Korean football suffered its first-ever three consecutive losses to Japan.

The men's national football team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, lost 1-0 to its rival Japan in the third round 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, which won all three matches in the tournament, achieved its third overall victory. Korea remains the most successful team with five championships but has lost to Japan in two consecutive tournaments. Notably, this is the first time Korea has lost three consecutive matches to Japan.

Korea was unlucky, with Na Sang-ho's shot hitting the post. As opportunities were missed, a crisis immediately followed. In a subsequent counterattack from Japan, Ryo Germain's volley became the opening goal. Although Korea had four defenders against two Japanese attackers, no one was able to block the shot.

After the match, Jo Hyun-woo said, "It was a shot I couldn't reach, but I should have stopped it. After we conceded, I couldn't lead the defense," expressing his self-blame.

Jo Hyun-woo, who took on the captaincy this time, felt an even greater sense of responsibility. He had protected the Korean goal in both the 0-3 loss in Yokohama in 2021 and the 0-3 loss in Nagoya in 2022. Jo Hyun-woo vowed, "It hurts to have lost three in a row. We will definitely win the next match against Japan."

Hong Myung-bo noted, "I experimented with a three-back formation in this tournament. The players followed well. The Japanese attackers were not threatening," giving a passing grade.

The three-back formation of Park Jin-seob, Kim Joo-seong, and Park Seung-wook conceded a regrettable goal to Japan. Jo Hyun-woo said, "I wasn't able to lead effectively," while supporting his teammates.

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