FIFA Cancels Japan-North Korea World Cup qualifier (NHK)

FIFA announced on Saturday it has canceled the World Cup qualifier between North Korea and Japan originally scheduled for next week in Pyongyang. The announcement followed a notification by the North that it could no longer host the match. The Asian Football Confederation had said on Friday that the match would not take place as scheduled due to unforeseen circumstances.

On 21st March, Japan beat North Korea 1-0 in their first qualifier in Tokyo. Japan is set to play Myanmar and Syria in June in the second round Group B of the 2026 World Cup Asian qualifiers. Japan leads their group so far with 3 wins and no losses.