Fifa World Cup
Japan Awarded 3-0 Victory as North Korea Forfeits World Cup Qualifier
(CTN News) – According to the Japanese Football Association (JFA), the sides have been awarded a 3-0 win after the North Koreans cancelled a World Cup qualifier between the two sides that was scheduled to take place in Pyongyang earlier this month.
The Japan Football Association said on Thursday that FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee informed them that the match had been forfeited, and as a result, Japan is guaranteed a top-two finish in their group, including Syria and Myanmar.
A victory last month in an additional qualifying match against North Korea in Tokyo meant that Japan qualified for the third round of World Cup qualifying and the 2027 Asian Cup with 12 points after four games.
” Despite the fact that the players lost an important chance to play, I consider this to be a positive step forward,” Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said in a statement.
“Of course, this is not the result that we would have liked, but we will continue to build up our strength in preparation for the national team activities in June, the final qualifiers, and the World Cup.”
As North Korea does not have diplomatic relations with Tokyo, it has decided not to play the match in Pyongyang due to the fear of infectious diseases spreading to Japan, and has asked for the game to be moved to a neutral venue rather than Pyongyang.
Due to the lack of dates on the fixture calendar, FIFA states that the game will not be rescheduled.
