North Korea have qualified and made it to the final round of the EAFF East Asia Cup finals to be held in Japan 2017. Jong Il-gwan scored the decisive and only goal of the game in the 22nd minute after taking on several Hong Kong defenders. Hong Kong came back strong in the second half though failed to trouble the North Korean keeper, Ri Myong Guk. The game ended in a 1-0 to North Korea who failed to concede a single goal in their three group games.
Hong Kong have improved as a unit and are capable of scoring goals though have shown that defensively they are prone to lapses of concentration and complacency especially after taking commanding leads. The team can now look ahead to the Asian Cup qualifiers and with the tournament now expanded to 24 teams, the chances of qualifying have gone up considerably. You can find a full match report here!
Photos from the night from Ryan Kam, JRP Borthwick, Christopher KL Lau, Dennis Lo:
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- Hong Kong line up against North Korea
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- North Korea take the lead and hold it
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- The North Korean line up
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- Point blank save by Yapp
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- A thin line between victory and defeat
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- Hong Kong pile on the pressure on North Korea at the end of the game
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- Collision course
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- Reflecting on the game
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- North Korea celebrate at the end of the game
