AFC Asian Cup
One of a small number of players from the nation to have played their club football overseas, the forward sparkled during his stint in Italy.
Factfile
Age: 28
Caps: 21
Goals: 2
Club: 4.25 SC (PRK)
Age: 28
Caps: 21
Goals: 2
Club: 4.25 SC (PRK)
Cagliari were the first to have him on the books in 2017 with loan stints at Perugia and Juventus where he earned plenty of plaudits with his exploits for the former.
Scoring 11 goals over two seasons with Perugia in Serie B, Han’s stock rose quickly as Juventus started taking a huge interest in him.
The Turin-based two-time European champions bought Han in 2020 but quickly moved him on to Qatari side Al Duhail SC in the same window for a profit.
TriviaDPR Korea share the unwanted record for the longest losing streak in AFC Asian Cup history, excluding penalty shootouts
– eight consecutive defeats between January 2011 and January 2019.
The stay at Al Duhail was a short one though but Han managed three goals from 10 league appearances and also played twice in the AFC Champions League™.
On the national team front, the Pyongyang-born showed what he is capable of from a very young age in one of AFC’s most exciting competitions.
He scored four goals as he helped DPR Korea win the AFC U-16 Championship in 2014, including netting the equaliser in a 2-1 comeback win against Korea Republic in the final.
Moving up a step, Han scored once in DPR Korea’s group stage exit at the AFC U-19 Championship two years later.
The then 20-year-old played twice in his nation’s campaign at the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2019 and in recent times, has played a significant role in DPR Korea qualifying for the tournament, scoring in the 6-1 win against Myanmar in the Qualifiers Round 2 as well as six of their 10 matches in Round 3.
Photos: AFC, AFP
