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| South Korea's Hwang Hee-chan, left, attempts a shot during the 2022 World Cup qualifying match against North Korea at the Kim Il Sung Stadium in Pyongyang, Tuesday. Yonhap |
By Jon Duerden
South Korea drew 0-0 with North Korea in the eagerly-awaited 2022 World Cup qualifier in Pyongyang, Tuesday, in a game that nobody was allowed to watch.
Both teams will probably be satisfied with the result but there will be questions asked of the governing bodies FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation as to how such a big game was played in front of an entirely empty Kim Il Sung Stadium and not broadcast live ― anywhere.
For once, South Korean fans and journalists (neither group were allowed to attend)?were in the same boat and reliant on Korea Football Association (KFA) officials updating events on social media from the first-ever competitive game to be played by the two countries in Pyongyang.
Instead of an intimidating atmosphere created by 50,000 plus home fans however, the seats were completely empty with the North Koreans taking a late, and unexplained, decision to play behind closed doors with FIFA president Gianni Infantino in attendance.
For the first time in 35 years then, South Koreans fans were unable to watch their national team in a World Cup qualifier. With the KFA sending out information on yellow cards, two for the host and two for the visitor, and substitutions, it was not an exciting way to spend 90 minutes. Goals are scarce in this fixture with just four coming in the last six meetings.
For the Taegeuk Warriors, it was about getting in and out without losing they have only done so once in 18 meetings now) and without any major incident. In that sense it was job done and there will be some relief as they return to Beijing (they were not allowed to fly direct from Pyongyang to Seoul) where they can pick up their mobile phones from the embassy in the Chinese capital.
South Korea has another tricky away trip on Nov.14 as it travels to Beirut to take on Lebanon, a place where it infamously lost in 2011.
After three games in the second round of qualification for the 2022 World Cup, the two Koreans both have seven points. Only the winner of the eight five-team groups and the four-best second-place finishing teams progress to the next stage.
