North Korea were given a seven goal hiding as they lost 7-0 to Portugal in the World Cup 2010 finals with a performance from the latter that had the critics and fans purring with delight. The stylish victory has now re-ignited talk of Portugal being one of the main contenders for the World Cup 2010 trophy.

However, the euphoria must be tempered with the realisation that while the Portuguese attacked with flair and freedom that has so often been missing from the side under the watch of coach Carlos Queiroz, they were chiefly allowed to do so due to North Korea’s misguided opinion that they could also abandon their own normal defensive tactics to run with the big boys.

Had the secretive communist state team stuck to their guns and relied on their familiar blanket defence and try to hit on the break rather than take the game to their European counterparts, Portugal would have had a much harder time than this.

Cristiano Ronaldo also finally broke his two-year competitive scoring drought for Portugal after scoring their sixth goal but it still took a stroke of luck in its buildup for the Real Madrid star to finally show relief for getting the monkey off his back.

The rain kept away at the start of the match but by the end, it was pouring as heavily as the goals into the North Korean net as 7,000 dedicated fans grew gloomier with each goal. The tiny but plucky football nation held Portugal to only a one goal advantage at half time but in the end their adventurous side was not balanced by their usual defensive stance as they leaked six more by the end of the second 45 minutes.

For the record, Portugal scored through Raul Meireles, Simao, Hugo Almeida, Tiago (two goals), Liedson and Ronaldo, but while they looked impressive going forward, they were afford too much space and time on the ball by their opponents. They will not even get a real test in their next game against Brazil as the South Americans would not even need to win to guarantee their place in the last 16, so expect Dunga to ask his players to do just enough.

For North Korea, their part in the tournament has come to an end but they have provided a fantasy and courage that is not so often seen nowadays with modern teams more likely to row and revolt amongst them as we have seen from the likes of France and England.

Tags: DPR Korea, Match Highlights, Match Review, North Korea, Portugal, World Cup, World Cup 2010