"Hey, why are our Chinese players so good?".
The South Korean national football team defeated China 3-0 in the opening match of the 2025 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) held at Yongin Mirs Stadium on the 7th. Challenging for the championship, South Korea got off to a good start. Following the big win, South Korea will face Hong Kong on the 11th and Japan on the 15th.
All matches will be held in Yongin. The final rankings will be determined based on the results of these three matches. On this day, Hong Myung-bo's team tested several players based on a ‘surprise three-back’ formation. They did not concede a single goal. South Korea showcased overwhelming attacking power. With higher-level movement and buildup, they easily created opportunities by breaking through China's strong front press. The opening goal came early, with Lee Dong-gyeong scoring with a fantastic left-footed shot in the 8th minute.
After that, South Korea's one-sided play continued. In the 21st minute of the first half, a powerful header from Joo Min-kyu followed a cross from Lee Tae-seok, yielding another goal. In the 12th minute of the second half, Kim Joo-sung scored his A-match debut goal, bringing the score to 3-0. China failed to create any significant shooting opportunities. In the second half, despite using several substitutions including naturalized Brazilian player Cai Erjinniao (Serginho), things did not go as planned. They were defeated 0-3.
In China, a sentiment formed that a loss against South Korea was inevitable. Chinese commentator Liu Jianhong noted on his social media account after the match, "South Korean football is top class in Asia, while Chinese football is third class in Asia. This match was simply a case of a first-class team (South Korea) performing well and a third-class team doing what it could. China's 0-3 defeat was an expected outcome."
Following such a match, Chinese media once again demonstrated the essence of 'Ah Q spirit.' Chinese media outlet 'Sohu' self-assessed right after the match, saying, "Throughout the game, we failed to display teamwork, determination, or skills. However, the fact that there were few fouls and that we gave the ball to South Korea when the ball was out before the end of the game showed our good sportsmanship in a complete victory."
This media outlet continued, "In fact, China committed fewer fouls than South Korea throughout the match, showing good sportsmanship throughout. However, they ignored the players who simply kept backpassing while giving up on offense, fixating on ‘manner,’ which was unrelated to the result. In fact, their particular brand of kung fu football was completely disregarded.
Such attitudes are no different from the 'Ah Q spirit' of Chinese football that has been repeated since the past. Instead of coldly analyzing the causes of defeat and seeking improvements, they fell into self-justification with statements like, "We were still nice," or "We had better manners than our opponents," turning a blind eye to reality. Even after a 0-3 defeat, absurd logic emerged, claiming, "We shattered South Korea's dream of four goals."
Sohu emphasized, "In the second half, China's defense stabilized. Substitute defender Zhu Chuanjie showed good form and completely blocked South Korea with solid defense. As a result, South Korea was unable to score four goals, and thus missed out on first place due to goal difference against Japan. Chinese football achieved this success."
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