The rise and fall of North Korea - the sleeping giant of women's football

"Normally erstwhile location are 30 shots successful nan game, it is nan United States pinch astir 25 of 'em. Not today!"

It wasn't conscionable nan ESPN commentator who was shocked.

Heather O'Reilly had scored nan game's last goal, dragging world number ones and two-time champions United States to a 2-2 tie successful their opening lucifer astatine nan 2007 Women's World Cup.

O'Reilly wasn't amazed by nan scoreline though. Or really evenly-fought nan crippled was. She knew it would beryllium tough.

Instead, arsenic nan last whistle blew, it was nan cognition of nan US's opponents, who saw a chance missed, alternatively than a constituent gained, that struck her.

"I retrieve North Korea seeming disappointed," says O'Reilly.

"Their assemblage connection seemed to opportunity 'oh my gosh, we were truthful adjacent to taking down nan giant'."

North Korea is nan world's astir isolated country, a authorities based astir nan infallibility of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un and a heavy suspicion of nan extracurricular world.

Yet, contempt surviving standards being good down astir different nations, North Korea has been 1 of nan strongest female shot nations connected nan planet.

When they took connected nan United States successful 2007, they were classed 5th successful nan world and amid a tally of 3 Asian titles successful nan abstraction of a decade.

Their grounds astatine younker level is moreover better. In 2016, they won nan U20 Women's World Cup, defeating Spain, nan United States and France successful nan knockout rounds. That aforesaid year, their under-17 squad besides lifted their age-grade World Cup.

"The crippled successful 2007 was challenging, really ace hard," remembers O'Reilly of her gathering pinch North Korea's elder side. "It was difficult to get nan shot disconnected them, they were buzzing around, very quick."

There was different situation though, 1 that was unsocial to North Korea.

"It was conscionable specified a unreality of uncertainty," says O'Reilly. "The movie we had connected them was very limited, moreover by nan modular of nan times.

"Every clip we played North Korea, it was ever a mystery."

The enigma now is, aft a doping contention and a four-year absence from world football, tin North Korea's women beryllium a unit erstwhile again?