North Korea and South Korea were once again grouped together in group H of the second round of 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifications. On 15 October 2019, the rivals met in Pyongyang, North Korea, for the first time in 29 years, in an empty stadium. However, the return fixture, supposed to be held in Seoul, was unable to take part due to COVID-19 pandemic, which North Korea withdrew from the qualification, thus disqualified the country from the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup.