North Korea does not play for fear of a virus, FIFA gives the victory by default (3-0) to Japan

Japan beats North Korea 3 to 0. This was decided by FIFA following the cancellation decided by the North Korean authorities of the World Cup qualifying match that was supposed to be held in Pyongyang last Tuesday. The international federation itself communicated this to the Japan Football Association (JFA) on Saturday. In this way, Japan was declared the winner in the second round of Asian Group B: fourth consecutive victory for the Samurai Blue and automatic passage to the final phase of the Asian qualifiers with two games to spare. On March 21, Japan beat North Korea 1-0 at the National Stadium in Tokyoshortly before news broke that their opponents would not host the return match at home.

The North Koreans do not host the Japanese for fear of a virus

The North Korean media had subsequently mentioned the risks of contagion of a bacterial infection, with reference to the spread of Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) currently circulating in Japan. The following day the Asian Federation (AFC) confirmed that the match “would not take place as planned due to unforeseen circumstances”, and FIFA therefore decided to declare the defeat by default.