Kang Sang-yoon of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors controls the ball during a K League 1 match against Suwon FC at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, on June 17, 2025, in this file photo provided by the Korea Professional Football League. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The host country South Korea added three players each to their men’s and women’s teams for an upcoming regional football tournament Thursday, after the event’s organizers expanded squads to account for hot and humid summer conditions here.
The Korea Football Association (KFA) said the July 7-16 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Football Championship will now feature 26 players per team, up from the initial 23.
Coached by Hong Myung-bo, the men’s team added Daejeon Hana Citizen forward Joo Min-kyu, Gangwon FC midfielder Mo Jae-hyeon and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors midfielder Kang Sang-yoon.
Joo, a two-time K League 1 scoring champion, has collected nine caps, while Mo and Kang have been called up for the first time.
The women’s team, coached by Shin Sang-woo, added three players from the domestic WK League: Hwacheon KSPO defender Lee Min-hwa, Changnyeong WFC midfielder Lee Eun-young and Seoul City Hall midfielder Kim Min-ji, the only international rookie of this trio.
In the men’s competition, South Korea will start out against China at 8 p.m. on July 7, followed by Hong Kong at 8 p.m. on July 11 and then Japan at 7:24 p.m. on July 15. All men’s matches will be played at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, some 40 kilometers south of Seoul.
South Korea won the men’s EAFF titles in 2003, 2008, 2015, 2017 and 2019.
On the women’s side, South Korea will host China at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, some 30 kilometers south of Seoul, to begin the women’s competition at 8 p.m. on July 9. They will then play Japan at 8 p.m. on July 13 at Hwaseong Stadium in Hwaseong, just south of Suwon. The finale will be against Chinese Taipei at 7:30 p.m. on July 16 at Suwon.
South Korea’s lone EAFF women’s title came in 2005.
(Yonhap)
