I was psyched when the North Koreans put up a great fight against the popular Brazilian team, but equally crushed when they were conquered by Portugal.

Though the second match that pushed off its chance to create miracle was rather a devastating one, the courage of the North Koreans – who ranked the lowest of the 32 nations – captured my heart and mind.

Politics aside, the spirit of the North Korean football players in this year’s South Africa World Cup deserves applause. There is much intrigue surrounding this largely unknown team – from one of the most closed nations in the world – participating in the world’s biggest sporting event.

North Korea’s dream of repeating their triumph back in Middlesbrough’s Ayresome Park in England in 1966 was shattered as they failed to proceed to the final 16.

After the match, Portugal’s coach Carlos Queiroz showed his respect for the North Korean team – whose players held their heads high and played in a dignified manner without fouling any of their opponents.

During the first match against Brazil, striker Jong Tae-se, who grew up in Japan but decided to devote himself to his native country, broke down in tears during the national anthem before the game. This scene made a strong impression on everyone, whether they watched it live, on LCD big screens or on TV at home. His overwhelming tears touched people’s hearts.

Jong is one of two ethnic Koreans on the North’s roster who were born in Japan. He is also a top forward in J League and wears the nickname ‘Asia’s Wayne Rooney’.

The North Koreans went through tough challenges to qualify themselves as one of the 32 teams in this year’s World Cup. This is North Korea’s first appearance since the 1966 World Cup in England, where they managed to make their way to the quarter-finals with a victory over Italy. Now, after a 44-year absence, they are finally back in action.

Around the world, North Koreans are cheering for their team in their own way. A news article reported that some 500 pro-Pyongyang Koreans showed support for their team at a school in Tokyo, proudly wearing the symbolic red t-shirts and waving North Korean flags. And they cheered especially loudly when Jong Tae-se, and the other Japan-born Korean players, mid-fielders Ahn Yong-hak and Ryang Yong-gi, went on screen.

As we all know, no actual North Koreans are allowed to leave the tightly controlled communist state to cheer for their team. Even if they were allowed to, most of them would unlikely be able to afford the expenses involved. So most of the fans cheering for the North Koreans are actually Chinese.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, around 1,000 Chinese cheerleaders (musicians, actors and dancers) were recruited to cheer for the North Korean team.

The China Sports Star, a state-owned promotion agency, reported that the North Korea has also come up with a US$5,000 eight-day tour package including a safari, a casino visit and tickets to either the game against Brazil in Johannesburg or the match against Portugal in Cape Town.

Nevertheless, the North Korean football fans back home – at least those with both a TV set and a reliable electricity supply – were allowed to watch their team’s first World Cup match against Brazil a day after it was played and a ‘live’ broadcast of the match against Portugal.

In fact, the latest match against Portugal is reported to be the first live broadcast of a North Korean game played on foreign soil.

The news of the RMB12 (RM5.65) monthly salary of these football players have run rampant across online news portals, newspapers and blogs. According to the DPR Korea Football Association, the team’s players earn about twice the salary of an average workers.

Another report by Associated Press writers Yoon Sang-won, Jim Armstrong and Beijing-based researcher Xi Yue, says the team’s flight tickets cost at least 100 times the yearly salary of an average North Korean worker.

Although North Korea might not be many fans favourite, they have stunned the world. And while no one is sure about the future fate of this disliked team, it provides a good lesson for the Malaysian football team.  

With zero points from the first two matches, it is impossible for North Korea to finish in the top two spots in Group G and progress to the second round. But the last match against the Ivory Coast on Friday will provide the team with an opportunity to try to collect its very first point in South Africa.

I will be crossing my fingers.