Even with the top continental ranking and players of vast international experience, Hajime Moriyasu’s Japan squad faces a journey into the unknown in back-to-back World Cup qualifiers against North Korea. Asian qualifying resumes Thursday with Japan hosting North Korea in Tokyo. Five days later, Japan will be playing in Pyongyang in front of a potential crowd of 50,000 — almost exclusively North Korean — at the Kim Il Sung Stadium. The Japan Football Association’s request that the match be moved
Injuries and poor form restricted him to just 76 appearances in all competitions.
The Leeds captain made his international debut as a teenager in 2017.
Vancouver Whitecaps coach Vanni Sartini has got a reprieve from Major League Soccer. The league, citing a "successful petition," has reduced his original six-match suspension by two games, meaning the Italian can be back on the sidelines for the March 30 visit of the Portland Timbers. Sartini was sanctioned for his on-field actions and post-game comments following the 1-0 loss to Los Angeles FC on Nov. 5 at B.C. Place Stadium that ended the Whitecaps' playoff run. Sartini, who was sent off in th