The South Korean national soccer team will face Japan in a must-win showdown for the title in the final of the 2025 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup).
Coach Hong Myung-bo noted that the South Korean national soccer team will play its third match of the tournament against Japan on the 15th at 7:24 p.m. at Yongin Mir Stadium.
This tournament, featuring Korea, Japan, China, and Hong Kong, will be conducted in a round-robin format, with every team facing each other once to determine the rankings.
Currently, Korea and Japan are both riding a two-game winning streak after defeating China and Hong Kong. The champion will be decided in the Korea-Japan match.
Earlier, Korea defeated China 3-0 and then overwhelmed Hong Kong 2-0. Japan won against China 2-0 and Hong Kong 6-1.
Korea (+7) is behind Japan (+5) in goal difference.
If Korea and Japan draw, Japan, which is two goals ahead in goal difference, will become the champion for the second consecutive time following the tournament held in their country in 2022.
Korea is aiming for its sixth overall championship and a return to the top for the first time in six years by winning against Japan.
Coach Hong Myung-bo fielded completely different starting lineups in the previous two matches. Given the experimentation, it is highly likely that he will deploy a best 11 focused on victory for the Korea-Japan match.
After the second match against Hong Kong on the 15th, Coach Hong Myung-bo said, "The final Korea-Japan match in the East Asian Cup has always been the most important. We will prepare well and do our best to bring home a victory for the championship. The overall condition of the players is not bad."
What Korea needs for victory against Japan is, indeed, "goals." The frontline attackers need to score decisively. Residents Kyu (Daejeon), Lee Ho-jae (Pohang), and Oh Se-hoon (Machida) are waiting to make their mark.
Because it is not during the International Football Federation (FIFA) mandatory call-up period, the European players have not been summoned, making this a golden opportunity for them to showcase their scoring ability. Korea has assembled a roster of 23 K League players and 3 J League players.
Japan also participated with only its domestic J League players. They have showcased their formidable attacking power by scoring a total of 8 goals in two matches.
In the match against Hong Kong, the "mixed-race striker" Jermaine Ly (Sanfreece Hiroshima) scored 4 goals. In addition, Sho Inagaki (Nagoya Grampus), Sota Nakamura (Sanfreece Hiroshima), Mao Hosoya (Kashiwa Reysol), and Hiroki Mochizuki (Machida) also got on the scoresheet.
Inagaki stated, "The match against Korea is the decisive moment. Although we are ahead in goal difference, our goal remains unchanged — to win. If we do not show a fighting spirit from the moment the first-half whistle blows, we could be caught off-guard by Korea," emphasizing that he will not relax.
Korea played its second match against Hong Kong on the 11th. Japan played its second match against China on the 12th.
Korea gets an additional day of rest, but Inagaki noted, "(It is) no excuse for us," adding, "(Since it is) a home game for Korea, the changed atmosphere in the stadium might cause younger players not to play as usual or feel nervous. I want to lead them well."
Finally, he emphasized, "I enjoy playing in intense matches like the Korea-Japan rivalry. And we all aim for the championship. That desire is very strong."
Historically, Korea leads with 42 wins, 23 draws, and 16 losses. However, in the last 10 matches, it has fared poorly with 3 wins, 3 draws, and 4 losses, particularly suffering defeats of 0-3 in both encounters in 2021 and 2022.
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