Korea-Japan soccer in the 21st century is going through a golden age. With players from the world's top clubs including Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Korean soccer is considered the strongest star team in Asia.
Having invested for a long time dreaming of becoming a "soccer powerhouse," Japanese soccer is paying off. Most of the representative players, including Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton), Daichi Gadama (Crystal Palace), Wataru Endo (Liverpool), Yukinari Sugawara (Southampton), Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), are focusing on playing in top European clubs to gain competitive edge.
However, there is no chance to see a face-off between Korea and Japan's star players. The soccer match between Korea and Japan is suspended for 2022. The third round of the EAFF E-1 Football Championship (0-3 loss) held on July 27 was the last. The EAFF E-1 Football Championship, which was called the East Asian Cup in the past, is not held during the A-match period set by FIFA, so only domestic teams will participate. The match between Korea and Japan, which was held through proper warm-up matches, was held in Yokohama, Japan, under Paulo Bento, in March 2021, when Korea was completely defeated 0-3.
The Korea-Japan match has not been held for about two years and six months. It is the longest gap between Korea and Japan since the 1990s when Korea-Japan exchanges began to take place actively. Korea is leading the Korea-Japan matches by a large margin with 42 wins, 16 draws, and 23 losses. However, Japan is seen as a burden to Korea in many ways. Although the Korea-Japan match is said to be a rivalry game that has a significant impact on players other than its capacity, the reality is that Japan is leaning toward its advantage in terms of objective strength.
Japan's soccer team is currently on a steep rise. As a member of Group E, which was considered the "death squad" at the Qatar World Cup, the team surprised the world by reaching the round of 16 by defeating European powerhouses Germany and Spain, 2-1, respectively. The team also lost to Croatia in the round of 16 after a 1-1 draw, proving that its performance and teamwork have risen to the world level. Korea has been unilaterally pushed to two wins and five losses in matches against Korea and Japan starting in 2022. Among the two wins is the final of the Hangzhou Asian Games (2-1 win), in October 2023, when Japan did not display its flagship performance.
It is unlikely that an A-match featuring Korea and Japan's star players will take place right away. The next match between Korea and Japan is the EAFF E-1 Football Championship scheduled for July. The national team is scheduled to play four games of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup during the A-match period in March and June. A friendly match will be scheduled during the A-match period afterwards, but with the World Cup just a year away, the possibility of a match between Korea and Japan is uncertain as it could be a bit tricky for the two teams' head coaches.
Marking the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan in 2025, however, the sports community and the private sector are showing signs of pushing for Korea-Japan matches in various sports. This is an expectation that a proper Korea-Japan match can take place. The will of the next president of the Korea Football Association and the current situation in Korea also play a role. 안전놀이터
The timing of the next match between Korea and Japan could also draw attention as Son Heung-min plays in the upcoming match. Son has played 131 A matches (second place in all time), but has played in only one match between Korea and Japan. After playing as a substitute in the 37th minute in the second half of the Asian Cup semifinal in January 2011 until the second half (loss in penalty shootout), he had no chance to play in the A match against Korea and Japan for the next 14 years. Son played in the final match against Japan at the Jakarta-Palembang 2018 Asian Games in September, but this was a team match under the age of 23, which is the national team.