'Return Goal Scorer'Jo Min-gyu (Daejeon Hana Citizen) takes the lead in the Chinese defeat.
South Korea's men's A team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, will play the first match of the 2025 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) against China at Yongin Mir Stadium on the 7th. The East Asian Cup took its first step 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.
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."
Then "Each team in this competition may have different situations, but they are all important competitions for the present and the future. It's not going to be easy, but I'll do my best to get good results in every game."
Park Jin-seop (30, Jeonbuk Hyundai), who is vice-captain of this competition, said "Many new players have been called up. It's a great opportunity for everyone. I believe all players will prepare well and show good performance to take this opportunity. The goal is to win the championship." The first opponent is China. In terms of objective power, South Korea is far ahead. The opponent's record is incomparable with 23 wins, 13 draws, and two losses. In the FIFA rankings, South Korea is 23rd and China 94th. China also failed to advance to the finals at the North-China World Cup, which has expanded to 48 countries. Hong Myung-bo made it to the World Cup finals for the 11th time in a row.
A public certificate is valid. Korean soccer has won five consecutive games against China. We also met twice in the second Asian qualifying round for the North-China World Cup and laughed both times. In the most recent showdown on June 11 last year, Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) won 1-0 with the winning goal.
In China, the head coach is vacant due to the replacement of head coach Branko Ivankovic. Dejan Djurjevic, who is leading China's U-20 (under 20), took the temporary helm. China, which has declared a fresh start, has selected a large number of `young blood' born in the 2000s. Thirteen prospects, including Wang Yu-dong (Zhengzi), Ryu Cheong-yu (Shanghai Shenhua), and Kwai Ji-won (Shanghai Haigang), who were born in 2006, were named in the A-team. Coach Djurjevic said on the 6th that he was happy to participate in the competition. Congratulations on advancing to the World Cup finals between Korea and Japan. There are a few new players participating in the tournament. "I hope you show good performance through this tournament. All three teams have strong power. I want to do my best to show better performances" he said.
The test is focused on, but the result is also not to be missed. For Hong Myung-bo, who aims to win, winning the first game is important. Hong pulled out a 3-4-3 card. Joo Min-gyu is at the forefront. Joo Min-kyu, wearing the late Taegeuk mark, has been in charge of the front line of the A national team for a while, but has recently slowed down. Initially, it was not included in the list of this tournament, but the entry was expanded and additional tickets were issued. This is the last chance for Joo Min-kyu, who is trying to participate in the World Cup. Moon Sun-min (FC Seoul) and Lee Dong-kyung (Kim Cheon, managing director) will play left and right wings. Lee Dong-kyung is expected to move freely to and from the center.
Kim Jin-kyu (Jeonbuk Hyundai) and Kim Bong-soo (Daejeon) will be in the midfield. Kim Jin-kyu, who recently showed his best performance in Jeonbuk, was included in the A-match list in June. In the match against Iraq, he scored the winning goal. I was given another chance. The partner is Kim Bong-soo. Kim Bong-soo will make his A-match debut on the same day. It looks like it will play a defensive role.
Lee Tae-seok (Pohang Steelers) and Kim Moon-hwan (Daejeon) are located at 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 will play in the national team uniform for the first time in eight months since the match against Palestine in November last year.
The three-back will be made up of Kim Joo-sung (Seoul), Park Jin-seop and Park Seung-wook (Pohang). Park Jin-seop is expected to be in the center to play a role between defensive midfielders and center backs. Depending on his position, he can also switch to 4-3-3. Kim Joo-sung, who showed good performance in the final match of the third round of the North Korea-China World Cup qualifying round against Kuwait, was called back, and Park Seung-wook, who was recently discharged from the military, will be tested as a three-back resource. Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan HD), the undisputed gatekeeper who was the best player in the last Club World Cup, will continue to defend the goal.
Kang Sang-yoon, Kim Tae-hyun (Jeonbuk), Seo Myeong-gwan (Ulsan), Lee Ho-jae (Pohang), Lee Seung-won (Kimcheon), and Byun Jun-su (Gwangju), who were selected for the first time, will start on the bench.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
