S. Korea coach keen to check new defenders at East Asian soccer event
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, July 6 (Yonhap) — South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo stated Sunday he’ll use the upcoming regional soccer event on dwelling soil to check new faces on protection.
South Korea will tackle China, Hong Kong and Japan on the East Asian Soccer Federation (EAFF) E-1 Soccer Championship, beginning Monday. Because the EAFF event is not on FIFA’s official worldwide match calendar, golf equipment have been underneath no obligation to launch their gamers for this window — leaving the collaborating international locations to rely closely on their home leagues to fill out their squads.
For Hong’s 26-man squad, 23 gamers come from the Ok League 1. Within the days main as much as the occasion, Hong has repeatedly stated the EAFF occasion might be a possibility to check new gamers with the FIFA World Cup lower than a 12 months away.
Gamers and head coaches for the groups competing on the East Asian Soccer Federation E-1 Soccer Championship pose for images after their press convention at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on July 6, 2025. From left: China head coach Dejan Djurdjevic and ahead Zhang Yuning; South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo and defender Park Jin-seob; Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu and defender Yuto Nagatomo; and Hong Kong head coach Ashley Westwood and defender Lee Ka Ho. (Yonhap)
At his pretournament press convention Sunday, Hong particularly stated he was trying ahead to experimenting with totally different combos on protection.
Of the ten South Korean defenders right here, 5 of them haven’t any prior expertise with the senior nationwide staff.
“For our protection, I’ve chosen some younger gamers who’ve an opportunity to play on the World Cup subsequent 12 months,” Hong stated at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, some 40 kilometers south of Seoul and the venue for all three South Korean matches. “How these gamers develop throughout this event and over the following 12 months till the World Cup might be a vital level for the nationwide staff. I believe this event might be a fantastic alternative to guage our defenders comprehensively.”
For the protection corps, Park Jin-seob would be the senior voice at age 29 with six caps underneath his belt. Named vice captain for this event, Park stated the gamers are attempting to benefit from their alternative.
“I believe we’ll all attempt our greatest to capitalize on this opportunity and placed on good performances,” Park stated. “Our goal is to win each match and win the trophy.”
South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo speaks throughout a press convention forward of the East Asian Soccer Federation E-1 Soccer Championship at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on July 6, 2025. (Yonhap)
South Korea test in at No. 23 within the newest FIFA rankings, behind solely the Fifteenth-ranked Japan on this event. China (93rd) and Hong Kong (153rd) might be heavy underdogs.
However Hong insisted there will not be any simple match.
“Every staff right here is in a distinct state of affairs, and I believe it is going to be an essential competitors for everybody each by way of the current and the longer term,” Hong stated. “This won’t be a simple event for us, however we’ll attempt to overcome our challenges and ship good outcomes.”
Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu stated though he has totally different gamers available than in the course of the latest Asian World Cup qualifiers, given the absence of his Europe-based veterans, the target for his staff hasn’t modified.
“We’ll play every match to win. The expertise on this event will make my staff and my gamers higher,” he stated. “I would like my gamers who might be on this event to enhance themselves for the World Cup subsequent 12 months.”
Yuto Nagatomo, the oldest Japanese participant right here at 38, stated he’ll attempt to lead the dozen new nationwide staff gamers by instance.
South Korea defender Park Jin-seob speaks throughout a press convention forward of the East Asian Soccer Federation E-1 Soccer Championship at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on July 6, 2025. (Yonhap)
“The Japan staff has a whole lot of gamers in Europe, and they’re the core members. However we’ve got good gamers within the home league as nicely. We might like to point out our talents,” the FC Tokyo defender stated. “I would wish to share my expertise with the younger gamers and present them my enjoying model.”
Dejan Djurdjevic, head coach for China, additionally has a number of worldwide rookies available and stated the objective is to “carry out in addition to doable.”
Chinese language ahead Zhang Yuning stated his staff is within the midst of transition, with some older gamers having retired from worldwide play, and the EAFF occasion might be an opportunity for a contemporary begin.
“Our objective is unquestionably to reform our staff,” the 28-year-old stated. “We now have many elderly gamers which have give up the nationwide staff, and lots of new gamers have joined us. This can be a superb probability to study one another and to know what the pinnacle coach’s plans are. I will even assist new gamers develop into good nationwide staff gamers as quickly as doable.”
Hong Kong’s Ashley Westwood stated he does not have “an excessive amount of expectation” on the EAFF event, given the discrepancy in expertise ranges between his staff and the remainder.
“We now have nothing to lose,” he stated. “We’re simply going to relish and revel in testing ourselves in opposition to some elite sides in Asia.”
His defender Lee Ka Ho, about to make his worldwide debut at age 32, stated he’ll attempt to benefit from the expertise but additionally play nicely in order that “I can return to the nationwide staff subsequent time.”
“We’re up in opposition to some good opposition for high-intensity matches,” he stated. “We’ll use them as our preparation for the Asian Cup qualifiers.”
jeeho@yna.co.kr
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