After saying goodbye to the 2026 World Cup dream early, the Chinese team continued to sink deeper into crisis with a heavy defeat to South Korea in the opening match of the EAFF Cup 2025 taking place on the evening of July 7.
Without Son Heung-min or Lee Kang-in, the Korean team still shows superior strength with a squad of all players competing domestically.
Against a Chinese team that was discouraged and almost unresistant, the Korean team only needed 8 minutes to penetrate the opponent's net. The goalkeeper was midfielder Lee Dong-gyeong.
In the 21st minute, Joo Min-kyu scored a double. In the 56th minute, Kim Ju-sung scored the third goal for the Korean team. Despite their efforts, the time was not enough for the Chinese players to create a surprise. In the end, the Korean team defeated China with a score of 3-0.
This defeat marked the fourth defeat in the last five matches of the Chinese team. The prolonged crisis has caused fans of this country to gradually lose faith in the national team. Many criticisms were directed towards interim coach Dejan Durdevic and his team.
"We are under great pressure from the opponent's machant play. Some players are also unable to play due to injury. The important thing now is to prepare well for the next match," Mr. Dejan Durdevic shared after the match.
However, with opponents like South Korea or Japan in superior form, the failure on the opening day made the Chinese team assessed to have very little chance to win the championship.
This year's East Asian Championship brings together 4 teams: Korea, Japan, China and Hong Kong (China). The teams will compete in a round-robin format from July 7 to July 15.
