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Pak: Stamina and mental strength paved DPR Korea’s path to victory
Jeddah: Pak Kwang Song spared no effort to ensure DPR Korea kept their AFC U17 Asian Cup™ Saudi Arabia 2025 quarter-final dreams alive against Tajikistan on Tuesday.
The midfielder netted two goals in his side’s 3-0 win, a result which moved the two-time champions to the top of Group D with four points, one clear of Tajikistan and Oman, who defeated Islamic Republic of Iran 3-2 in the other match. 

#AFCU17 | Group D: DPR Korea 3-0 Tajikistan

#AFCU17 | Group D: DPR Korea 3-0 Tajikistan

“I don’t think I’ve ever had to run so much,” said Kwang Song. “But we'll run until the last minute if that’s what it takes for us to become champions.” 

The 4.25 Sports Club player also attributed their win to his team’s mental strength. 

“We were very determined to perform our respective jobs to the best of our abilities.”
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DPR Korea had to wait until after the break to score, with Pak netting in the 50th and 58th minutes before Ri Kang Rim wrapped up proceedings eight minutes before regulation.

“We studied our opponents from a technical and physical viewpoint and were able to use this knowledge to our advantage,” said.head coach O Thae Song.

“I'm satisfied because the players followed my instructions, which resulted in a better attacking performance than the one they delivered in the first (a 1-1 draw with Iran).”
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Tajikistan came into the match top of Group D after beating Oman 2-1, but head coach Marco Ragini’s side soon found themselves outplayed.  

“I was happy with the first half, but I think my players blacked out at the beginning of the second because they gave too much space to this team of very good players,” he said.

“I'm sad not because we lost to a much stronger team, but because we lost focus for 10 minutes and DPR Korea destroyed everything we had done up to that point.”