Team China finish third at East Asian Cup

Team China finished third after edging past Hong Kong, China 1-0 in its final match at the 2025 EAFF E-1 Football Championship on Tuesday, while Japan defeated host South Korea to top the standings with three consecutive wins and retained its championship title.

Zhang Yuning (L) of China competes during the men's match between China and China's Hong Kong at the EAFF (East Asian Football Federation) E-1 Football Championship 2025 Final in Yongin city, South Korea, July 15, 2025. (Xinhua/Yao Qilin)

In the clash between Team China and Hong Kong, the deadlock was broken in the 20th minute when Huang Zhengyu converted a close-range finish following a well-coordinated team move, assisted by Zhang Yuning just outside the box.

China continued to press in the second half, increasing the tempo and creating several attacking opportunities before China eventually held on for a 1-0 win at the final whistle.

Japan topped the table of the four-team men's tournament with three wins and nine points, followed by South Korea on six points from two wins. China placed third with one win and two losses while Hong Kong, China finished bottom with three straight defeats.

China's caretaker manager Dejan Djurdjevic said after the match that the East Asian Cup provided valuable experience against strong opponents. "In such tough games, we are trying to build a team by blending young and veteran players, so that people can see the future of the national team and Chinese football."

Chinese goalkeeper Yan Junling echoed the view, noting that the team had two main goals at this tournament - to give young players game time and to let them experience the tempo in major competition.

"Many of them played for the national team for the first time, and we actually improved match by match. Hopefully, they can take away valuable lessons from these three games," he said.

Captain Zhang Yuning said after the game that facing top Asian teams like Japan and South Korea highlighted the need to further raise the intensity of domestic league matches.

"I believe that as we continue to build chemistry through future games, we will have better prospects heading into tournaments like the Asian Cup and the World Cup," said Zhang.