South Korea dominate China in East Asian Cup opener

China's men's football team suffered a 3-0 defeat to hosts South Korea in their opening match of the 2025 EAFF E-1 Football Championship, also known as the East Asian Cup on Monday.

Wang Yudong (L) of China vies with Park Seungwook of South Korea during a match at the EAFF (East Asian Football Federation) E-1 Football Championship 2025 Final in Yongin, South Korea, July 7, 2025. (Photo by Jun Hyosang/Xinhua)

South Korea dominated throughout the match, continuously stretching China's defense with their efficient passing, possession play and changes of tempo. In the eighth minute, South Korea's Lee Dong-gyeong opened the scoring with a powerful left-footed strike from outside the box. In the 21st minute, Joo Min-kyu doubled the lead with a header, giving South Korea a 2-0 advantage at halftime.

After the break, China managed to regain some attacking momentum. However, in the 57th minute, Kim Ju-sung sealed the victory for South Korea by firing home from close range after a corner kick to make it 3-0.

Under caretaker manager Dejan Djurdjevic, the Chinese team fielded several young players in this tournament. Among them, 2006-born youngsters Kuai Jiwen and Wang Yudong were named in the starting lineup.

Djurdjevic said after the match that he had tried to implement some changes, especially at the start of the match, but facing such a strong opponent proved very challenging.

"They (South Korea) scored early and played very smoothly, which put us under a lot of pressure," Djurdjevic said. He admitted that his team didn't perform well enough but he still appreciated all players' efforts on the pitch.

He said that it was normal to be restricted by such a strong team like South Korea. "This just isn't the right time for an in-depth analysis of the game. We need to make sure our players are ready and in better conditions for the upcoming matches," he added. "Some players were unable to take part in this match due to injuries, so we had to make the best use of the squad we had."

He acknowledged that South Korea fully deserved their win, as they were obviously the stronger side overall. "We might have performed slightly better in the second half, but that's probably because our opponents relaxed a bit and slowed their tempo after taking the lead."

The East Asian Cup is being held from July 7th to 16th in Suwon and Yongin of South Korea's Gyeonggi Province, with four men's teams participating: China, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong, China. China is scheduled to play against Japan on Saturday.