Sports

North Korean side Naegohyang wins in South Korea to reach Asian Women’s Champions League final

Published

3 months ago

May 20, 2026

A team of North Korean footballers who made history by crossing the border into South Korea earned a victory to take them into the Asian Women’s Champions League final.

Naegohyang won 2-1 in their semi-final against South Korea’s Suwon – with emotional scenes at the final whistle, as several of the victorious players sobbed with joy.

The match marked the first time athletes from the north have visited the south since 2018.

Second-half goals from Choe Kum-ok and Kim Kyong-yong won the game, following Haruhi Suzuki’s 49th-minute opener for Suwon, and sent Naegohyang to the final in their first year in the competition.

Suwon were awarded a penalty late in the semi-final after a video assistant referee review, but former Chelsea captain Ji So-yun put her effort wide.

“We believed in our team’s ability,” said Naegohyang’s Choe.

“Every player’s role is important, but things didn’t go well for us in the first half.

“Once we got into the second half, we found our rhythm and I think the game flowed much better for us.”

North Korean athletes had not crossed the border since the Pyeongchang Winter ‌Olympics in 2018, when they formed a unified ice hockey team for the first time.

Officially, there were no away supporters at Wednesday’s game – which sold out within hours last week – because because of travel restrictions between the North and South.

A large group of spectators from civic groups backed by Seoul’s unification ministry were in the stadium to support both teams, although they were mostly silent.

South Korea’s Unification Minister Chund Dong-young said the game would set a “positive precedent” for inter-Korean relations.

The two Koreas are technically still at war after failing to sign a peace treaty when the Korean War ended in 1953.

Attempts have been made to improve relations since, but ties between the two countries have deteriorated in recent years, with North Korea labelling South Korea its “most hostile state” and saying it would no longer seek reunification.

South Korean ⁠President Lee Jae Myung, however, is seeking to improve ties.

Naegohyang’s 27 players and 12 staff members will stay in the South for the final on Saturday, 23 May, against Japan’s Tokyo Verdy Beleza at the same stadium.

Sports

'Good signs' for Man Utd as Mbeumo scores in encouraging draw with PSG

Published

4 minutes ago

August 9, 2026

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Bryan Mbeumo earned Man Utd a 1-1 draw with Paris St-Germain in Gothenburg, a pre-season friendly which left boss Michael Carrick encouraged by the “good signs” from his side.

Sports

'Took him off both his feet!' | Stevie McKenna with HUGE first-round KO

Published

11 minutes ago

August 9, 2026

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Stevie McKenna stopped Owen O’Neill with a devastating right hand in the opening round of their contest at Zuffa Boxing 10.

Sports

Callum Walsh comes through cuts and knockdown to drop Denny and take battling decision victory in Dublin contest | Boxing News

Published

17 minutes ago

August 9, 2026

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Callum Walsh maintained his unbeaten record and top contender status with a unanimous decision victory over Tyler Denny.

Denny, a former European champion, is a tough veteran and proved a test for the Irish middleweight at Dublin’s 3Arena.

Walsh prevailed on points, winning 98-91 twice and 96-90.

The bout didn’t progress without its pitfalls as Denny gave him hard rounds.

The first round suddenly went south for Walsh. Awkwardly positioned in front of Denny, he found himself bending low. Denny attacked and Walsh took a shot before slipping to a knee. The referee ruled that a knockdown.

Walsh found the perfect riposte in the second round. As Denny came after him, Walsh launched a lovely arching left cross to the point of the Englishman’s chin, dropping him heavily to the canvas.

Denny, brave as ever, rose and fought on. But Walsh popped up from beneath an attack to land a fine right hook and he finished the round slugging Denny into the ropes.

The Briton shook off the effects of that round and advanced. By the end of the fourth round, Walsh was backing up, letting his southpaw opponent come on but picking out accurate punches to catch Denny.

Walsh maintained his control, moving, hitting and letting Denny work to try to pin him down.

The Briton kept scrapping forward and managed to land solidly in the sixth round.

Denny trudged on swinging wildly, but Walsh manoeuvred well. The Irishman caught Denny to the head with a left-right combination. Denny felt those shots but remained doggedly determined. He cleaved away with uppercuts in close.

The referee took a point off Walsh for holding, before evening up it by taking a point off Denny for hitting behind the head.

Walsh exploded forward with a savage sequence of punches to the head, leaving Denny stranded, standing still on the end of them.

But Walsh emerged from a clash with a cut over his left eye. It bled badly at once. Denny was leaning into him in scrappy collisions and Walsh looked frustrated after picking an additional nick on his cheek.

In the 10th round Walsh landed a great lead right uppercut. Denny got after him with hooks, catching the Irishman with his southpaw left and right.

Another hard left from Walsh though snagged Denny. He couldn’t put the Englishman down a second time but made sure he finished the fight in the ascendancy.

‘I think he broke my orbital bone’

Walsh told Sky Sports: “It was a lot harder than I thought. In the second round we clashed heads. I think he broke my orbital bone. It was crunching the whole time.

“It was very tough. I’m very critical of myself. I should have been a lot better. I wish I could have been better.

“He’s tough, awkward and tricky, but we’ll go again.”

Watch Aaron McKenna and Etinosa Oliha fight for the IBF world middleweight title in Dublin on Saturday, live on Sky Sports. Get Sky Sports or stream boxing with no contract.