There’s little that surprises spectators in football these days, but never underestimate the ability of a goalkeeping error to shock us.
This season has already provided a clanger from Wigan’s on-loan Liverpool goalkeeper Ádám Bogdán, but that looks positively accomplished in comparison to what we have seen from North Korea Under-16 international Jang Paek Ho.
Going into their final group game in the AFC Under-16 Championships, North Korea and opponents Uzbekistan were already through, with the winners due to face Iraq in the quarter-finals.
And, shortly after half-time, Jang conceded one of the strangest goals we have ever seen.
Uzbek goalkeeper Jasurbek Umrzakov sent a long punt downfield, which was horribly misjudged by his opposite number.
But to make matters worse, as the North Korean chased down the goalbound ball he slipped on the wet surface.
https://twitter.com/vahooos/status/779340005240037376
North Korea were famously left with an outfielder as a back-up goalkeeper at their last World Cup appearance in 2010, after trying to include an extra striker in the squad and only naming two shot-stoppers, but Jang is very much a keeper by trade.
He was substituted late in the second half of the eventual 3-1 defeat, with Sin Tae Song taking his place, and we will have to wait to see which of the players starts the quarter-final match against Oman.
Victory in that game would secure North Korea a place in next year’s Under-17 World Cup in India, and Yun Jong-su’s team – who rested players for the defeat to Uzbekistan – are in the opposite half of the draw to a dominant Japan team which won all three of its group games, scoring 21 goals and conceding none.
“I have two players in mind from this game who I may now use for the quarter-finals. We will do our best in the last eight and prepare well for the match ahead,” Yun is quoted as saying by the AFC website.
