North Korea World Cup exit leaves team on 5 points in AFC qualifying

North Korea’s north korea world cup campaign ended with elimination after it finished sixth in its AFC third-round group with 5 points. The result closed the door on 2026, where Asia has 8 direct spots in an expanded 48-team field.

Kang Kuk Chol and Group A

North Korea was grouped with Iran, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kyrgyzstan in Group A. Iran finished with 24 points and Uzbekistan with 21, both unbeaten and directly through to the 2026 World Cup.

The top two spots in the group were enough for direct qualification. The third and fourth-place teams moved into the playoff route, where the United Arab Emirates finished on 15 points and Qatar on 11.

Pyongyang setback

The path to this finish was already damaged in March 2024, when North Korea was supposed to host Japan in Pyongyang in the second round of AFC qualifying, Group B. North Korean authorities canceled the match at the last minute because of fear of an outbreak of STSS on Japanese soil, and FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee handed down a 3-0 walkover defeat along with a financial fine.

That ruling cost North Korea 3 direct points, a setback it had to work around in the second round. Even so, it advanced by beating Syria 1-0 and Myanmar 4-1 and ended that stage second in its group with 9 points.

North Korea’s earlier route

By the time the third round began, North Korea had already been placed in a difficult group and had little margin for error. It could not repeat the success of its 1966 and 2010 World Cup runs, and its 5-point finish left it behind Kyrgyzstan, which had 6.

Kang Kuk Chol was among the North Korea players tied to that campaign, including in the image caption with Wataru Endo of Japan. The numbers told the rest: after a canceled home match, a walkover loss, and a third-round group that produced no path back, North Korea ended outside the 2026 field.