Disgraceful Japan's Fatal Weakness, Korea's Perhaps More Serious Problem Son Heung-min Kim Min-jae Lee Kang-in Lee Jae-sung

Sep 11, 2025

Disgraceful Japan's Fatal Weakness, Korea's Perhaps More Serious Problem Son Heung-min Kim Min-jae Lee Kang-in Lee Jae-sung
The E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) match between South Korea and Hong Kong at Yongin Mir Stadium in Gyeonggi Province on the afternoon of the 11th. Coach Hong Myung-bo is waiting for the start of the game. Yongin = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.7.11/



In the two consecutive away games in the U.S., Japan felt the gap between the main and non-main games.

Japan was defeated 0-2 in a friendly match against the United States at Lowe Dotcom in Columbus, Ohio on the 10th (Korea time). Japan, which had a 0-0 draw against Mexico earlier, finished its schedule without winning two consecutive away games in the U.S.

It was expected that Japan would face a difficult situation on the road to the U.S. This is because there were a number of injuries ahead of the A match in September. Main center backs Hiroki Ito and Takehiro Tomiyasu are still far from returning. Center back Koki Machida (Hofenheim), who has emerged as the main player as Hiroki and Takehiro are out, also collapsed ahead of the U.S. expedition. Tanaka Ao (Liz United) and Hidemasa Morita (Sporting Lisbon), who will balance the team in the midfield, were also unable to play in the two consecutive U.S.-Mexico games.
Disgraceful Japan's Fatal Weakness, Korea's Perhaps More Serious Problem Son Heung-min Kim Min-jae Lee Kang-in Lee Jae-sung
Sportschosun DB
Due to a series of injuries, Japanese coach Hajime Moriyasu had no choice but to form an experimental list by selecting other European players who had not been called up often before. In the match against Mexico, he sent out key players, and in the match against the United States, he experimented with unfamiliar faces and tactics. The result is a great failure. The match against Mexico, which was close to the main battle, was okay, but Japan did not even take the lead in the match against the United States.




After the game, the problem that coach Hajime recognized was the gap between the main and non-main games. "The disappointment of defeat and the responsibility as a coach for defeat are very heavy. In Asia, I think we have definitely raised the level of Japan as a whole by fighting as a second and third-tier system and winning. But when we faced a world-class team like today, the answer came out as to whether we could really fight in a second- or third-tier system." In other words, he acknowledged that it is difficult to compete with world-class teams in the second and third divisions.

Regarding coach Hajime's remarks, the Japanese media Football Channel evaluated that it is undeniable that the difference in skills between the first team in the match against Mexico and the team in the match against the United States resulted in defeat.

This is something that the Japanese players directly acknowledged. Koki Ogawa, who plays for NEC Neimeheon in the Netherlands, said "Playing with players who don't usually play together, I think that small difference appeared in the game" and said directly that there was also a problem with the organization.
Disgraceful Japan's Fatal Weakness, Korea's Perhaps More Serious Problem Son Heung-min Kim Min-jae Lee Kang-in Lee Jae-sung
대한축구협회
These problems are not really unique to Japan. Korea can expose the same problem. Perhaps Korea, which has a smaller pool than Japan, is even more serious. South Korea more clearly recognized the importance of Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae and Lee Jae-sung through the U.S.-Mexico match. The team's stability and destructive power will change completely depending on whether the three players play or not.

It's something I don't even want to imagine, but I can't guarantee that all three players will play in the World Cup. There is no way if you get an unexpected injury in your team. Japan has many other European players, so I don't know how to find a replacement, but South Korea does not have the power to replace players such as Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae, Lee Jae-sung, Lee Kang-in and Hwang In-beom.

In the end, we have no choice but to hope that key players will not get hurt before the World Cup comes. There is also a way to fill the gap in core power with the coach's tactical ability, but ability such as goal determination and last defensive concentration is an area that the national team coach cannot improve. All countries are the same, but the departure of the core ace should not take place, especially in Korea, where ace dependence is high.






This article was translated by Naver AI translator.