Lee Ho-jae of South Korea celebrates after scoring against Hong Kong during the teams’ second match of the East Asian Football Federation E-1 Football Championship at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on July 11, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 11 (Korea Bizwire) — The host country South Korea beat Hong Kong 2-0 for their second straight victory at the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Football Championship on Friday.
Kang Sang-yoon and Lee Ho-jae each scored their first international goals for the winning side at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, some 40 kilometers south of Seoul. South Korea improved to 23 wins, five draws and two losses against Hong Kong, with the last loss having come in 1958.
South Korea opened the four-nation competition by beating China 3-0 on Monday. They will close out the event against Japan at 7:24 p.m. Tuesday at Yongin Mireu Stadium.
Japan, who beat Hong Kong 6-1 on Tuesday, are scheduled to play China at 7:24 p.m. on Saturday, also at Yongin.
With Japan favored in that match, the EAFF title will likely come down to the South Korea-Japan showdown on Tuesday.
This is the 10th edition of the top EAFF tournament and South Korea are going for their sixth title, while Japan are seeking their third title.
Of the four teams here, Japan are the top team in the FIFA rankings at No. 17, followed by South Korea at No. 23, China at No. 94 and Hong Kong at No. 147.
After seizing control of the match early, South Korea solved Hong Kong’s defense in the 27th minute with Kang Sang-yoon’s first career goal.
With defender Shinichi Chan draped over him, Kang received Seo Min-woo’s pass with his back to the goal, before turning and firing home a right-footed shot through Chan’s wickets and into the bottom left corner.
Na Sang-ho nearly doubled South Korea’s lead in the 43rd minute with a header set up by Lee Seung-won’s cross, but goalkeeper Yapp Hung Fai kept the ball out with a desperation save.
Then during stoppage time, Seo and Kang tried to connect for their second goal, though Kang airmailed his left-footed shot from inside the box.
Lee Ho-jae’s first goal for South Korea put the home team up 2-0 in the 67th minute. The big forward fought off Chan as he headed home a cross from substitute Moon Seon-min, ending a long stretch of quiet play for South Korea.
Seo Min-woo of South Korea (R) dribbles the ball with Michael Udebuluzor of Hong Kong guarding him during the teams’ second match of the East Asian Football Federation E-1 Football Championship at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on July 11, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Moon tried to get on the scoresheet himself in the 77th minute, when he snuck behind the defense for an open look on the left side of the box but couldn’t put it past Yapp.
Moon was denied by Yapp again from close range in the 82nd minute, and Jeong Seung-won, making his debut as a substitute, misfired off the rebound.
Hong Kong tried to push back in late minutes but South Korea preserved their clean-sheet victory.
South Korea outshot Hong Kong 6-0, and held a 20-3 edge in shot attempts.
The EAFF tournament isn’t on FIFA’s international match calendar and clubs thus aren’t obliged to release their players. The four participating nations here brought players based in their domestic leagues or other Asian leagues.
For South Korea, 23 players ply their trade in the K League and three others play out of Japan’s J1 League. These players are also auditioning for spots on the squad for next year’s FIFA World Cup.
In the absence of national team mainstays from Europe or the Middle East, six players made their international debuts for South Korea in Monday’s match. For Friday, head coach Hong Myung-bo changed his entire starting lineup, with five players — Cho Hyun-taek, Seo Myung-gwan, Kim Tae-hyun, Kim Tae-hyeon and Byeon Jun-soo — earning their first caps.
FC Machida Zelvia midfielder Na Sang-ho, the veteran in the group with 29 caps, made his first appearance since June 2023. Goalkeeper Lee Chang-geun played only for the third time. Four players who collected their first caps as substitutes Monday — Kang Sang-yoon, Lee Seung-won, Seo Min-woo and Lee Ho-jae — all received their first career starts.
(Yonhap)
