North Korea 1-1 Australia
5 December 2012
EAFF East Asian Cup Semi Final Competition
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong
Scorers: Thompson, An Yong-Hak

North Korea retained the UFWC title with this unspectacular draw against a disappointing Australia team in Hong Kong today. The Chollima have been Unofficial Football World Champions since November 2011, when they took the UFWC title from Japan. Australia’s Socceroos have held the title once, in 1992 when they defeated then-champs the USA, but were unable to topple the Chollima.

Today’s match, part of the EAFF East Asian Cup Semi Final Competition, was played at the Hong Kong Stadium, also known as the So Kon Po Stadium. The winner of this league-format semi final competition will progress to the EAFF East Asian Cup Finals alongside Japan, China and hosts South Korea. It now seems a good bet that the winner will be North Korea.

Socceroos fans had been disappointed with Monday’s narrow win over Hong Kong, courtesy of a late Brett Emerton goal. And they were wary ahead of this match against high-flying North Korea, with coach Holger Osieck selecting a defensive-looking line-up, and leaving teenage star Tom Rogic on the bench. However, it soon became clear that the Socceroos were not intending to sit back and defend.

Early pressure saw Archie Thompson get on the end of an Emerton cross, but Thompson’s header was turned away by the keeper. However, from the resulting corner, Mark Milligan’s header was blocked, and Thompson knocked home the rebound. 1-0 Australia.

The Chollima fought back, and began to put pressure on the Socceroos, but struggled to create any real clear cut chances. Korea’s frustration was demonstrated when coach Yun Jong-Su withdrew An Il-Bom after just 23 minutes, despite the young striker having scored in both previous matches for his country.

20-year-old Socceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan was forced into making a couple of saves, but there were no further goals in the first 45 minutes, and Australia held the advantage at half-time.

The second half saw North Korea again press Australia, but again fail to create many goal-scoring chances. Then, in the 64th minute, a fluffed clearance from the Australian defence allowed Korean midfielder An Yong-Hak to score an equaliser. 1-1, and the Chollima had their hands back on the UFWC trophy.

Osieck immediately introduced Rogic in an attempt to spark the Socceroos back into life. That seemed a big ask for the 19-year-old, although he did impress with some clever touches. As the clock ran down, Osieck introduced another 19-year-old striker, Adam Taggart, with goalscorer Thompson the man replaced. Rogic and Taggart almost combined to match-winning effect, but Taggart failed to convert Rogic’s cross.

As the game approached its conclusion, both sides were visibly tired. North Korea had played three games in six days, and Australia two in four. Oddly, rather than introduce three sets of fresh legs, Chollima coach Yun Jong-Su subbed his substitute, and then subbed his substitute again…

Despite their tired legs, though, North Korea held on, despite a couple of late Australian chances, to draw 1-1 and retain the UFWC title. Socceroos fans voiced their disappointment after the game, and it was a pretty poor performance, but recent UFWC history has shown that a draw with North Korea is not a bad result.

The next UFWC title match is on Sunday, when North Korea take on hosts Hong Kong in the last round of the semi final competition. Kick off is 2.20pm local time (GMT+8). Hong Kong have never participated in the UFWC, and North Korea should certainly be favourites. But the Chollima looked very weary today. Can they recover and retain the UFWC title? Or will Hong Kong seize the chance to become Unofficial Football World Champions?

Watch this space and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

Match Reports australia, North Korea

While we await the start of the EAFF East Asian Cup semi final tournament, in which Australia will line up against current Unofficial Football World Champions North Korea, we’re taking a look back at the one and only time the Socceroos have won the UFWC title in a classic match from 1992. We’ll be back with full coverage of the next UFWC title match, North Korea vs Chinese Taipei on 1 December. Meanwhile, if you’re interested in sports betting information, why not check out reviews of sports betting sites here.

USA 0-1 Australia
13 June 1992
Friendly
Citrus Bowl, Orlando
Scorer: Spink

Despite traditionally preferring their footballs to be egg-shaped, the Americans were enjoying their second stint as UFWC champions, having taken the title from Portugal and held off Italy in friendly matches in Chicago earlier in the month.

Australia, another country that preferred its football to be played by alternative rules – and was yet to fully embrace the beautiful game despite having been on the international stage since 1922 – had never played in a UFWC title match.

The match was the first of a ‘goodwill series’ across the Americas designed to give Australia’s Socceroos match practice ahead of World Cup qualifiers.

Among the US players were keeper Tony Meola, defender Marcelo Balboa, and Dutch-born striker Earnie Stewart, all of whom would play for their country in World Cup finals. The US were coached by Yugoslav Velibor ‘Bora’ Milutinovic. Australia’s coach, Eddie Thomson, was a Scot. The Aussie line-up included controversial midfielder Ned Zelic, and defender Tony Vidmar, who would both later have relatively unsuccessful stints in England, with Queen’s Park Rangers and Middlesbrough respectively.

Zelic, of Croatian origin, was signed for £1.3 million by QPR manager Ray Wilkins, who described him as ‘as versatile as an egg’. But the signing was a rotten one – Zelic played only three times for the relegation bound club, suffering persistent knee injuries and eventually deciding that London wasn’t for him. Vidmar, Australia’s most-capped player, also played for Rangers and Cardiff City.

In a muggy and humid Orlando, 17,500 fans braved a huge thunderstorm to get to the game, but the kick-off was delayed for fear that the players would be struck by lightning. Indeed the match was on the verge of being abandoned, when the storm finally passed, and the go-ahead was given.

In slippery conditions, neither side served up much to convince those gathered there that the game had been worth braving the weather. It was a full 85 minutes before the deadlock was broken, with Warren Spink netting the only goal of the game for the Socceroos. Australia took the UFWC title, but lost it in their next ‘goodwill’ match to Argentina.

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This is an edited extract from Unofficial Football World Champions, the official UFWC book. It traces the history of the UFWC from the very first international match in 1872 via more than 800 title matches, involving legendary teams and footballing minnows, classic finals and forgotten friendlies, celebrated players and unsung heroes.

FourFourTwo magazine called Unofficial Football World Champions “a fascinating history of football” and awarded the book five stars. It’s available in paperback and on Kindle from Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.com
and other Amazon stores worldwide.

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Classic Matches australia, USA