Ri Yu-il, head coach of North Korea's Naegohyang Women's Football Club, praised his players after their victory in the inter-Korean women's football showdown, calling it "an intense match."
"Despite heavy rain and the conditions of playing at the opponent's stadium, the players showed great concentration," Ri said at a press conference following the 2025-2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Champions League (AWCL) semifinal against Suwon FC Women at Suwon Sports Complex on Thursday. "As a coach, I am pleased with how well they managed the match."
Naegohyang defeated Suwon FC 2-1 in a come-from-behind win. After being dominated throughout the first half, Naegohyang completely turned the tide in the second half. The team conceded the opening goal to Suwon FC's Haruhi just four minutes into the second half, but struck back six minutes later when Choi Geum-ok headed in a sharp left-footed free kick from Ri Yu-jong to level the score. Then in the 22nd minute of the second half, the team capitalized on a critical opponent error to take the lead.
Kim Kyong-yong headed home the go-ahead goal after Suwon FC's defense failed to clear the ball, and the team maintained its concentration until the final whistle to secure the victory.
Ri showed respect for Suwon FC, saying, "Any team that reaches the semifinals is a strong team capable of winning the title. Suwon also has many players with rich match experience and excellent abilities." He added, "Our team lacks experience and is young. But I hope this tournament will serve as a stepping stone for our team to reach the next level."
The match drew significant attention as a long-awaited inter-Korean clash. It marks the first time in eight years that a North Korean athlete has competed in a sports event on South Korean soil since Cha Hyo-sim partnered with Jang Woo-jin in mixed doubles at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour Grand Finals held in Incheon in December 2018.
Limited to football, it is the first visit to the South in 12 years since the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. It is also the first time a North Korean women's football club team, rather than the national team, has visited the South to play a match.
Despite heavy rain that did not let up, 5,763 spectators out of the 7,087 sold-out tickets entered the stadium and staged a fervent cheering display. Asked about the fans' support, Ri said, "I was so focused on the match that I did not notice," but added, "I felt that the spectators have a very high level of interest in football."
Naegohyang will face Tokyo Verdy Beleza of Japan at the same venue at 2 p.m. on Sunday for the championship trophy. The AWCL is Asia's top-tier women's club football tournament, now in its second season. The winning team receives prize money of $1 million (approximately 1.4 billion won), while the runner-up receives $500,000.
"Tactically speaking, the first match of a tournament is always difficult and comes with many problems," Ri said. "We will do our best through training during the remaining time to show a better game in the final."
Kim Kyong-yong, who scored the winning goal and joined the press conference, also offered brief remarks. "Today's match was a tough one," she said. "But because the players came together as one and ran hard for the victory, we were able to achieve today's result."
Meanwhile, the North Korean players who appeared in the mixed zone after the match walked silently with stern expressions. They did not respond to reporters' questions about their thoughts on the match, instead staring at the ground and quickly boarding their bus.
