DPR Republic
Head Coach: Ju Song-il
Player To Watch: Kim Yu-sung
North Korea will be looking to carry their momentum from 2016 into this year’s edition of the tournament, but things don’t quite look positive. While Qatar needed extra time to knock them out in the 2016 quarterfinal , DPR Republic didn’t look overtly impressive in the qualifying stages last July, barely managing a draw against Hong Kong before qualifying through wins over Chinese Taipei and Laos.
But that form barely showed any signs of improvement during in last month’s M-150 Cup, where DPR Korea were battered 4-0 by Japan. The squad still promises a top work-rate on the pitch, and that could be enough to drive them across the finish line.
Trivia!
North Korean attacker Kim Yu-sung, who scored four goals in qualifying, was also the top scorer of the AFC Cup having bagged nine goals for April 25 Sports Club (popularly known as 4.25).