A North Korean soccer star not seen since sanctions interrupted his international career over three years ago made his return to competitive soccer on Thursday, taking the field in North Korea’s 0-1 loss to Syria in a World Cup qualifier.

Twenty-five-year-old Han Kwang Song, a promising athlete who became the first North Korean to score in Europe back in 2017, started the game in Saudi Arabia but was substituted at half time.

The game was originally scheduled to be played in Damascus, but due to the ongoing civil war in Syria, the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in Jeddah