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North Korea and Japan, which was scheduled to be held in Pyongyang, was officially canceled due to North Korea's sudden notification that it would not be held
FIFA said on the 24th (Korea Standard Time) that "North Korea is canceling the game because it cannot prepare an alternative venue and there is no room to change the schedule due to the postponement of the game."
As a result, FIFA referred North Korea to the disciplinary committee and confirmed that Japan's 3-0 forfeiture victory in the Pyongyang away game.
Originally, the preliminary round was scheduled to take place at Kim Il Sung Stadium in Pyongyang on Wednesday. However, just six days before the match, the North unilaterally informed the North that it would be impossible to play in Pyongyang, citing "inevitable circumstances." Then, the North informed the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) that it would be necessary to change the venue to a neutral one, not Pyongyang.
AFC announced the cancellation on its website on the 22nd and said, "It will be referred to the FIFA-related committee and further updates will be released in due course."
North Korea did not give a clear reason, but Japan sees it as a quarantine measure by North Korea due to streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS), which has recently increased the number of infections.
This is not the first time that the North has caused inconvenience to the international community. The North was scheduled to play its home match against Japan in the final preliminary round of Asia for the 2024 Paris Olympics, but had a showdown in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, right before the match, announcing that the North would not be able to host the event.
Meanwhile, Japan won the match against North Korea 1-0 at its home turf on the 21st, winning all three games in the group stage. North Korea is third in the group after Syria (four points), with only one win and two losses (3 points). In the second qualifying round, the second place in the group will be given a chance to advance to the third qualifying round.
North Korea is scheduled to play its home games against Syria and Myanmar in June.