I still haven't been able to get my head around my opponent's 10-run loss football..We lost the game, but we won!→All-time mental victory appears

Jul 12, 2025

The national soccer team played its first match against China at Yongin Mir Stadium on the 7th. Korean-Chinese national soccer team players preparing for the game. Yongin = Reporter Song Jeong-heon @sportschosun.com/2025.07.07/

The national soccer team played its first match against China at Yongin Mir Stadium on the 7th. Kaotengi, the Chinese national team, is receiving a yellow card for a rough foul by Lee Dong-kyung in the first half. Yongin = Reporter Song Jeong-heon @sportschosun.com/2025.07.07/

The Chinese media made a forced claim despite the defeat against Korea.

China's Sohu reported on the 11th (Korea time) 'According to official data, the Chinese national soccer team had a clear advantage in fighting spirit and game management'

China has recently suffered a crushing defeat and criticism is pouring in. It is Korea that caused a crushing defeat to China. The Chinese national team, led by acting coach Dejan Djurjevic, was completely defeated 0-3 in the first match of the 2025 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (hereinafter referred to as the East Asian Cup) against the South Korean national soccer A team at Mir Stadium in Yongin on the 7th.

The national soccer team played its first match against China at Yongin Mir Stadium on the 7th. Kim Moon-hwan of the national team is trying to break through vigorously. Yongin = Reporter Song Jeong-heon @sportschosun.com/2025.07.07/

Ahead of the game, some hopeful prospects appeared in the Chinese media. Expectations were high because all European teams, the mainstay of the Korean national team, were excluded. Chinese media also predicted that `China, where the fighting spirit of young players is prominent, can expect to make an extraordinary change against South Korea with a result of about 1-0.'

The game only showed an overwhelming gap. China, which lost a point to Lee Dong-kyung in the eighth minute of the first half, was shaken by allowing an additional goal to Joo Min-kyu in the 21st minute of the first half. In the 11th minute of the second half, Kim Joo-sung scored a net goal and completely collapsed. It was also urgent to defend, and it was safe to say that there was virtually no threatening attack scene. China has recently faced disastrous consequences for both South Korea and Japan due to the defeat. Earlier, China lost to Japan 0-7 in the third qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup.

Chinese soccer commentator Liu Chenhong said after the defeat against Korea that "Korean soccer is first in Asia. Chinese soccer is now a third-rate player in Asia." Chinese fans also pointed out that "'Korea-China face-off would have been a face-off at the level of our match against Myanmar.'"

However, some Chinese media outlets have argued in favor of the Chinese national team. Sohu said 'China did not beat South Korea, but there was no doubt about its fighting spirit. According to official statistics after the game, South Korea dominated in teamwork, personal ability, and efficiency. However, in some indicators, China has rather gained the upper hand. China overwhelmed South Korea in dribbling success, total running distance, and number of sprints. China jumped more than Korea, and the number of sprints was 573, surpassing Korea's 462. It shows the great efforts of the Chinese players."

However, it is unclear whether these indicators can really be seen as the result that China is partially better than Korea. The index of simply running a lot and the number of sprints are inevitably necessary to close the gap even a little, showing China's lower performance than Korea. Considering the helplessness in the attack, it is not easy to say that the fighting spirit was also better.

Meanwhile, China is set to play the second round of the East Asian Cup against Japan at Yongin Mir Stadium on the 12th. If Japan easily collapses, efforts to win the spirit will also become more difficult.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.