The match between Japan and North Korea to be held on March 26th in the Asian second qualifying round for the 2026 Soccer World Cup will be held in Pyongyang. This will be the first time in 13 years since 2011 that a Japanese national team match will be held in North Korea.
Japan entered Group B in the 2026 World Cup Asian qualifiers, which will be held in a home-and-away format, and are now at the top of Group B with six points after consecutive wins over Myanmar and Syria in November last year.
According to the AFC (Asian Football Confederation), the next two matches against North Korea were scheduled to be played at home on March 21st at the National Stadium in Tokyo, but away on March 26th. It has been decided that the match will be held at the Kim Il Sung Stadium in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.
This is the first time in 13 years that a match for the Japan national team will be held in North Korea, since the 3rd Asian qualifying round of the World Cup in Brazil in November 2011. About a month ago, on the 24th of next month, the Japan women's national team Nadeshiko will be held in North Korea. Japan will play the first game against North Korea at the same Kim Il Sung Stadium in the final Asian qualifying round for the Paris Olympics.