Already fear of ‘Pyongyang away’
Japan will play its third Group B match against North Korea in the second preliminary round of the 2026 North-Central America World Cup at the New National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, on the 21st. For Japan, which is ranking first with two wins (six points), North Korea, not Syria and Myanmar, is more difficult.
North Korea locked its borders during the 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifier due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection disease (COVID-19). Naturally, it disappeared from the international stage, but came back to the World Cup qualifier.
North Korea is ranking second after Japan with one win, one loss and four points. The North is ranking second, ahead of Syria (three points) in goal difference. Given that the North can advance to the third round of qualifying matches, the South Korean team must beat Japan.
In particular, the third and fourth games are all between North Korea and Japan. After the match on the 21st, the North will hold a return match at Kim Il Sung Stadium in Pyongyang on the 26th. According to major media outlets such as Nikan Sports in Japan, North Korea has given approval to about 20 reporters for the visit to Pyongyang. However, they refused to apply for coverage to reporters with Korean or U.S. nationality and Japanese-born Joseon Dynasty (Zainichi). It is also said that they did not accept applications for coverage by the “Sankei Shimbun,” which is well known as a far-right media outlet in Japan.
The North Korean national team will enter Tokyo on Wednesday. Attention is already focusing on how the team will perform. The Japanese team recently met with the women’s team at the preliminary match of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. Although the team felt less burden as it played an away game in North Korea with a neutral game in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and returned to Japan for a match, the men’s team is paying much more attention.
The Japanese team, which gathered in Chiba, near Tokyo to engage in training on Wednesday, also had to worry about an away match in Pyongyang. Side defender Yuto Nagatomo said, “I have never been to North Korea. The coaching staff is gathering a lot of information. If the team collapses spiritually, it could affect the team and lead to collapse. I want to maintain a strong mindset,” stressing his ability to concentrate.
“I heard from Hiroshi Kiyotake, a teammate of Cerezo Osaka who experienced an away match in Pyongyang in 2011, and I heard that it was not an environment to be relieved because I felt like I was being constantly monitored even at a hotel,” defender Shinya Makuma said. “At the time, Japan lost 0–1 due to booing by 50,000 spectators due to the close match between North Korea and Japan.
Japan has to transit through China as it does not have a direct flight from Pyongyang. This time, it is said that it will enter Pyongyang via a chartered flight from Beijing. The Japan Football Association reportedly held a briefing session on Wednesday to reporters who were granted permission to visit North Korea, and told them not to go out and not to report outside the permitted time and place. 토토사이트