North Korea coach Kwang Min Kim blamed histeam's 2-0 loss to the USA on his players getting struck by lightning in the build up to the Women's World Cup. He claimed that some of them were hospitalized with electrocution after a training match on 8 June.

"When we stayed in Pyongyang during training our players were hit by lightning, and more than five of them were hospitalized," said Coach Kim, without naming the affected players specifically.

"Some stayed in hospital and then came to Germany later than the rest of us. The goalkeeper and the four defenders were most affected, and some midfielders as well. The physicians said the players were not capable of participating in the tournament.

"But World Cup soccer is the most important and significant event for a soccer player, so they don't want to think about anything but football. The fact that they played could be called abnormal, the result of very strong will."