Korea’s women victorious in EAFF E-1 Football Championship | OneFootball

South Korea’s women lifted the trophy at the EAFF E-1 Football Championship for the first time since 2005, when some members of the current squad hadn’t even been born. The result serves as a confidence booster for manager Shin Sangwoo and his squad as they look ahead to next year’s Asian Cup. It’s also an opportunity to reflect on the last 20 years of women’s football in Korea.(Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)

A (very) brief recap

The final round of the EAFF E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) saw four teams competing in a league format across three matchdays. In preliminary rounds held in late 2023, North Korea qualified to compete along with China, Japan and South Korea, but the team withdrew for undisclosed reasons and was replaced in the final round by Chinese Taipei.

The finals kicked off in Suwon last Wednesday afternoon with two-time defending champions Japan thrashing Chinese Taipei 4-0, sending a strong signal to their Chinese and Korean rivals that they wouldn’t be giving up their title easily. The hosts faced China in the evening, conceding early as Yao Wei intercepted a clearance on the edge of the box, with all the time and space she needed to get a clear shot on goal. As Korea settled into the game, they created plenty of attacking opportunities but failed to capitalise. Even when Kang Chaerim got a clear run at an open goal, she sent the ball agonisingly wide. When her header a few minutes later looked sure to be going into the net, she almost seemed to start celebrating, but somehow goalkeeper Pan Hongyan got her hands on it before it crossed the line. In the dying moments of the first half, Korea finally got the equaliser, with Jang Selgi pouncing on a loose ball in the box. In the second half, the visitors again took the lead, but Korea salvaged a draw thanks to a Ji Soyun wonder goal in injury time.

At Hwaseong Sports Complex last Sunday afternoon, Chinese Taipei scored twice to equalise with China, but their jubilation was short-lived as China netted two more in quick succession in the final minutes of the match. The evening saw Korea take on bitter rivals Japan in an intense match that drew the largest crowd of the women’s tournament. Shin Sangwoo made only one change to his starting lineup, with Kim Minji taking the place of Jeon Yugyeong, who was ruled out of the remaining matches after an injury in the opener. The hosts seemed to have the upper hand in the first half, but much like in their outing against China, they failed to finish any of the chances created. In contrast, Japan’s goal late in the first half seemed to come almost from nowhere, Narumiya Yui taking full advantage of an opportunity to surprise Korea’s defence with quick counterattacking play. Korea pressed the visitors aggressively in the second half, and Jeong Dabin finally levelled the score at 85 minutes. With the score at 1-1, the match became tense and frantic, with keeper Kim Minjung making a heroic triple save in added time to stop Japan from reclaiming the lead.

On the final day, back in Suwon, Japan and China both had the chance to wrap up the title with a win, but instead held each other to a goalless draw, a favourable outcome for the hosts. A win against Chinese Taipei, regardless of the score, would put Korea on equal points with both China and Japan, but head-to-head results would give Korea the advantage in a potential tiebreak. A draw or loss would see Japan lift the trophy for the third time in a row.

With a somewhat rotated starting eleven, Korea were dominant in the first half, with almost all of the action taking place in front of Chinese Taipei’s goal. Keeper Wang Yu-ting made some great saves, and the visitors almost caused an upset with a shot on goal late in the first half, but the score remained 0-0 at the break. Moon Eunju and Kang Chaerim were brought on as substitutes at half time, immediately making their presence felt but frustratingly still falling short in the final third. It wasn’t until Korea were awarded a penalty kick that fans finally got something to celebrate, with Ji Soyun stepping up to the spot to smash home her 74th international goal. Jang Selgi doubled the hosts’ lead at 85 minutes with a brilliant touch to direct Kim Hyeri’s cross into the back of the net, and the match ended 2-0, giving Korea’s women their first East Asian Cup title in 20 years.

Korea’s performance

Looking ahead to next year’s Asian Cup, there’s plenty for Korea’s women to be optimistic about. Recent international friendlies have been instrumental in allowing Shin Sangwoo to experiment with his squad, experimentation which bore fruit in the East Asian Cup. The team looked more comfortable with each other, playing with a fluidity that allowed more defensive players to drive the ball forward as their teammates seamlessly dropped back to cover their position. Korea also brought a renewed energy and intensity to all three matches, pressing their rivals high up the pitch and staying focused until the final whistle.

However, this squad still has a glaring issue when it comes to finishing, with dozens of attacking opportunities squandered through a lack of precision in front of goal. Even losing striker Jeon Yugyeong to injury is a thin excuse for the number of times Korea’s front line seemed to have a clear path to goal, only for the ball to soar over the crossbar or roll out wide. Korea’s most reliable goalscorers are not strikers, and the team’s strikers are not - or at least not yet - reliable goal scorers. Forwards Jeon Yugyeong, Jeong Dabin and Casey Yujin Phair are some of the youngest members of this squad and are yet to prove themselves at this level. Looking ahead to the Asian Cup, this is a concern. While it may make for thrilling watching when Jang Selgi or Ji Soyun saves the day at the eleventh hour, but last-minute wonder goals can hardly be relied upon to see the team through a major tournament.

Key players

Korea’s Jang Selgi was deservedly named tournament MVP. Whether dropping back to make a crucial clearance or surging forward to score a goal, Jang somehow seemed to be everywhere, all the time, showing no sign of exhaustion despite playing the full 90 minutes of all three matches. Youngster Jung Minyoung also played every minute, with a calmness and confidence that masks the fact that this was only her second outing with the senior national squad.

Another impressive performance came from Jung’s Seoul City teammate Kim Minji. Kim’s stamina and focus as she relentlessly charged down the opposition directly led to several shooting opportunities for Korea. Ji Soyun deserves all the praise she has got for her worldie against China, but it was Kim Minji who intercepted a pass to win back possession, then slipped the ball to Ji with impeccable timing to set up the shot — all this on her A match debut.

It would also be remiss not to mention goalkeeper Kim Minjung, for that triple save in the Japan match if nothing else. Kim was absent from the national squad under previous manager Colin Bell, but has been on good form recently for both club and country. Her playing all three matches of this tournament suggests she will be the first-choice keeper heading into the Asian Cup.

The state of women’s football in Korea

When Korea’s women last lifted this trophy in 2005, there were only two or three semi-professional women’s teams in the country, and no year-round league. As women’s football saw a massive expansion globally following the 1999 Women’s World Cup, there have been developments within Korea, too. However, despite the establishment of the WK League in 2009, and the success of Korean players overseas, bringing more media attention to women’s football, the domestic situation still leaves a lot to be desired.

The league has barely expanded, with some clubs folding along the way and others — not to mention the league itself — said to be on the brink of financial collapseas recently as last year. Girls’ football academies are few and far between, and even long-established programmes face closure. Attendance at WK League matches is low — most people don’t seem to know it exists, and even those who do are put off by the weekday-only match calendar. Even the national team barely draws a crowd, with just 597 people showing up to see Korea lift the trophy last week. The smallest crowd in the men’s side of the tournament was 687, for a match between Japan and Hong Kong. In fact, attendances of women’s matches across the board at this year’s East Asian Cup were lower than those of the 2005 edition.

It’s not all doom and gloom. There’s a lot of talk in the media about a “generational shift” currently taking place in Korean women’s football. There appears to be truth to the narrative, with tangible changes taking place since the election of Yang Myungseok as the new chairman of the Korea Women’s Football Federation earlier this year. The KWFF is actively promoting its own league and tournaments, posting fixtures, scores, and even news on its newly updatedwebsite and social media. It may sound like the bare minimum, but sadly, even the bare minimum is an improvement. There is also renewed talk of expanding the WK League, establishing a women’s equivalent to the Korea Cup, and providing better support for youth players. Following the East Asian Cup win, chairman Yang posted a statement via KWFF channels congratulating the team and vowing to work harder to strengthen Korean women’s football and create a better environment for players.

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Change is slow, but looking back over the last twenty years of Korean women’s football, it’s hard not to think that change doesn’t have to be this slow. The EAFF Championship title is an important step on Korea’s road to the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup, but it could also become an important milestone in the history of Korean women’s football more broadly. The KWFF statement explicitly drawing a link between the development of the domestic women’s football environment and the national team as the pride of Korea is a promising sign. Let’s hope it’s not another false start.