Brazil beat North Korea 2-1 on Tuesday in their Group G opener at the South African World Cup finals in Johannesburg but not without a tooth-and-nail challenge from the underdog team.
Brazil, five-time World Cup champions, struggled in the first half to break down the North Korean defense, but Maicon Sisenando, commonly known as Maicon, pulled through in the second half, netting a tight-angled goal in the 55th minute.
Elano Blumer, known as Elano, gave the Brazilians a point by connecting a pass from Robson de Souza, or Robinho, in the 72th minute into a goal.
But North Korea narrowed the lead to a single point as Ji Yun-nam delivered his team a goal after collecting a header from striker Jong Tae-se in the 89th minute.
Making a World Cup comeback for the first time in 44 years, North Korea is seeded in the so-called group of death, In another Group G match, Portugal and Cote d'Ivoire tied at 1:1.
Despite being the first Asian team to advance to the first round of the World Cup finals, the North Koreans have been largely invisible in the international football arena. The last time the North made it to the World Cup finals was in 1966. This year, the country ranks 105th among FIFA members, the lowest among the 32 World Cup finalists.