Japan are on the verge of advancing to the next stage, the third round of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States. And they will do so without having to play the second match against North Korea. "The match in North Korea will not be rescheduled," FIFA said at the weekend. 

North Korea were due to host the qualifier in the capital Pyongyang on Tuesday, but five days before the game, officials suddenly said the country couldn't host the match without giving a reason. 

On Friday, the Asian Football Confederation announced that the match had been called off. Over the weekend, FIFA confirmed that "the match will neither be played nor rescheduled", citing a lack of space in the international football calendar.

"The matter and the result of the match will be referred to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee. If confirmed, North Korea would have suffered a 3-0 defeat and sent Japan through to the third round of World Cup qualifying," added FIFA.

Japan beat North Korea 1-0 in the first leg in Tokyo on Thursday to make it three wins from three in Asian qualifying Group B. Coach Hajime Moriyasu, who led Japan to the last 16 of the Qatar World Cup with victories over world champions Spain and Germany, was keen to use the match against North Korea as an opportunity for redemption after an unconvincing performance at home.

"It's unfortunate that we have missed the opportunity to address the areas of concern and the areas of potential improvement that have come to light," he said on Friday, according to AFP. "Our goal will be to improve as a team on the basis of what we've built."

Japan, who went into last month's Asian Cup as favourites but were knocked out by Iran 2-1 in the quarter-finals, will be hoping to qualify for the World Cup and improve on their performance. The match in Pyongyang was set to be the first international sporting event to be staged in North Korea since the country completely closed its borders during the COVID pandemic.

FIFA became aware of the match after the North Koreans sent a message to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) saying it would be "difficult" to stage the return leg in the North Korean capital. A similar situation arose last month between the women's national teams of Japan and North Korea, with the match eventually being played on a neutral pitch in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.