Pak Li-sup

Pak Li-sup (6 January 1944 – before 2002) was a North Korean football defender who played for the national team in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He also played for Amrokgang Sports Club.

Early life Pak was born on 6 January 1944 in Korea, Empire of Japan, in what became North Korea. A defender, he played football at the club level for Amnokgang Sports Club in the DPR Korea Premier Football League, North Korea's top football league. In 1962, Pak was chosen as one of the best 40 players from the North Korean leagues, whose membership reportedly consisted of over 250,000, to be considered for the national team. The 40 players were enlisted into the Army as military officers, under the leadership of colonel and coach Myung Rye-hyun, and went under strict training for the next four years in preparation for the cup.

Pak was ultimately chosen as one of 22 players for the World Cup team. By the time of the World Cup, he had appeared for the national team at least 10 times, according to the Evening Telegraph, although the Sunday Mirror reported the number to be seven caps. Projected as having little chance of success, the team lost their first match, 3–0 against the Soviet Union, before tying Chile 1–1. The team then played against heavily-favored Italy to determine the qualifier to the next round. In a massive upset, North Korea won 1–0 on a goal by Pak Doo-ik. After the World Cup, it was rumored that the North Korean squad was imprisoned for celebrating the win over Italy in a bar; however, when interviewed in 2002, several players denied this. In 2002, the surviving members of the 1966 North Korean World Cup team were interviewed for the documentary film The Game of Their Lives; Pak was deceased by this time.