The Matildas’ surreal journey into the heart of North Korea in 2007 remains etched in the memories of those who experienced it. Ahead of an Olympic qualifying match for the 2008 Beijing Games, the Australian women’s football team found themselves in a capital city, Pyongyang, that was eerily devoid of public life.
“It was very, very quiet,” recalled former Matildas captain and goalkeeper Melissa Barbieri. “It was almost surreal the lack of public there was out and about on the streets. I remember driving on the bus and looking out into the streets and thinking there’s absolutely no one around.”
The team was based in Beijing, necessitating a short trip across the border to play the match. Strict regulations were in place, limiting the players to minimal personal belongings and prohibiting communication devices.
“We had to leave everything in China,” Barbieri explained. “The laptop that we had on us to analyse our games, they were trying to confiscate it off us. We managed to convince the guards at the border that we only had it for football purposes. (But) it was very worrisome just getting over the border. We had everything searched.”
Upon arrival at their hotel, the players encountered a similarly unusual scene. The vast dining hall, set up with meals for every table, was empty save for the Matildas themselves. “It was very much a showcase of what they could provide, but there was no one there to consume it,” Barbieri noted.
The atmosphere within the hotel was further punctuated by a power outage while the team was in an elevator. Trapped between floors, they were forced to pry open the doors and climb out, navigating their way to their rooms in darkness.
Entertainment options were also starkly limited. “Whenever we turned on the TV, it was zero drama, zero funny, zero comedy,” Barbieri said. “It was all very much instructional videos and very much this monotone sort of conveyance of whatever they were trying to talk about. Then this very monotone colour scheme wherever you walked.”
A Sudden Shift in Atmosphere
The quiet and controlled environment of Pyongyang dramatically transformed as the team travelled to the match venue. “There were people everywhere. You couldn’t fit the bus down the street because of everyone,” Barbieri described. The stadium itself was an overwhelming spectacle. “When we walked in, the stadium was absolutely full to the brim and we’d arrived two hours early.”
This dramatic shift was a stark contrast to the perceived lack of everyday life outside the sporting arena. The sheer volume of people present was a testament to the state’s mobilisation for major events.
North Korea’s Footballing Prowess
At the time, North Korea was a formidable force in women’s football. Their dominance was underscored by victories in the Women’s Asian Cup in 2001, 2003, and 2008, and a quarter-final appearance at the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Their record of 53 goals in six matches during the 2001 Asian Cup still stands.
This success stemmed from significant investment in women’s football throughout the 1990s, driven by leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, who recognised the importance of sport for national image projection. Following the establishment of the Women’s World Cup in 1991, North Korea integrated formal football education into schools, creating an extensive scouting network and offering talented players full-time training at the Pyongyang International Football School.
Facing a Formidable Opponent
The Matildas were acutely aware of the challenge posed by their North Korean counterparts. “Without diminishing us as a team, we were very, very scared of DPR Korea,” Barbieri admitted. “Every time they touched the ball, it was superior. They were fit, they were strong. Every time they got the ball, it was succinct, it was confident… It had a level of authoritarianism. It felt like they were superior to us and they knew it and they had an attitude of it every time they stepped onto the pitch.”
The match saw North Korea emerge victorious with a 2-0 scoreline, both goals netted by captain Ri Kum Suk. The official match report indicated a hostile crowd exceeding 30,000 spectators.
Thomas Gerstner, who coached the North Korean women’s under-20 side in 2017, shed light on the nature of these crowds. He explained that due to a lack of community support for football, individuals from the military and universities are often mandated to attend international matches. This typically results in stadiums being filled with “around 50 per cent uniformed soldiers and 50 per cent students.”
The experience for the Matildas’ video analyst, positioned high in the stands, was particularly unnerving. “There was no barrier — so at any point he could have just been pushed off the barrier and into the crowd,” Barbieri recounted. “Apparently he was using candy to help fight people off for him — and stop them from pushing him over the ledge.”
From the players’ perspective, the crowd’s reactions were far from typical. “It was almost like they couldn’t believe that this game was happening… It was almost like a comedy for them when we fell over,” Barbieri said. “It was a hugely impactful moment for me to have to contend with all the crowd noises and the differentiating aspects of having such a hostile crowd because I’d never experienced that before.”
Barbieri reflected that despite pre-match briefings, nothing could have fully prepared them for the reality of playing in North Korea. “I just don’t think anyone can understand fully what it would be like to be in North Korea until you’re there and your liberties are basically stripped of you and you have to conform yourself to the laws and the restrictions of the country that you’re going to. And that includes doing what you do on the football pitch.”
The Rise and Fall, and Rise Again
North Korea’s global footballing dominance took an unexpected turn four years after the Matildas’ visit. At the 2011 Women’s World Cup, five North Korean players were accused of using a prohibited steroid. The country’s explanation, that the substance was derived from musk deer glands and used for recovery after lightning strikes, was dismissed by FIFA. This led to bans from the 2014 Asian Cup and 2015 World Cup, with subsequent failures to qualify in 2018 and 2019, followed by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“After 2007 and the pinnacle of them destroying us every time we played them, they fell off… Those crops of players fell off the face of the Earth,” Barbieri observed.
However, while the senior team faded from the international spotlight, North Korea’s junior sides began to flourish. They have since claimed every junior Women’s World Cup title in the past two years, including two under-17 tournaments and one under-20 championship.
These successful youth teams are now feeding into the senior squad. At the recent Asian Cup, only three North Koreans were older than 24. Six players in the current squad were part of the under-20 World Cup-winning team, including Choe Il-son, who secured the Golden Ball at both the under-20 and under-17 World Cups in 2024 and was named the 2025 AFC Women’s Youth Player of the Year.
“I really feel like maybe they’ve been biding their time for those players to come to a mature age and then dominate Asia and then follow on from that, play in the World Cup,” Barbieri speculated.
Her assessment of the current North Korean team is sobering: “Already in their first match, I just saw the DPR Korea of old, where every touch was sublime,” she said, referring to their dominant victories against Uzbekistan (3-0) and Bangladesh (5-0). “Every touch (and) fluidity of movement just orchestrated to a tee… I feel like it was scary watching them again.”
A Familiar Rivalry Rekindled
North Korea’s journey in the current Asian Cup has led them to a knockout quarter-final clash against the Matildas in Perth. This match marks yet another chapter in the long-standing international rivalry between the two nations. A significant encounter was the 2010 Women’s Asian Cup final, where Australia triumphed on penalties, featuring a 16-year-old Sam Kerr. Now, a seasoned 32-year-old, Kerr is eager to secure another victory against the North Koreans.
