North Korea wins third U-20 World Cup by beating Japan

North Korea beat Japan 1-0 in Bogotá on Sunday to win the Women’s Under-20 World Cup for the third time thanks to a goal by striker Choe Il Son, the tournament’s top scorer with six goals and best player of the Cup.

At Bogotá’s El Campín stadium, attended by 32,908 people, North Korea dominated from start to finish against a rival that was never able to find the football that took it to the final of the youth tournament.

In fact, the victory was reminiscent of the semi-final match in which the United States fell to the Asians, because despite their dominance, the North Koreans were only able to score one goal.

And again an early goal, at 14′ with Il Son starting from the wing, dribbling past two defenders and taking a shot that was attempted to be blocked by the defense but ended up in the back of the net due to the power it had.

The 17-year-old forward, who plays for April 25 SC, won the awards for best player and top scorer of the competition, scoring one against Argentina, two against Costa Rica and one against the Netherlands in the group stage.

He also scored in the round of 16 and quarter-finals, against the United States in the semi-finals, and sealed his scoring campaign with the goal in the final.

With Sunday’s victory, which follows victories at the U-20 World Cups in Russia 2006 and Papua New Guinea 2016, the North Koreans have equalled the United States and Germany as the most successful teams in this tournament.

Watch Il-Son’s goal to win the championship for North Korea here:

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