North Korea secures its first A-match win in four years.

The North Korean men’s national football team defeated Myanmar 6-1 away from home in the second Group B match of the 2026 FIFA North America Confederations Cup Asia Second Qualifying Round at the 스포츠토토 Thuunna Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar on Monday.

It was their first win in four years and two months. It was North Korea’s first win since a 1-0 victory over Sri Lanka on Sept. 10, 2019, in their second Asian qualifying match for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. At the time, North Korea was drawn in Group H with South Korea and Sri Lanka, but withdrew due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

North Korea was then absent from international competition for a while, making its international debut at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, where it competed with its age-group teams. The Women’s A team also returned to the international scene in the second round of qualifying for the North and Central American World Cup.

Striker Jung Il-kwan scored a hat trick on the day. She opened the scoring in the 30th minute, then added goals in the ninth and 11th minutes of the second half to complete her hat trick. Han Kwang-sung, born in 1998 and a former Juventus star, scored the team’s third goal in the 38th minute to seal the victory.

It was the first time in four years that Han Kwang-sung scored for the North Korean national team since November 2019 against Turkmenistan in the second Asian qualifier for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

North Korea dominated Myanmar in every statistical category, including shots and corner kicks. North Korea lost its first match against Syria 0-1 on Sept. 17, but the win on Sunday turned the tide and improved its chances of qualifying for the third round.