Japan has advised its fans not to travel to North Korea to watch Asia’s Group B match for the 2026 FIFA World Cup next Tuesday.
“As is known, North Korea is hostile towards Japan and the trip is not recommended to the general public,” Japan’s foreign minister said in a message posted on social media site X.
Japan, who have Sporting’s Morita and Casa Pia’s Yuki Soma, and North Korea meet in Tokyo on Thursday in the third round of Group B and face each other again next week in Pyongyang.
The two countries do not maintain diplomatic relations, and Japan has eventually advised against travel to North Korea, although there is no ban and a visa is required.
Fourteen members of the Japanese government, as well as a small number of media representatives, are expected to attend Tuesday’s game in Pyongyang.
At this first stage of qualifying, Japan leads Group B with six points after two rounds, followed by North Korea and Syria (both with three) and Myanmar still without points.
Last month, the game between North Korea and Japan in the semi-finals of the women’s soccer tournament qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics was moved to a neutral site in Saudi Arabia.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.