Korea-Japan Friendship that Shines in the Soccer World Lee Jae-sung scored the UECL final goal, praised his Japanese teammates...Lee Jae-sung, Japanese media, gave credit to Sano's help

Nov 07, 2025

Mainz's Lee Jae-sung celebrates his side's second goal during the Europa Conference League match between Mainz and Fiorentina in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)<저작권자(c) Yonhap News, 무단 전재-재배포, AI 학습 및 활용 금지>

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FSV Mainz 05's Jae-sung Lee, third from left, celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against Fiorentina during a Conference League soccer match, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in Mainz, Germany. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP) GERMANY OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT <저작권자(c) Yonhap News, 무단 전재-재배포,

'Korea-Japan collaboration succeeded.'

A friendship collaboration between Korea and Japan, directed on the soccer board, is drawing attention.

Japanese soccer media 'Scar Digest' reported on the 7th that Germany's Mainz won 2-1 in the third European Europa Conference League (UECL) League phase game between Fiorentina (Italy) in the 2025-2026 season, emphasizing the collaboration between Korean national team Lee Jae-sung and Japanese national team Sano Kaishu.

This media outlet thanks '"99% Kaishu"South Korea's representative MF for the 95th minute winning goal, thank you for the exquisite assist Sano!It drew attention under the title '.

Currently, Kawasaki Hayata, as well as Sano, is playing as a Japanese player in Mainz. Kawasaki started the game on the day, and Lee Jae-sung and Sano played as substitutes in the 15th minute of the second half when they were being dragged 0-1.

Kawasaki, who did not get a chance to play in the Bundesliga, played full-time, while Sano, who played full-time in the league, played as a substitute. He introduced Sano's performance, saying, "He did a great job even though he was a substitute."

TOPSHOT - Mainz' Japanese midfielder #06 Kaishu Sano (L) and Stuttgart's German midfielder #10 Chris Fuehrich vie for the ball during the German Cup (DFB Pokal) second round football match between Mainz 05 and VfB Stuttgart in Mainz, south-western Germany on October 29, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP) / DFB REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND QUASI-VIDEO. Copyright (c) Yonhap News, Unauthorized Reproduction-Redistribution, No Learning and Utilization of AI>

Sano's performance was even more brilliant with Lee Jae-sung's finishing. Lee Jae-sung helped Benedict Hollerbach's equalizer with a pass from the right side of the penalty arc in the 23rd minute of the second half. In the fifth minute of extra time in the second half, Sano scored a cross from the left side with a 'signature' header from the gate, leading to a thrilling come-from-behind victory. This is the first time Lee Jae-sung has scored help and goals in UECL.

Lee Jae-sung, of course, was selected as a coach after the game and interviewed, and it seems that it was impressive for Japanese media to thank Sano for helping the winning goal.

According to the UEFA official website, Lee Jae-sung thanked his teammate (Sano) for assisting his winning run in a post-match interview.

Lee Jae-sung said "These results are definitely a great thing. I feel really good. I was able to play better in the second half with my motivation to win. Ninety-nine percent of the winning goals I scored are due to Sano's cross."

Lee Jae-sung then said, `I think today's victory will help Mainz play Bundesliga and UECL in the future"As time went on, I honestly thought, "Will I be able to compete in the European competition?" I came to Germany dreaming of a European competition, but I thought it might be difficult, but thankfully, I had a good performance last season, so I'm going to participate in this year's European competition."

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.