Japan team was awarded a 3-0 victory over North Korea team

The International Football Federation (FIFA) announced on March 30 that the Japanese team had won 3-0 against the North Korean team after the match between the two teams in Group B of the second qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup was suddenly canceled.

The Japan Football Association (JFA) said the FIFA Disciplinary Committee had met and announced the decision. FIFA also said the match would not be rescheduled due to the full international football schedule.

In the first leg in Tokyo nine days earlier, the host team Japan had won 1-0 against the North Korea team. With the new decision from FIFA, Japan had won four matches in Group B of the second qualifying round of the Asian zone and qualified for the third qualifying round.

According to the original plan, the match between the North Korean team and the Japanese team will be held in Pyongyang on March 26.

The Japanese players flew to China and trained for two days, then they were to go to North Korea close to the match day. However, North Korea suddenly announced that they would not host the match.

According to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), for unexpected reasons, North Korea cannot host the match on its own territory.

Several Japanese newspapers revealed that due to the strange disease with a high mortality rate in Japan, North Korea refused to let Japanese players enter the country. They proposed to hold the match at a neutral location.

However, North Korea could not find a venue. FIFA did not accept the match being rescheduled to another time because the schedule was already full.

Ultimately, the world football governing body decided to cancel the match and refer the matter to the Disciplinary Committee.