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The second Asian qualifier for the 2026 FIFA Confederations Cup North America will not be held on time after all, with North Korea and Japan's match against each other set to take place on June 26 amid controversy over the venue.

"The second qualifying match between North Korea and Japan for the FIFA Confederations Cup North America 2026 will not be held on the original schedule due to unforeseen circumstances," the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on its website on the afternoon of Feb. 22.

"The decision was made after consultation with FIFA and other officials. This decision was made after receiving a notification from the North Korean side on the 20th of this month that the match had to be moved to a neutral location due to unavoidable circumstances."

Earlier, AFC Secretary General Dato' Windsor John had assured the media that the North Korea-Japan match would go ahead as planned, but it appears that the venue issue has not been resolved.

Hours before the website announcement, John had told AFP that the match would be held in a third country, saying, "It is the responsibility of the (home) organizers to find a neutral venue, and if that is not possible, the AFC will have to find a venue."

It's also unclear how North Korea's sudden "no home game" announcement will affect the World Cup qualifying schedule.

Unclear whether it means postponing the match or canceling it altogether, the AFC said only that it would discuss the situation at a FIFA committee and announce a decision later.

The match was originally scheduled to be played in Pyongyang.

North Korea and Japan were drawn together in Group B of the Asian second qualifying round for the 2026 North American Football Confederations Cup.

The previous day, Japan narrowly defeated North Korea 1-0 in the third leg at the New National Stadium in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.

Under the home-and-away format, the fourth leg on June 26 was scheduled to be played at the Kim Il Sung Stadium in Pyongyang, but the North Koreans unexpectedly said they would not be able to host the game.

It's unclear why North Korea was unwilling to play at home. John was tight-lipped, and the AFC announcement only referred to "unavoidable circumstances.

The AFC's on-site inspection this month found no problems with playing at Kim Il Sung Stadium.

In a related development, Japan's Kyodo news agency said, "Reports of a 'malignant infectious disease' in Japan have been coming from North Korea," and analyzed that the move "appears to be a precautionary measure against streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS), which has been increasingly infected in Japan."

On Feb. 24, the first match between North Korea and Japan in the final Asian qualifying round for the women's soccer competition for the 2024 Paris Olympics was played in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, rather [email protected] than Pyongyang.

Concerns over unavailability of flights and unclear logistics led the AFC to ask the North Koreans to find an alternative venue, which they did.

Japan (9 points) tops Group B of the World Cup Asia qualifiers with three wins from three matches and is on track to qualify for the third round of the North American tournament.

North Korea (3 points), on the other hand, is in desperate need of a win. The third qualifying round will be won by the second-place finisher in each group. Currently, North Korea is third in the group behind Syria (1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss - 4 points).