The Japan Football Association on Thursday announced the dates and venues of the Group F fixtures for the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar that will be held in Japan later this month and next month.
Japan's next game, against Myanmar, has been set for May 28 behind closed doors at Chiba Prefecture's Fukuda Denshi Arena. The match was originally scheduled for March 25 but was postponed at the request of that country's federation after February's military coup.
After friendlies against Jamaica at Sapporo Dome on June 3 and Serbia at Noevir Stadium Kobe on June 11, the Samurai Blue will resume with World Cup qualifying games at Osaka's Panasonic Stadium against Tajikistan on June 7 and Kyrgyzstan on June 15.
To cope with the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting travel difficulties, the Asian Football Confederation confirmed in March that each of the second-round qualifying games for the World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 would be held in centralized locations.
Japan was selected to host the remaining five-nation Group F games, with the other groups playing in China, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and South Korea.
The Group F matches not involving Japan will be played in Osaka.
The Kyrgyzstan-Mongolia match is scheduled for June 7, the Myanmar-Kyrgyzstan match for June 11, and the Tajikistan-Myanmar match for June 15, all at Yanmar Stadium Nagai.
Related coverage:
Andres Iniesta signs contract extension with Vissel Kobe
Football: Marseille's Hiroki Sakai to return to J-League with Urawa
Football: Marinos sink Vissel 2-0 in Andres Iniesta's J1 return
