Coach Hong Myung-bo Proud Despite Defeat: "We Won in Content. Japan Couldn't Show Their Strengths."

[Financial News]  Korea bowed to Japan once again. However, Coach Hong Myung-bo heated up the press conference by saying, "We played better than Japan."
The Korean national soccer team lost 0-1 to Japan in the final third match of the 2025 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) held at Yongin Mir Stadium on the 15th. The goal conceded in the 8th minute of the first half became the decisive goal that Korea could not catch up with. With 2 wins and 1 loss (6 points), Korea was pushed to runner-up by Japan, which had 3 consecutive wins (9 points).
In the match, Korea attempted a turnaround by bringing in Lee Ho-jae (Pohang) and Oh Se-hun (Machida) for aerial battles, but ultimately failed to open Japan's goal. Although they were dominant in possession (58%-42%) and shots (9-4), there was no decisive 'goal'.
However, Coach Hong Myung-bo's evaluation after the match differed from the reality of the scoreboard. He was firm. "Looking at both teams, we did better. Japan couldn't show their strengths. They didn't trouble our defense at all, and there were hardly any threatening scenes," he said.
Coach Hong even described the defeat as "a match where we saw hope," continuing his positive evaluation. "Our players showed sufficiently good performance. Japan is a team that has been using their national team manual for a long time, but we used the three-back for only the third time. Even in that situation, we showed enough potential."
Tactically, he acknowledged the difficulty in the first half against the opponent's midfield. "There were times when the gap between our midfielders and defenders widened. Although we didn't give away important chances, it's something we need to improve," he said.
In this tournament, Coach Hong assessed the potential of the three-back system and domestic players prepared as 'Plan B'. "In the world stage, Plan B is necessary. In this tournament, we discovered competitive players among the domestic ones. More than five players will show competitiveness in the World Cup finals," he emphasized.




jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter