594–21
Asian Games281110740–29
King's Cup21411627–33
AFC Asian Cup18321315–40
AFC Challenge Cup14112132–4
Dynasty Cup71335–10
World Cup71156–21
Merlion Cup52215–2
East Asian Games431022–1
GaNEFo440023–2
Intercontinental Cup43019–7
VFF Cup42114–2

Top scorers

  1. 1Jong Il-gwan10
  2. 2Hong Yong-jo8
  3. 3Ryu Song-Gun6
  4. 4Choe Yong-Son5
  5. 5Pak Seung-zin5
  6. 6Choi Won-nam4
  7. 7Jong Chol-min4
  8. 8Kim Kwang-min4
  9. 9Ri Hyok-chol4
  10. 10Ri Jo-guk4

Counted from the 112 of 382 matches with scorer records, which are mostly competitive matches, so totals can be lower than official tallies.

Questions answered

When did North Korea play their first international?

On 7 October 1956, a 1–0 win against China in a friendly.

What is North Korea's biggest win?

21–0 against Guam in the EAFF Championship on 11 March 2005.

What is North Korea's heaviest defeat?

0–7 against Portugal at the World Cup on 21 June 2010.

Who have North Korea played the most?

China: 27 matches, with 8 wins, 7 draws and 12 defeats for North Korea.

What is North Korea's longest winning run?

9 wins in a row, from 19 January 1993 to 28 April 1993.

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Results through 6 October 2026. Page updated 3 November 2026. How these numbers are calculated.