National teams often display the characteristics of the country they represent: Germany are well organised and efficient, Brazil flamboyant and exciting. North Korea's footballers present an accurate reflection of the secretive communist state. As fans in Abu Dhabi will see on Saturday evening, the team give little away, on and off the pitch, and have an undeniable feistiness with their backs to the wall.
Even with a game against the UAE seen as the best chance of picking up points in a tough group, Bruno Metsu, who very nearly became coach of South Korea in 2004, will not be expecting opposite number Kim Jung-hoon to go all out for a win. Kim said after the draw was made: "With a good start we are confident that we can reach the World Cup. It will not be easy but we will try our best." That likely means drawing away and using the Pyongyang effect to get points at home, North Korea will keep things tight and look to counter-attack.
It worked in the previous round. The defence didn't concede a single goal in six games by playing five at the back - a red wall that proved as impenetrable as the 38th Parallel that separates the Korean peninsula. The team and coaching staff are just as miserly with the media. Obligatory press conferences are usually brief and impromptu conversations difficult. They can be frustrating visitors. They can also be temperamental.
Iran will not quickly forget their trip to Pyongyang in March 2005 when the actions of the peeved Korean players on the pitch sparked a riot among the 100,000 fans at Kim Sung Il Stadium. Even last month, the team started a mass brawl against Tajikistan during the AFC Challenge Cup - a tournament entered to increase the international experience of their younger players. International isolation can distort learning curves, experience levels and Fifa ranking.
The striker Jong Tae-se doesn't have that problem as he plays for Japanese club Kawasaki Frontale. "North Korea's Wayne Rooney" was born in Japan to South Korean parents, but, as he was educated by a pro-northern school system, he chose to play for the North. Scoring 12 goals in 24 games in his first full J-league season, earned him a call-up. In his first two international games, he scored eight times, albeit against Macau and Mongolia, before fine strikes against Japan and South Korea at the East Asian Championship in February.
Just behind on the field and in the fame stakes is the talented Hong Yong-jo. The Russian-based player, a danger from set pieces, has more of a free role and pulls the strings for the team. The goalkeeping position, so long a problem, is now ably filled by Ri Myung-guk. An Yong-hak is another Japanese-born star of the team but the gangly midfielder now plays for South Korea's leading club team Suwon Samsung Bluewings.
Relations between the two nations, technically still at war, are fairly friendly in the sporting arena but there will be no quarter asked or given when the two meet next Wednesday. That will also be the case on Saturday. sports@thenational.ae
