Six A-match debut + three-back operation, test that couldn't have been better

Jul 07, 2025

Six A-match debut  three-back operation, test that couldn't have been better
The national soccer team played its first match against China at Yongin Mir Stadium on the 7th. Coach Hong Myung-bo watching the game. Yongin = Reporter Song Jeong-heon @sportschosun.com/2025.07.07/



Six A-match debut  three-back operation, test that couldn't have been better
The national soccer team played its first match against China at Yongin Mir Stadium on the 7th. Kim Joo-sung of the national team, who scored the third goal of the second half of the team. Yongin = Reporter Song Jeong-heon @sportschosun.com/2025.07.07/
The new experiment was perfect, too.

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.

The East Asian Cup is the starting point for preparations for the 2026 North Korea-China World Cup. Hong defined the East Asian Cup as 'war'. At a press conference for the tournament held on the 6th, Hong said, `Young players who have a chance to participate in next year's World Cup joined the team. Not only this tournament, but what we will show over the next year is a very important point for our team. "I think it's a competition where we can evaluate the overall part of those players. Now we're at war." Coach Hong selected as many as nine new faces ahead of this tournament.




Six A-match debut  three-back operation, test that couldn't have been better
The national soccer team played its first match against China at Yongin Mir Stadium on the 7th. Kim Joo-sung of the national team, who scored the third goal of the second half of the team. Yongin = Reporter Song Jeong-heon @sportschosun.com/2025.07.07/
In the first match of the tournament against China, Hong pulled out a somewhat conservative lineup. Most of the players with experience in the third qualifying round for the North Korea-China World Cup played. Only central midfielder Kim Bong-soo (Daejeon Hana Citizen) made his A-match debut. Kim Bong-soo, who worked with Kim Jin-kyu (Jeonbuk), showed his unique stable game management. Protecting the three-back, he played the game with a precise pass. There were not many scenes where the opponent's offense was weak, but he distributed the ball stably without being embarrassed by the opponent's pressure.

As the score began to widen, Hong used a large number of new faces. Kang Sang-yoon (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Lee Ho-jae (Pohang Steelers), Seo Min-woo, Mo Jae-hyun (Gangwon FC), and Lee Seung-won (Kimcheon) took turns on the ground. Kang Sang-yoon was noticeable as the left wing, not the center, and Mo Jae-hyun as the right wingback. Kang Sang-yoon shot a ground ball cross from the right with two sharp penetrations, but it was a pity that he could not score.

Seo Min-woo also showed his forward play, which is well-known in the league, in the national team, and Lee Ho-jae did not score but created a chance with sharp movements. Hong Myung-bo, who had five bird faces auditioned, caught two rabbits: the result and the test. All of them showed off their skills, igniting competition for the national team.




Coach Hong even succeeded in the three-back card that he ambitiously took out on the day, completing both the player and tactical tests successfully. It is a bigger achievement than the result.



Reporter Park Chan-joon vanbasten@sportschosun.com






This article was translated by Naver AI translator.