Striker. Hong Myung-bo's method of defeating the Korean national team is exactly the same as the three-game losing streak between Korea and Japan

Aug 20, 2025

The E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) match between South Korea and Japan at Yongin Mir Stadium in Gyeonggi Province on the afternoon of the 15th. Japan won the championship with a 1-0 victory. MVP winner Ryo Germain holds the trophy. Yongin = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.7.15/

Germain Ryo was expecting how he would score against South Korea.

In July, disgraceful history was made on Korean soil. South Korea, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, lost 0-1 in the final match of the 2025 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) against Japan at Yongin Mir Stadium in Gyeonggi Province. It was the day when the painful record of the first three consecutive losses in the history of the Korea-Japan war was set. It was also bitter to lose the East Asian Cup title to Korea after losing to Japan.

The player who put a dagger in Korea was Germain, a mixed-race striker who was selected for Japan's national team through the East Asian Cup. Germain, who had been unusual since his debut with four goals in the match against Hong Kong, also scored a goal in the match against Korea, winning the most valuable player and top scorer at the same time.

The E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) match between South Korea and Japan at Yongin Mir Stadium in Gyeonggi Province on the afternoon of the 15th. Japan's Germain is cheering after scoring the first goal. Yongin = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.7.15/

During the match between Korea and Japan, Germain scored the first goal in the 8th minute of the first half when he finished off Yuki Soma's cross with a sharp non-stop shot in Japan's counterattack. It was a pity that Korea could not control it because the combination of Germain and Yuki was Japan's main scoring route. Japan defended Germain's score well and gave South Korea a defeat.

Asked to recall the winning goal he scored in the match against Korea in an interview with Japan's Sportiva on the 20th, Germain only hit it because Yuki put in a good ball. In the match against Hong Kong, he also scored two goals from Yuki's cross, which was high in cross quality. Yuki is a player who can dribble through, so it's easy to know when the cross comes up. In the match against Korea, if I could score a goal, I would be in the form of hitting Yuki's cross, and I did image training the day before, and it was exactly the same."

Based on his good performance at the East Asian Cup, Germain strengthened his will to go to next year's World Cup. "I think Yuto (Nagatomo) and Yuki, who have experience playing for the national team, would have been conscious of next year's World Cup." But I was the first national team, and first of all, I thought about producing results and winning this tournament."

Then "I think I was able to make some impact as a result of putting all my energy into this East Asian Cup rather than next year's World Cup." It is fortunate that the approach to the tournament has led to the result."

Germain showed outstanding performance in the East Asian Cup, but it is still unclear whether he will be able to play in the World Cup as a member of the Japanese national team. This is because Japan's representative strikers and second-line resources are all active in Europe. It is possible for Germain to continue his performance beyond European leagues in the Japanese J-League in the future, but the practical difficulty is too high.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.