Hong Kong's mental breakdown is incredible, too, after a six-goal devastation against Japan

Jul 09, 2025

Hong Kong's mental breakdown is incredible, too, after a six-goal devastation against Japan
Photo = Japanese Football Association



Hong Kong's mental breakdown is incredible, too, after a six-goal devastation against Japan
Photo = Japanese Football Association
Hong Kong players were shocked by the difference in skills after being devastated by Japan.

Hong Kong's national football team suffered a 1-6 defeat in the first round of the 2025 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) against Japan's national football team at Mir Stadium in Yongin on the 8th. Hong Kong fell to the bottom of the list, falling behind China, which lost 0-3 to South Korea.

Hong Kong planned to endure the first half somehow and then keep the promise of the second half, but it couldn't even implement its strategy. In the fourth minute of the first half, Japan scored the first goal with Jermain Ryo's personal ability. Germain has literally taken Hong Kong by storm. In the 10th minute of the first half, he finished with a header from the left.




In the 20th minute of the first half, Inakaki Shaw's cannonball mid-range shot shook Hong Kong's net. Japan made it 4-0 in the 22nd minute of the first half with Germain's neat finish following a fantastic pass play a minute later. Germain's goal bombing wasn't the end here. In the 26th minute of the first half, Jermaine finished the pass from the right with his right foot, making four goals with his left foot, right foot and head.

Hong Kong's mental breakdown is incredible, too, after a six-goal devastation against Japan
Photo = Japanese Football Association
In the second half, Japan lost its strength. Hong Kong saved a little pride by scoring from a corner kick in the 14th minute of the second half. Just before the end of the second half, Japan finished the game with a score by Sota Nakamura.

Of course, Japan's victory was expected, but Hong Kong players seem to have been shocked as they faced Japan in the first half. After the match, Rafael Marquis, the Hong Kong international, said "Not all of Japan's main players participated, but because it was against the world's top 15, he knew it would be a difficult match"We expected a difficult game against Japan," he said.




However, Japan was stronger than Markis expected. He said "Japan's play was great. It's fast, and I've been putting strong pressure on it. Right after the start of the game, we didn't develop what we wanted, and we had to be ready to give up a lot of goals soon"He confessed that he expected a lot of runs while playing.

Hong Kong's mental breakdown is incredible, too, after a six-goal devastation against Japan
Photo = Japanese Football Association
Finally, Markis was shocked at Germaine, who showed his best performance of the day. He said "13 was really great. He scored four goals. In addition, I heard it was a debut match. I couldn't believe it," he said with a tongue-in-cheek.

Hong Kong coach Ashley Westwood also said, `The results tell us everything. We have no choice but to praise Japan's way of playing, system and style. Japan is a very good team. The quality is also high. Japan is not afraid of any team. Although there were many young players on the team that clashed in this match, their performance was at its best enough"I praised Japan's performance.




Japan will face China on the 12th and then play a match between Korea and Japan on the 15th.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.