Lionel Messi the man to revive North Korean dreams of causing stir at World Cup again
Boasts head of new soccer revolution: 'We train our youngsters to become more talented players than even Messi'
NORTH KOREA caused quite a stir at the World Cup in 1966 - and they also made it to the finals in 2010.
Now the mystery nation ranked 126th in the world is sworn to repeating the success of 50 years ago when they made the quarter-finals of the tournament.
To do it they are looking to producing players MORE talented than Argentinian maestro Lionel Messi.
Keep up to date with ALL the Premier League news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary.
The Asian nation is implementing a strategy it hopes will see the production of global stars akin to the Barcelona forward.
Overseen by Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, football has been made a strategic priority in North Korea, with huge funds ploughed into new facilities to help talent production.
Said Yu He, coach of the International School of Pyongyang Football: "We train our youngsters to become more talented players than even Lionel Messi.""
North Korea is wedged between Armenia and Ethiopia in the world rankins.
The overall goal is to first dominate Asia and then the world, according to former international Shang Ri Myong.
Related Stories
He insisted: "For now, we are aiming to dominate Asia and, in the near future, I hope we can dominate the world."
Back in 1966 when England triumphed on home soil, North Korea surprisingly beat Italy in the group stage.
Then they amazingly went 3-0 up against Portugal at Goodison Park before hitting the buffers and losing 5-3.
In 2010 they were the lowest ranked nation (105th) to make the finals in South Africa.
They lost only 2-1 to Brazil, but 7-0 to Portugal and 3-0 to the Ivory Coast.
They finished bottom of their group and there were reports that the entire squad was forced on to a stage at the People's Palace of Culture and subjected to criticism from the country's sports minister as 400 government officials, students and journalists watched.
The team's coach, Kim Jong-hun, was reportedly forced to become a builder and has been expelled from the Workers' Party of Korea.
And the coach was allegedly punished for "betraying" Jong-un, then heir apparent to the Supreme Leader role.