Moriya's Humble Assessment After Victory in Korea-Japan Match

Japan's national football team coach, Hajime Moriya, expressed respect for the opposing team after defeating Korea 1-0 to win the 2025 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Football Championship (East Asian Cup).

Coach Moriya stated, "It wouldn't have been strange for either team to win. The Korean team was also excellent," displaying a humble demeanor.

This was in stark contrast to Coach Hong Myung-bo's post-match comments, where he claimed, "Our players performed better than Japan."

After the victory against Korea in the final match held at Yongin Mir Stadium on the afternoon of the 15th, Moriya explained the significance of the win during a press conference, saying, "We approached this tournament and this match with pride for Japan, representing Japan, and the players executed that, which led to our victory and championship."

"We approached this tournament and this match with pride for Japan, representing Japan, and the players executed that, which led to our victory and championship."

Mixed Evaluations from Both Coaches

Regarding the match against Korea, Moriya noted, "It was very difficult from the beginning, and both teams displayed their qualities." He added, "At times we were under attack, but our players didn’t forget to attempt to attack while defending."

He evaluated that the Japanese players "showed resilience and exceeded the individual abilities of the Korean players and the power of the team," but he did not forget to show respect for the opposing team.

Moriya remarked, "Today’s match could have gone either way. It was very intense, fierce, and a high-level game."

He continued, "Not just us, but Coach Hong Myung-bo has done excellent team building and gameplay in the World Cup qualifiers. I think the Korean team is also outstanding."

On the other hand, Coach Hong Myung-bo, in the press conference following the loss, said, "I regret the result and am disappointed with the goal we conceded, but the players showed sufficient good performance."

He concluded, "Overall, when looking at the two teams today, I believe our players performed better than Japan."

Coach Hong claimed, "Japan did not manage to show their advantages today," asserting, "Apart from the goal, Japan did not trouble our defenders at all."

Korea's Disappointing Defeat and Humiliating Record

In this match, Korea failed to recover from the deciding goal allowed to Jurman Ryo in the 8th minute of the first half, facing a 0-1 defeat. Contrary to Hong Myung-bo's assessment that "we performed better," Korea managed only one effective shot on goal throughout the 90 minutes.

Although Korea took the initiative in the second half, they could not break through Japan's solid defense.

As a result of this defeat, Korea ended the tournament with 2 wins and 1 loss (6 points), missing out on the championship to Japan, who achieved 3 wins. While Japan secured back-to-back victories after winning in 2022, Korea failed to win the title for two consecutive tournaments.

This marked the first time in 12 years that Japan's victory celebration was held on Korean soil.

Even more disappointing is that Korea set an infamous record of three consecutive losses in Korea-Japan matches, along with three matches without scoring, following a 0-3 defeat in the 2021 A-match friendly and a 0-3 loss in the 2022 E-1 Championship.

This is the first time in the history of Korea-Japan matches that Korea has experienced three consecutive losses.

Image Sources: Hajime Moriya, Japan national football team coach / News1; Japanese national football team players celebrating after victory / News1; Hong Myung-bo, Korea national football team coach / News1; Korean national football team players expressing disappointment right after the loss / News1