World preliminaries: Japan 1-0 North Korea, Tanaka Bi blitzed, Doan Ritsu assisted, 3 consecutive wins to lead

At 18:20 on March 21, Beijing time, in the third round of Group B of the World Cup Asian Qualifiers Round of 36, the Japanese team faced the North Korean team at home. In the 2nd minute, Tanaka Bi broke the deadlock, and the Japanese team defeated North Korea 1-0, winning 3 consecutive wins in the World Preliminary Tournament (scoring 11 goals and conceding 0 goals), and 7 consecutive home wins in all competitions.

In the latest FIFA rankings, Japan is ranked 18th and 1st in Asia, while North Korea is 114th and 20th in Asia. There have been 20 meetings between the two teams in their history, with eight wins and four draws.

【Key Focus】

In the 2nd minute, the Japanese team broke the deadlock, Ueda Kiyo shared the ball, Doan Ritsu's header at the back point was ferried, and Takumi Minamino's shot was flawed. Ritsu Doan won the ball again and sent an inverted triangle back to do it, and Tanaka Bi scored with a right-footed shot from 12 meters to give Japan a 1-0 lead.

In the 47th minute, North Korea's Han Kwang-sung shot hit the post, and Baek Chung-sung scored with a supplementary shot, but the referee ruled that Chung Il-gwan had committed a foul first, and the goal was invalid.

【Wonderful Playback】

In the 13th minute, Tang Anyu fired a left-footed volley from outside the penalty area, and North Korean goalkeeper Kang Joo-hyuk made a save.

In the 18th minute, Japan's corner kick was crossed, and Hiroki Machida's header was slightly wide.

In the 20th minute, North Korean defender Jang Guozhu hugged and threw Tian Qishi and received the first yellow card of the game.

In the 43rd minute, Takumi Minamino instigated an attack after a steal, and Ritsu Doan's low left-footed shot was blocked by the goalkeeper with his foot.

In the 73rd minute, the Japanese team made continuous substitutions, with Takuma Asano, Shogo Taniguchi, and Daiki Hashioka coming off the bench to replace Ritsu Doan, Takumi Minamino, and Yusei Sugawara.

In the 80th minute, Ueda Kiyo pushed the shot from a small angle, and the goalkeeper made another save with his foot, and the ball was slightly off.

Line-up

Japan starters: 23-Ayaki Suzuki, 2-Yusei Sugawara (73' 3-Shogo Taniguchi), 4-Itakura, 15-Machida Hiroki, 21-Ito, 5-Hidemasa Morita (58' 6-Endo), 17-Tanaka Bi, 10-Ritsu Doan (73' 14-Taiki Hashioka), 8-Takumi Minamino (73' 18-Takuma Asano), 11-Dairan Maeda, 9-Kiyo Ueda (80' 19-Ogawa Hangji)

Subs not used: 1-Daiya Maekawa, 12-Keisuke Osako, 16-Tsuyoshi Watanabe, 22-Yuto Nagatomo, 7-Takumu Kawamura, 13-Keito Nakamura, 20-Kenei Kubo

North Korea's starters: 1-Kang Joo-hyuk, 4-Kim Ji-hyuk, 16-Kim You-sung, 3-Jang Guo-joo, 2-Kim Kyung-su (52' 14-Choi Ok-chul), 12-Choi Joo-sung (46' 13-Lee Il-sung), 15-Lee Yun-chul (46' 17-Kang Guo-joo), 22-Kim Kook-beom, 11-Jung Il-gwan (67' 8-Kim Guo-jin), 10-Han Kwang-sung, 20-Baek Chung-sung

Subs not used: 18-Shin Tae-song, 21-Yu Kwang-jun, 5-Chung Kim Sung, 6-Xi Tan, 7-Moon In-joo, 9-Lee Joo-kook, 19-Kim Sung-hye, 23-Choi Jin-nam