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Tanaka's winning goal in the 2nd minute of the first half

Japanese soccer defeated North Korea and won three games in a row in the second round of the Asian qualifiers for the North, Central and American World Cup.

Japan, led by coach Hajime Moriyasu, scored the opening goal by Ao Tanaka (Düsseldorf) in the third match of Group B of the 2026 North, Central America World Cup Asia 2nd qualifying round against North Korea held at the Tokyo National Stadium on the 21st at 7:23 PM (Korean time). We kept it and won 1-0.

Japan, who had swallowed the disappointment of being eliminated in the quarterfinals at the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup last month, changed the mood with victory.

Japan, which defeated Myanmar (5-0) and Syria (5-0) in November last year, maintained its lead in Group B with three consecutive wins.

Japan quickly took the lead with Tanaka's first goal two minutes into the game.

Before North Korea's defense could take shape, Tanaka received a ground ball pass from Doan Ritz (Freiburg) and calmly hit it with his right foot, shaking North Korea's net.

North Korea attempted to equalize with Han Kwang-seong, but was unable to open Japan's goal. He also received three warnings for rough fouls. Japan goes on an expedition to North Korea for the first time in 13 years. The fourth game will be played against North Korea at Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang on the 26th.  온라인섯다