"You guys do well."
The men's national football team, led by coach Hong Myung-bo, lost 0-1 to their rival Japan in the third match of the 2025 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup), held at Yongin Mir Stadium on the 15th at 7:24 p.m., failing to reclaim the championship trophy.
Japan, with three wins in the tournament, achieved their third overall title. Japan defeated the home team Korea to secure back-to-back championships. Korea remains the all-time leader with five titles but has fallen behind Japan in two consecutive tournaments.
The East Asian Cup, which has no mandatory call-up regulations from FIFA, was composed mainly of domestic players, excluding those playing in Europe. Naturally, top European players like Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae, and Lee Kang-in were absent. This was a good opportunity to test domestic players.
Although the intention was good, the tournament struggled to attract crowds. There were 4,426 attendees for Korea's match against China. On the 12th, 5,521 people attended the match against Hong Kong. The national heatwave persisted with temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius until the 13th. The tournament mainly took place on weekdays, and the poor public transport accessibility to Yongin Mir Stadium also contributed to the unfavorable situation.
The finale was different. Even without Son Heung-min, there was a guaranteed draw in the Korea-Japan match. From the 14th, rain fell nationwide, alleviating the heat. Rain continued until the morning of the 15th but stopped in the afternoon. With a temperature of 24 degrees Celsius and a cool breeze, the conditions were ideal for a football match.
A total of 18,418 spectators attended the Korea-Japan final match. This was the highest attendance of the tournament. The Yongin Mir Stadium, which has a capacity of about 37,000, was filled to about half.
Surprisingly, hundreds of fans from Japan's 'Ultra Nippon' came to cheer collectively and occupied the stands. They waved large Japanese flags and shook blue bags while chanting "Nippon." The voices of the Japanese supporters were louder than those of the Korean fans.
The size of the Korean supporters, the Red Devils, was only about half that of Japan's, and it was even smaller. The cheering from the Japanese supporters was so loud that it made one question if it was indeed Korea. However, most of the spectators were supporting Korea.
Despite the absence of Son Heung-min, Korea was composed of the best players from the K League. Many players in the defensive line could have started in the World Cup. Nevertheless, Korea lost to Japan at home. This is not an issue one can dismiss merely because top players like Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae, and Lee Kang-in were absent. The lineup of the Japanese team, in particular, adds to the disappointment.
Mao Yuan, a reporter from China's 'Zhibo.com,' noted, "Korea had to win to claim the championship, yet they lost 0-1 at home." He further commented, "The issues of Korean football, which have been clearly overshadowed by Japan recently, were evident. Korea played at a level comparable to Japan's third- or fourth-string players."
In fact, it is the first time in history that Korea has lost three consecutive matches against Japan. Particularly, since the encounters have decreased since 2020, it has essentially been a total defeat. Mao Yuan expressed that "Korea's three consecutive losses to Japan is perhaps more humiliating than China finishing in third place."
'Zhibo.com' mocked Korea by stating, "While Hong Kong managed to score the only goal against Japan, Korea failed to mount any attack against Japan. The striker who scored the decisive goal, Jermaine Ryo, was a player who had not debuted for the national team until the East Asian Cup, making his debut at the age of 30."
[OSEN]