S. Korea wins East Asian Cup football title

Beaten in their first two games, Japan, who have brought a squad made up largely of reserves to the four-team tournament, dominated long stretches of the game but were thwarted time and again by China goalkeeper Wang Fei.

Yu, 63, a former major general in the Korean army, praised the coach’s ability in military terms.

These three players are the latest pet projects by Stielike, who continues to unearth gems from places that no one expects him to. Following his success in China, he is already looking forward to the 2018 Federation Internationale de Football Association World Cup Asian qualifiers. “We couldn’t win it. Had we done the risk management better then we could have had a shot, but I hope people watching will forgive them for that”.

“Each one of the players competed to his strength, and we earned the respect from our opponents”, Stielike added.

Stielike put out his youngest squad yet for the East Asian Cup games against China and North Korea. When that match ended in a 1-1 draw, it set off some awkward moments of players in polo shirts and sweatpants rejoicing their title.

It should foster healthy competition at some positions on the national team.

“It’s a regret that we lost the first match, but in the rest of the matches, we played well”, the Frenchman told reporters.

When the match starts, Stielike turns into a courageous coach, Yu said. Kim Jin-hyeon of Cerezo Osaka emerged as the No. 1 man, and led South Korea to the runner-up finish at the AFC Asian Cup. “We did see improvement in the performances over the course of the tournament”. It has been a good opportunity for the new players. “In the military, if a commander shows his honest heart, soldiers respond to it with the same”, Yu said.

Kim, of Ulsan Hyundai, has had a roller coaster ride in his global career over the past year or so.

Korea DPR won the women’s edition of the East Asian Cup yesterday, sealing it with a 2-0 win over Korea Republic. He won the league title with Qatari club Al-Sailiya in the 2011-2 season, but that was when the club was in the second division.

2014 World Cup striker Yoshito Okubo questioned the coach’s decisions, telling The Japan Times that the results were to be expected. “Personally, I am very happy and honored about the win”.

Yet there was hardly anything awkward about the way these same players performed in their three matches in China.

Midfielder Jang Hyun-soo was named the MVP of the tournament, and defender Kim Young-gwon was selected as the competition’s best defensive player. The K-League-based players also raised their profile during this tournament.