The humiliation of Hong Myung-bo 12 years ago? Declaring victory on Korean soil, only thinking about winning the legendary captain's championship

Jul 07, 2025

Japanese national team captain Yuto Nagatomo declared that he would win and go back to Korea.

Ahead of the opening of the 2025 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup), an official press conference was held at Mir Stadium in Yongin on the 6th. Head coaches and captains from Korea, Japan, China and Hong Kong attended.

Japanese coach Hajime Moriyasu, who was born in 1986, selected Nagatomo, a Japanese legend, for the East Asian Cup in a surprise move and showed great trust as he even served as captain. The only goal that Japanese captain Nagatomo pledged was to win. Nagatomo expressed his intention to win the tournament, saying, `As a team, I only think about winning the championship.'

In fact, Japan has won the East Asian Cup on Korean soil. It was when the East Asian Cup was held in Korea 12 years ago. At that time, South Korea was confused over the position of national team coach, and eventually appointed Hong Myung-bo, who wore a bronze medal miracle at the 2012 London Olympics.

The East Asian Cup was Hong Myung-bo's first competition as a national team coach. Naturally, expectations for the championship were high because it was a competition held in Korea. However, Korea's performance was disappointing. They ended up in scoreless draws against Australia and China. The performance was rather good, but the goal-determining problem hampered it.

And the Korea-Japan war of fate. South Korea gave up the first run in a match between South Korea and Japan that even rock-paper-scissors should not lose, but Yoon Il-rok's equalizer balanced the game. Unfortunately, just before the end of the game, he lost due to additional runs. In the end, it was Japan who won the competition. It was a tournament in Korea, but Hong Myung-bo's performance was disappointing, with two draws and one loss, and only one point.

Although the East Asian Cup is not as important as the World Cup or the Asian Cup, coach Hong Myung-bo will be strong to win this time. You don't want to see a picture of Japan winning on Korean soil like 12 years ago.

China and Hong Kong are far behind South Korea and Japan in objective power. In the end, the direction of victory is expected to be decided in the final match of the East Asian Cup between Korea and Japan. It is a battle of pride between the K-League and the J-League.

Nagatomo also knew this. He said "The Japanese national team so far has been centered on overseas players, but there are also excellent players in Korea. I want to prove the skills of Korean players"I want to clearly show the strength of the J-League."

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.