Experiment + all the results! Lee Dong-kyung, Ju-seong, Kim Joo-sung, back-to-back goals + 6 A-match debuts, 30 wins over Korea and China
Jul 07, 2025
|
|
South Korea's men's A team (23rd in FIFA rankings), led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, won 3-0 in the first match of the 2025 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) against China (94th in FIFA rankings) at Mir Stadium in Yongin on the 7th. The certificate of official limitation was valid. Korea has won six consecutive games against China recently. South Korea, which won all of the second Asian qualifiers for the 2026 North-China World Cup, also laughed at the East Asian Cup. He continued his absolute advantage with 24 wins, 13 draws and two losses in his career. South Korea, which won the opening game, will try to win the East Asian Cup for the first time in six years.
China, which reorganized itself into young players after failing to go to North Korea and the U.S., showed such a disappointing performance that it was questionable whether it was the national team. In particular, attention was drawn to the play of Wang Wang Yu-dong (Zi), born in 2006, who was called Yang Min-hyuk of China, but he failed to show any significant performance. China, which replaced head coach Branko Ivankovic, took the temporary helm of Dejan Jurjevic, who is leading China's U-20 national team.
The East Asian Cup began in 2003, the year after EAFF was established. South Korea, China and Japan will host alternately, and three countries will participate automatically. This year, Hong Kong has secured the remaining place. In the case of men, South Korea won the most five times, while Japan and China won the top twice, respectively. The defending champion is Japan, the 2022 winner. Starting with the opening match against China, Hong Myung-bo will face Hong Kong at 8 p.m. on the 11th and Japan at 7:24 p.m. on the 15th.
|
Moon Sun-min (FC Seoul) and Lee Dong-kyung (Kim Cheon, managing director) stepped up to the left and right wings. Lee Dong-kyung moved freely to and from the center.
Kim Jin-kyu (Jeonbuk Hyundai) and Kim Bong-soo (Daejeon) were in the midfield. Kim Jin-kyu, who recently showed his best performance in Jeonbuk, returned to the national team in June by making the A-match list. In the match against Iraq, he scored the winning goal to impress coach Hong. I was given another chance. The partner is Kim Bong-soo. Kim Bong-soo made his A-match debut on the day.
Lee Tae-seok (Pohang Steelers) and Kim Moon-hwan (Daejeon) were in left and right wingbacks. Lee Tae-seok, who recently became the main player of the A national team, was invariably listed in the starting lineup. Kim Moon-hwan, who had been away from the national team due to injury, took the opportunity for the first time in a long time. He played in the national team uniform for the first time in eight months since the match against Palestine in November last year.
The three-back was formed by Kim Joo-sung (Seoul), Park Jin-seop and Park Seung-wook (Pohang). Park Jin-seop was in the center and played a role in moving between defensive midfielders and center backs. Kim Joo-sung, who showed good performance in the final match of the third qualifying round for the North-China World Cup against Kuwait, was called back, and Park Seung-wook, who was recently discharged from the military, was tested as a three-back resource. Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan HD), the undisputed goalkeeper who showed his best performance in the last Club World Cup, remained unchanged.
|
In the beginning, both teams were cautious. South Korea scored the first goal in the early hours. Kim Moon-hwan, who received Park Seung-wook's pass in the 8th minute of the first half, gave it to Lee Dong-kyung. Lee Dong-kyung connected with a left-footed shot after spilling this ball. Ball shook the Chinese net as it was, drawing a nice trajectory. It was the first A match score in four years after scoring his debut goal in the second qualifying match of the 2022 Qatar World Cup against Sri Lanka at Goyang Stadium on June 9, 2021.
South Korea's offensive continued with momentum. In the 14th minute, Lee Dong-kyung's cross from the right flowed backward. Lee Tae-seok, who participated in the attack, connected with a bold shot, but it came up. China was aggressive little by little by little by raising the line, but the detail was disappointing.
21 minutes to score an extra goal. Joo Min-gyu pushed the cross that Lee Tae-seok put up from the left with a header. It was Joo Min-gyu's third A-match goal.
With South Korea occupying the ball, China created the sharpest chance of the first half in the 37th minute. Kaotian fired a powerful right-footed mid-range shot from the front of the arc. Slightly over the net.
|
In the 44th minute, Moon Sun-min won the competition against the opponent's defense with his unique fast speed and had a decisive opportunity, but the closing pass to Joo Min-gyu was unfortunately cut off. In the extra time, a sharp pass was followed by Kim Jin-kyu Lee Dong-kyung, and Lee Dong-kyung's cutback pass was blocked by the opponent's hand-to-hand defense just before it led to a shot. The first half ended with a 2-0 Korean lead.
At the beginning of the second half, China put in Baden without Gao level. Korea had a good chance as soon as the whistle blew. In the first minute of the second half, Moon Sun-min had a chance to face the goalkeeper after breaking down the left, but the shot went straight to the goalkeeper. I connected with a shot again, but unfortunately, it didn't hit properly.
In the fourth minute, when Kim Moon-hwan's cross from the right flowed backward, Lee Tae-seok caught it. Lee Dong-kyung caught Lee Tae-seok's cutback and finished it with his left foot. Slightly off the post. Lee Dong-kyung knelt down and felt sorry.
|
South Korea has created a threatening scene again. Kim Jin-kyu kicked a free kick obtained by Moon Sun-min in the 10th minute. The Chinese goalkeeper blocked the ball heading to the opposite post. He added another goal on the ensuing corner kick. Lee Dong-kyung's left-footed corner kick from the right headed for Park Seung-wook. Park Seung-wook's header was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper's super save, but Kim Joo-sung pushed the flowing ball. It was Kim Joo-sung's A-match debut goal.
Hong pulled out a new card in the 18th minute. Kang Sang-yoon (Jeonbuk) and Lee Ho-jae (Pohang) were added without Moon Seon-min's resident regulation. Both players made their A-match debuts. In the 22nd minute, Lee Dong-kyung's pass to the right headed for Kang Sang-yoon, who was digging into the center. Kang Sang-yoon jumped in and finished with his right foot, but he went wide of the net.
In the 24th minute, Lee Tae-seok's cross headed to the center. The ball flowed to Lee Ho-jae, which the Chinese defense did not properly block. Lee Ho-jae's shot came off the Chinese defense. Kim Moon-hwan, who received Lee Dong-kyung's pass in the 27th minute, scored a sharp ground ball cross, and Kang Sang-yoon jumped in and finished with his right foot, but slightly crossed the net.
|
|
In the 39th minute, Lee Seung-won (Kim Chun) went in as well. China tried to avoid defeat with a sharp free kick in the 44th minute, but the goal went over the crossbar. Four minutes of extra time were given, and South Korea went on the offensive until the end, but no additional goal came out. The game ended with a complete victory for South Korea.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
