Japan beat North Korea 1-0 in the third Group B match of the second qualifying round for the "2026 FIFA North-Central America World Cup" held at the National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan on the 21st (Korea time). Japan defended Anaka Ao's opening goal just two minutes into the first half and secured a valuable victory.
Japan planned to go on an expedition as it will play the fourth match against North Korea at the Kim Il Sung Stadium on Wednesday. However, the North abruptly canceled the hosting of the event.
The exact reason is not known, but it is presumed to be due to the recent severe hemolytic streptococcal infection in Japan. It is a bolt out of the blue for Japan, which was going to head to North Korea on the 22nd.
Amid the possibility of forfeiture by the North, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) declared a neutral site. According to AFP, Windsor John said, "A neutral site will be selected by the host country. However, AFC can select the venue in situations where it is impossible. The match between North Korea and Japan will proceed as scheduled." This means that there will be no forfeiture by the North.
The problem is that this is not the first time that the North has reluctantly canceled a match. The same happened in women's soccer. On April 24, North Korea and Japan planned to play the first round of women's soccer qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics at Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang, but the venue was changed to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Hajime Moriyasu of Japan also expressed his frustration. "We have to accept the situation and do our best to prepare for it. I don't know where we will play, but I will focus on recovery and managing my condition," Hajime said.
In the end, however, the match was kept to a minimum. AFC said on its official website on Tuesday, "The match will not go as planned. There will be updates on the issue after FIFA investigates it." 안전놀이터