Women s Football East Asian Cup: Can the Korean women s football team counterattack when facing their strong rivals Japanese women s football team?

The 2025 Women's Football East Asian Cup is about to kick off. As the host, the head coach of the Korean women's football team, Shin Sang, said before the game: "Our goal in this event held in the local area is of course to win the championship. Being able to compete with the top Asian teams and prepare for the upcoming Asian Cup is a very valuable opportunity. In order to achieve this goal, we must win the first game." In the recent confrontation between the Chinese women's football team and the Korean women's football team, the Chinese team took the lead twice, but was tied by the South Korean team for a row, and finally shook hands 2-2 to make peace. In response, the well-known media person Ma Dexing criticized mercilessly: "The team played badly! Who is the head coach?"

To win the East Asian Cup, the Korean women's football team needs to defeat the Japanese women's football team in the second round of the game. However, even if the Chinese women's football team, which performed "badly", can the Korean women's football team really rely on their hopes to defeat the Japanese team?

Regarding the competition between the Japanese women's football team and the Korean women's football team, this game belongs to the second round of the Women's Football East Asian Cup group stage and will be held at 19:00 on July 13. The Japanese women's football team has won the East Asian Cup three times, and the passing control style it showed at the 2011 World Cup still has become a benchmark in Asia. In the past eight confrontations, the Japanese women's football team has suppressed the South Korean team with an absolute advantage of 5 wins and 1 draw. In the Olympic qualifiers in October last year, the Japanese women's football team beat South Korea with a score of 4-0, completely tearing apart its psychological defense.

However, the Korean women's football team that is fighting locally is not without opportunities. In the last ten home games, the Korean women's football team has suffered only one defeat, especially the draw with the England women's football team last year, which has shown their strong home momentum. At the same time, the Japanese women's football team is also facing the challenge of high temperatures. Over the past five years, the team's winning rate has plummeted by 22% in environments above 30°C. In the first match against Taipei, Japan's overall performance was exhausted and passed mistakes frequently.

At present, the 4-3-3 tactical system of the Japanese women's football team is like a precise clock. The engine on the right rib, Aikawa Yona made three key passes in the first game, and the cooperation efficiency with high center Miyu Yajihara reached 68%. Young Rising Star Takahashi Kazumi performed well on the left wing, but her offense brought gaps behind her, allowing the inferior Chinese Taipei team to get as many as 7 shots. If Kumaya Saki's defense line is lax in hot weather, it may lead to a counterattack.

, while the Korean women's football team adopts the 4-2-3-1 counterattack tactic. Veteran Chi Xiaoran scored with a long pass in the first game, revealing the essence of their "three-second end" tactics. The fast Cui Youli hit the Japanese team's weaknesses and teamed up with Zhang Seqi on the wing to create 5 excellent opportunities. In addition, the physical advantages of the Korean women's football team cannot be ignored. The average height of the entire team reached 1.68 meters, forming a strong threat of set pieces, which just restrained the Japanese team's 58% advantage in the top position.

If the Japanese women's football team wants to convert the 68% possession rate of the first game into victory, they must conquer South Korea's double-layer defense line. South Korean backcourt players have extremely strong interception ability, and they often block their opponents from invading the middle lane, while Japan's cross-success rate is only 28%, which needs to be solved urgently.

Under the harsh conditions of 42℃, the Japanese women's football team will face a great test. After the first game, the team's running per minute decreased by 13%, while South Korea added threats to the end of the game due to its aggressive fighting style. Especially the speed of Kumaya Saki and Choi Youli's confrontation, the risk index continued to soar over time.

To sum up, in this highly anticipated contest, we can expect the Japanese women's football team to win.