This image captured from the official X page of the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) shows the final score of the match between Japan and Hong Kong at the EAFF E-1 Football Championship at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin Gyeonggi Province, on July 8, 2025. ( Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 8 (Korea Bizwire) — Japan pounded Hong Kong 6-1 to begin their title defense at the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Football Championship in South Korea on Tuesday.
Ryo Germain scored four times in his first match for Japan, while Sho Inagaki and Sota Nakamura added a goal apiece for the convincing victory at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, 40 kilometers south of Seoul.
South Korea kicked off the four-nation EAFF competition with a 3-0 victory over China on Monday.
South Korea will next play Hong Kong on Friday, and Japan will face China on Saturday. Then it will be Hong Kong against China at 4 p.m. next Tuesday, followed by the South Korea-Japan showdown at 7:24 p.m. the same evening. All men’s matches will be played at Yongin Mireu Stadium.
This is the 10th edition of the top EAFF tournament. South Korea have won five titles, while Japan and China have each won two.
Germain, born to an American father and a Japanese mother, netted twice in the first 10 minutes of the match. After Inagaki made it 3-0 in the 20th minute, Germain completed his hat trick in the 22nd minute and added a fourth goal for good measure four minutes later.
Matt Orr scored Hong Kong’s lone goal in the 59th minute. It was Hong Kong’s first goal at the E-1 Championship since 2003.
(Yonhap)
