On the evening of the 21st, the North Korean national soccer team, who will play against Japan in the women's Paris Olympics Asian qualifiers, departed for Saudi Arabia, the host venue. This was an unusual situation in which the venue for this match, which had been changed from North Korea, was not decided until the last minute.
On the night of the 21st, approximately 30 North Korean women's soccer players, including those from the North Korean women's soccer team, will play against Japan on February 24th in the first match of the Asian final qualifying round for the Paris Olympics.
The players, wearing matching coats emblazoned with the North Korean flag, looked relaxed, moving and playing at Beijing's airport, before departing for the host country of Saudi Arabia.
It was announced at the end of last year that this match would be held in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, but due to the effects of the new coronavirus, North Korea does not have regular flights with other countries, and there is uncertainty surrounding the match's operation. Due to the many factors involved, it was decided that the event would be held on a neutral site.
However, the coordination was difficult and the venue was not decided until the last minute, which is an unusual situation, but on the 21st, three days before the match, the Asian Football Confederation announced that it had been officially decided that the match would be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Did.
North Korean national team coach Ri Yu-il said, ``We don't have to worry about it just because our opponent is Japan; we play the game to win. You'll understand when you watch the game.''