Kim looks to the future

North Korea coach Kim Jong Hun feels his team have enjoyed a positive World Cup campaign.

Boss optimistic despite 'Group of Death' experience

North Korea coach Kim Jong Hun feels his team have enjoyed a positive World Cup campaign, despite losing all three of their group matches. Jong Hun's team were out of the tournament even before they endured a 3-0 reverse at the hands of Ivory Coast in Nelspruit on Friday, but they displayed glimpses of potential as they went down to the Elephants. A 7-0 thrashing to Portugal in their second encounter ended hopes of progression from Group G, although the lowest ranked team in the tournament were always up against it in a pool also containing Brazil. But that didn't stop North Korea giving the Samba nation an almighty scare in a narrow 2-1 loss at the start of their campaign, and Jong Hun believes the experience of mixing it with the heavyweights of international football will stand them in good stead for the future.

Foundation

North Korea will now turn their attention to the Asian Cup in Qatar in January after finishing bottom in South Africa and Hun was feeling optimistic about the future prospects for his team. The 53-year-old manager said: "I believe we had two good results. "It has laid the foundation for us to grow in the future. "So this has been a very useful experience for us. "Up until the last minute of the match, they really put in all their effort."