FIFA cancels North Korea-Japan 'Pyongyang match' after all...Japan wins 3-0 forfeit 'to book final qualification spot'
The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has officially canceled the fourth match between North Korea and Japan in the second Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup North America, which was scheduled to take place in Pyongyang, North Korea, on June 26.
FIFA announced on Thursday (June 24) that "the World Cup qualifier between North Korea and Japan has been canceled. The match will not be rescheduled or replayed," stating that "North Korea has not been able to find an alternative venue or a new date for the postponed match. As a result, FIFA referred North Korea to its Disciplinary Committee and confirmed the match in Pyongyang as a 3-0 forfeit win for Japan.
With the win without traveling to Pyongyang, Japan secured 12 points and qualified for the final round regardless of the outcome of the remaining two matches in the second qualifying round. North Korea, on the other hand, suffered a forfeit loss and remained in third place with three points (1-3-1). North Korea could drop to the bottom of the table depending on the outcome of the match between Syria (4 points) and Myanmar (1 point) on Saturday.
The match between North Korea and Japan in Pyongyang has been in doubt since shortly after the two teams' third-leg match in Tokyo, Japan, on Nov. 21. According to multiple sources, North Korea has "recently been experiencing a malignant epidemic in Japan. As a precautionary measure in light of the increasing number of reports of extremely virulent hemolytic streptococcus infections in Japan," North Korea reportedly claimed it could not host the event.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) conducted a site inspection in Pyongyang in early March and confirmed that there were no obstacles to staging the match at the Kim Il Sung Stadium. However, Japan's trip to Pyongyang was also canceled in February for the first leg of the Asian final qualifier for the Paris Olympics and the match was moved to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a neutral location.
However, in response to North Korea's continued insistence, the AFC announced on its website on the 23rd that the match between North Korea and Japan will not be held as scheduled due to unforeseen circumstances, saying, "The decision was made after receiving a notification from the DPRK on the 20th of this month that the venue of the match had to be moved to a neutral location due to unavoidable circumstances. 'The matter will be referred to the relevant FIFA committees and further information will be communicated in due course,' the statement continued, before FIFA made the final decision to cancel.