Japan’s National Soccer Team

Initially scheduled for the second round of the North Korea-Japan World Cup qualifying round at Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang on the 26th

The fourth Group B match of the Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North Korea-China World Cup between North Korea and Japan, which was scheduled to be held in Pyongyang, was canceled due to the North’s sudden notification that the event would be held. The Japanese national soccer team decided to disband early on.

The Japan Football Association said on the 22nd, The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has decided not to hold the second Asian qualifying match for the North Korea-China World Cup against North Korea, which was scheduled to be held on the 26th in consultation with FIFA, adding, The national team will end its call-up after the 22nd.

The fourth round of the second qualifying round between the two teams was scheduled to be held at Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang on the 26th, but North Korea notified AFC that it would be difficult to hold it on the 20th and that it would have to move to a neutral area.

AFC Secretary-General Dato Windsor John F.C. mentioned the possibility of holding the event in a neutral zone, but a setback was inevitable. AFC said the game would not be held as scheduled.

When the AFC was announced not to host the event, the Japanese Association also decided to disband the squad. Both the AFC and the Japanese Association said they would notify when new information is updated.

Considering the FIFA A match week and the schedule for the second qualifying round for the World Cup, it will not be easy to assign a separate match between North Korea and Japan in the future. The possibility of Japan winning by default is mentioned.

We didn’t have a chance to fix what bothered us in the first game against North Korea and to improve it, and we couldn’t use more players in the next game 26th, said Hajime Moriyasu, head coach of the Japanese national team.

I am grateful to the players who responded to the call-up and always played positively in difficult situations even though they were having a difficult season at their club, he said.

North Korea did not give a clear reason but said it would be difficult to hold the event. Japanese media say that the government has taken quarantine measures due to the increasing number of infected people in Japan. 메이저사이트

Last month, the first round of the final Asian qualifying round for women’s soccer for the 2024 Paris Olympics between North Korea and Japan was also held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, instead of Pyongyang.

Meanwhile, Japan won the third match of the second qualifying round between North Korea and Japan, which took place in Tokyo on Monday, and led Group B with three wins (nine points). North Korea is ranking third with one win and two losses (three points).