Tajikistan 0-2 North Korea
11/03/2012, Halchowk Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal
AFC Challenge Cup Group B
Scorers: Pak Nam Chol, Jang Kuk Chol

North Korea retained the UFWC title and remain Unofficial Football World Champions with this comfortable victory over Tajikistan. This was North Korea’s fourth successful defence of the title since taking it from Japan in November. The scoreline and the scorers were identical to those in Friday’s match against the Philippines.

This was the second Tajikistan vs North Korea UFWC title match within the space of two weeks. The previous match, played on 29 February, ended 1-1. And this was Tajikistan’s fourth shot at the UFWC title within five months. They were hammered 8-0 and 4-0 by then-champions Japan in October and November respectively.

This title match, of course, was also a group match in the AFC Challenge Cup tournament. Tajikistan and North Korea won their opening matches on Friday by the same scoreline – 2-0 – against India and the Philippines respectively, and sat level at the top of Group B. North Korea are the reigning AFC Challenge Cup holders, and they remain favourites to retain that title after this win.

But our interest was focussed on the UFWC. Like Friday’s North Korea vs Philippines title match, today’s game was played at the tiny Halchowk Stadium in Kathmandu in front of a small crowd on onlookers.

Challengers Tajikistan, the Persian Lions, lined up with Akhtam Khamrakulov and Nuriddin Davronov, the scorers against India, both in the side. Khamrakulov scored in the previous meeting between the sides. North Korea, the Chollima, went with Pak Nam Chol and Jong Il-Gwan up front. Pak Nam Chol scored North Korea’s opening goal against the Philippines on Friday, and also scored the goals in North Korea’s 1-0 win over Tajikistan in September, and the 1-0 UFWC win over Japan in November.

And it was Pak Nam Chol who opened the scoring after just four minutes to give North Korea an early lead. A long ball through the middle split the Tajik defence, and the impressive striker finished comfortably. Pak Nam Chol plays for top North Korea team April 25, or 4.25. On recent performances, the 26-year-old could certainly play his club football at a higher level.

As in the match against the Philippines, the North Koreans enjoyed much of the possession, and only some clumsy build-up play prevented them from extending their lead. Tajikistan created absolutely nothing of note, and at half-time North Korea had an ultra-comfortable 1-0 lead.

The second half began in similar style, with North Korea remaining easily on top, despite never really impressing with their attacking play. This was, it has to be said, mostly down to the sheer woefulness of Tajikistan, who battled hard at the back, but failed to gain any sort of meaningful possession. A scuffed long-range shot was all the Tajiks could muster, as North Korea continued to dominate the match.

Despite their dominance, North Korea frustrated with sloppy passing and wasteful finishing. Finally, with just five minutes left to play, Jang Kuk Chol turned in the box and lashed the ball into roof of the Tajikistan net to finish the match off. Some credit must be given to Tajikistan for keeping the score down, but there was only ever going to be one winner in Kathmandu today.

At full-time, it was 2-0 to North Korea, with the scorers being Pak Nam Chol and Jang Kuk Chol, exactly the same as in the match against the Philippines.

So North Korea are still the Unofficial Football World Champions. But the challenges come thick and fast as the AFC Challenge Cup continues. The next title match is on Tuesday, 13 March, with North Korea facing India. The Blue Tigers have never played in a UFWC title match before.

We’ll have coverage of the match right here, and on our Twitter feed (@UFWC_Football).

Match Reports North Korea, Tajikistan

The Unofficial Football World Championships heads into new territory this week, as current champions North Korea take the UFWC title to Nepal for the AFC Challenge Cup tournament. The tournament begins on Thursday, and the opening UFWC title match sees North Korea play the Philippines on Friday, 9 March. With only two of the tournament’s participating nations having previously competed in the UFWC, other unfamiliar challengers lie in wait.

New to the UFWC? Catch up here.

The AFC Challenge Cup will be contested by eight nations, and will begin with a group stage. Group A consists of hosts Nepal, plus Turkmenistan, the Maldives and Palestine. The four sides in Group B are North Korea, Tajikistan, the Philippines and India. Group B certainly looks the toughest of the two. North Korea are the current AFC Challenge Cup champions (they beat Turkmenistan on penalties to win in 2010), and Tajikistan and India have also won the tournament since it was launched in 2006.

The Challenge Cup is supposedly for emerging football nations, as designated by the AFC. However, several of the nations involved are actually designated as ‘developed’ or ‘developing’ rather than ‘emerging’, under the AFC’s three-level classification system. North Korea are ‘developed’, Tajikistan and India are ‘developing’, while the Philippines are ‘emerging’.

So what do we know about initial UFWC challengers the Philippines? Although they’ve been playing international football since 1913, the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup is the first major competition they’ve ever qualified for. (They did participate in the 2006 tournament, but qualification wasn’t required.) FIFA rank the Philippines 156th in the world, 50 places behind North Korea. They’ve won only four of the 14 games they’ve played over the last 12 months, but they have demonstrated that they can score goals – they beat tournament hosts Nepal 4-0 in October, and beat Sri Lanka by the same scoreline in July.

Known as the Azkals (stray dogs), the Philippines are managed by German Michael Weiss, who learnt his trade via internships at clubs including Real Madrid and Arsenal, and has previously coached in Japan, China and Rwanda. Most of his squad play in the Philippines’ semi-professional United Football League, with a only few exceptions.

Goalkeeper Neil Etheridge was born in Enfield in England, and is signed to Premier League club Fulham, although he has yet to make a first team appearance. Paul Mulders is a midfielder at Den Haag in the Netherlands, and defender Dennis Cagara is at FSV Frankfurt in Bundesliga 2.

The team’s captain is midfielder James Younghusband, who was born in Ashford, England, and plays for Loyola Meralco Sparks in the Philippines league. His brother, Phil Younghusband, is a striker for the Azkals and Loyola. German-born striker Denis Wolf of FC Magdeburg, who has played and scored in recent Azkals games, isn’t eligible for the AFC Challenge Cup due to a passport issue.

Certainly the Philippines has an advantage over North Korea when it comes to internet presence – it seems that almost every member of the Azkals’ squad has a Twitter account, including Neil Etheridge, Paul Mulders, James Younghusband and Phil Younghusband.

If North Korea retain the UFWC title, the next title match will see them once again face Tajikistan. However, if the Philippines manage to defeat North Korea and become Unofficial Football World Champions, they will defend their title against the fourth side in Group B, India.

India, the Blue Tigers, are ranked 154th in the world by FIFA. Like the Philippines, India have never played in a UFWC title match. The nation has been playing international football since the 1940s, and was invited to participate at the 1950 World Cup, but refused because they weren’t allowed to play barefoot. They’ve never qualified for a World Cup since putting on boots, but they did win the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008.

Coached by Savio Medeira, the Blue Tigers squad is entirely made up of India-based players. The key player is probably Sunil Chhetri, the 27-year-old Mohun Bagan striker, who has scored 33 goals in 55 appearances for his country. Most of his teammates are much less experienced, although defenders Gouramangi Singh and Syed Rahim Nabi have 53 caps and 44 caps respectively. Goalscoring midfielder Clifford Miranda misses this tournament through injury, as does defender Arnab Mondal.

Recent results have been erratic. India lost 5-1 to Oman and 3-0 to Azerbaijan in February, but beat the Maldives 3-1, Sri Lanka 3-0, Afghanistan 4-0 and Bhutan 5-0 in December to claim the South Asian Football Federation Cup.

Can the Philippines or India become Unofficial Football World Champions? Will Tajikistan take the title at their fourth attempt? Will Nepal, Turkmenistan, the Maldives or Palestine get the chance to challenge for the UFWC title in the knock-out stages? Or can North Korea remain unbeaten and retain the title throughout the tournament? The Group B and knock-out fixtures are as follows:

9 March 2012 North Korea vs Philippines
9 March 2012 India vs Tajikistan
11 March 2012 Tajikistan vs North Korea
11 March 2012 Philippines vs India
13 March 2012 North Korea vs India
13 March 2012 Tajikistan vs Philippines

16 March 2012 Semi finals
19 March 2012 Third place play-off and final

As per usual, we’ll be covering all the UFWC title matches that are played during the tournament (there could be as many as five over the next couple of weeks). You’ll find match previews and reports here, plus updates on our Twitter feed (@UFWC_Football).

Match Previews India, North Korea, Philippines, Tajikistan