The South Korean national football team has claimed the top of the table in their group in the politically highly explosive World Cup qualifier in North Korea. The South Koreans around their star Heung-Min Son separated in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang in the empty Kim Il-Sung Stadium 0-0 of their brother state. Thus, South Korea is after the third match in Group H with seven points ahead of the tied second placed North Koreans.
The game, which was not open to audiences and was not televised, was the first competitive match between the two countries on North Korean soil. Fifa president Gianni Infantino watched the meeting according to a report by the French news agency AFP in the stands. The functionary had arrived earlier in the day in North Korea, as video images showed.
In the run-up to the meeting, North Korea refused to hold discussions about the logistical preparation of the match. South Korean fans and journalists did not receive a visa for the encounter. The South Korean team's 55-person delegation was forced to leave their mobile phones at the South Korean embassy before leaving Beijing. No live pictures of the game were allowed.
The other opponents of both teams in Group H are Turkmenistan, Lebanon and Sri Lanka. The group winner and the four best-second of all eight groups move into the third round of the Asian World Cup qualifiers.