North Korea is currently participating in the second Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-Central America World Cup. It is in Group B and will compete with Japan, Syria and Myanmar for the third Asian qualifying round. Through the third round, North Korea has one win, two losses, six points, three points and three points. It ranks third after Japan (nine points) and Syria (four points).
In the first away match against Syria, they lost 0-1 on Nov. 17 last year (Korea time). However, they had a 6-1 win over Myanmar in the second away match on Nov. 21 last year. They lost 0-1 in the third away match in Japan on Sunday. Despite losing in the match against Japan, they only allowed one run, giving a glimpse into their possibility.
In the second round of Asian qualifiers, the top two teams in each group will win the berth to the third round. North Korea is certain to have hope with three more games to go. However, as its home game was canceled on Friday and Pyongyang was doomed to forfeiture, it became very difficult to advance to the third round of qualifiers. If the team secures an 0-3 forfeiture, it will result in one win, three losses and three points. On the other hand, Japan will secure its third berth with 12 points for its fourth straight win. Syria, which will play its fourth match against Myanmar on Tuesday, is most likely to win the match by securing its home advantage. If so, Syria will mark seven points, widening its gap with North Korea to four points.
North Korea is scrambling to win all of its remaining two matches and wait and see how many cases it has to play. If it wins both home and home games against Syria on June 6 and Myanmar on June 11, it will secure nine points. If Syria shows a draw or less in its last away game against Japan in the sixth game, it can succeed in turning the tables. However, there is a dark shadow as Japan has already confirmed its advance to the third qualifying round, and it is unclear whether North Korea will be able to play the remaining two matches at home.
In conclusion, the forfeiture that North Korea will bear without playing a home game against Japan is expected to have a significant impact on the outcome of the second qualifying round. If North Korea faced Japan at home and won a point, it could have increased its chances of surpassing Syria. After the 1966 World Cup in England and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, North Korea’s hopes for its third World Cup finals have faded.
BY: 스포츠토토