soccer

Japan beats South Korea 2-1 to win East Asian Cup

33 Comments

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The game was medicore itself but very exciting towards the final whistle with Kakitani calmly putting the ball into the net after Haraguchi's last effort and Toyoda clearing the ball from the goal line. Congratulations, Vamos Nippon!

2 ( +6 / -3 )

Ooooh, that's gotta hurt!

4 ( +11 / -7 )

Good job gents but also keep in mind that further challenges await. See you guys in 2014 World Cup, cheers.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Go Nippon, and go Zac! :)

4 ( +8 / -4 )

2 things stand out as being quite remarkable: They beat Korea at home, and Kakitani's consistency as a goal scorer.

9 ( +14 / -5 )

Well done, B team. Will Kakitani prove to be the striker Japan has been looking for? He's certainly cocky enough to be.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Glad Japan won, but they were seriously, seriously lucky to come out on top. They need a lot of sorting out if they're going to impress in Brazil.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Good to see the young players really going for it!! Well done Japan.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

They need a lot of sorting out if they're going to impress in Brazil.

Sure, but this is the junior varsity team, comprised completely of j-league players. I imagine Zac will select 3 players tops from this group.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

The first time Japan beat Korea in an away game in eight years.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

@kickboard

this is the junior varsity team,

Good point. : )

I don't know much about the Koreans. Were they at full-strength? I imagine they took the tournament a bit more seriously as hosts....

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Glad Japan won, but they were seriously, seriously lucky to come out on top. They need a lot of sorting out if they're going to impress in Brazil.

Probably the only player from this squad that might see some time in Brazil would be Kakitani. Although the coach seems to like defensive forwards so Toyoda might get called instead. He missed even the simplest of headers against Australia, but cleared off the line after the keeper screwed up in this one.

Anyway, it was more like a home match in the 2nd half because Korean fans went silent in protest of their banner being taken down.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Anyway, it was more like a home match in the 2nd half because Korean fans went silent in protest of their banner being taken down.

When will the Korean ever learn, leave your political baggage at home and don't bring it to a soccer match. Next time they do it they will probably be banned from entering the stadium.

4 ( +12 / -8 )

SamuraiBlue: "when will Korea ever learn, leave your political baggage at home..."

Says the guy making a political comment.

Good on Japan for winning.

-8 ( +9 / -17 )

Congrats Japan on a great win, from a Korean supporter.

No better way to win than an injury-time winner.

And in case people aren't aware, the EAFC is an opportunity for the national coaches to blood the younger and up-and-coming talent, and participating teams usually leave out the big name players.

As a Korean football fan I was pleased with the way we played. Bigger possession of the ball, patient build-up play and good use of the flanks. We did not convert our chances, but that's been our problem for as long as I can recall. Both Japan's goals came from a counter-attack, and they took both chances, which is what counts in the end.

9 ( +13 / -4 )

Says the guy making a political comment.

.... on a website where political commentary is expected and encouraged. I realize it may be hard for you to understand but there is a big difference between posting an opinion on a website and bringing a political banner to a soccer game.

As SamuraiBlue said "when will they learn"? The Koreans have already been scolded by FIFA for similar actions in the past. This time, in addition to their inappropriate banner, they also brought pictures of some guy from the sixteenth century. And then they pouted when forced to remove the offensive items from the stands. #shakehead

7 ( +14 / -7 )

hahaha, awesome Japan again proves it is no joke. Good to hear they beat Korea.

1 ( +8 / -7 )

I didn't see the game, but I'd like to thank everyone who has posted here to fill me in. Keep it up.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Those who live in the past have no future.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Those who live in the past have no future.

The irony no doubt being lost on you. Those fools were holding up pictures of a sixteenth century military general (guess they had to go that far back to find someone who actually won a battle against Japan) and some other guy who assassinated a Japanese PM more than 100 years ago.

Do you see who is "living in the past" gokai_wo_maneku ?

3 ( +6 / -3 )

@ hidingout - c'mon, this is a sport thread, not politics. Give the "Koreans are bad/Japanese are good" mantra a rest in this topic - and lets talk soccer.

Is Nishikawa good enough to oust Kawashima in goal in Brazil? Will Kakitani get a start over there? Both look better than the regulars, IMO.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

They rightfully took down the banners, and a lot of Koreans don't agree sporting events should be used as politics. One thing puzzles me though, why the stadium officials didn't ask the Japanese side to take down their big Rising Sun flags which offends a lot of Koreans (Don't tell me Japanese know this, so don't give me the excuse that it's just a flag, not waving that flag in Korea). It would be like having German fans waving a big swastika in a stadium in Israel. But anyway, I hope we don't see such bad displays from both sides, going forward.

I don't know much about the Koreans. Were they at full-strength? I imagine they took the tournament a bit more seriously as hosts....

It was basically made up of K-League, second division K-League, J-League, and U-23 team. The new coach did a lot of experiment. Their goal is to prepare for the world cup, and find new players. He did a fairly good job in only couple of weeks since he became coach, putting together the squad, and instilling a new game plan. They dominated all three games, but their down fall was the finishing touches around the goal. They should have scored at least ten goals against Australia, and full strength China, with so many chances. But it's still a good potential for some of those players making it to the World Cup team.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

One thing puzzles me though, why the stadium officials didn't ask the Japanese side to take down their big Rising Sun flags which offends a lot of Koreans

It was there for 3 minutes before being taken down.

They rightfully took down the banners, and a lot of Koreans don't agree sporting events should be used as politics.

Yup, the atmosphere in the Japanese end was pretty friendly throught the game and Japanese got along fairly well with Koreans who were sitting there I heard.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Chucky, the politically loaded banner (which read "there is no future for a nation that forgets its past") is indefensible, no matter which way you look at it.

I do share your views regarding the rising sun flag, because it is most associated with militaristic Japan in the 20th century, despite arguments it existed long before that era. Japanese fans who use the banner against Korea or China know it is offensive and that is why they insist on displaying it. But there are proper channels to address this issue, and the political banner did Koreans no favours at all.

Again, congratulations to Japan on their 1st EAFC title.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Chucky, the politically loaded banner (which read "there is no future for a nation that forgets its past") is indefensible, no matter which way you look at it.

That's what I said. So the stadium officials took them down. Rightfully so.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

The question I ask t the Koreans is "What is the main objective to cheer to your home team or make a political statement at the game?" the reason I ask is because as therougou had posted the Koreans stopped cheering for their home team in the second half as protest because their political statement banner was ordered to be removed. I really feel sorry for the Korean national team where their fans saw their political statement a higher priority then cheering them at the game.

Korean really needs to get their agenda straightened out.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

put the Koreans in their place, good job japan

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Terribly scrappy game. Each marked their opponent so closely that there was a red and blue pair at every long kick or header. A long string of injuries and yellow cards. Balls were kicked or headed wildly throughout the game meaning Japan never showed any ability to control possess the ball. Clearing kicks from the Japanese defense were never aimed to connect up with anyone in particular.

Korea on the other hand proved time and time again better at keeping and dribbling and passing accurately. They were really unlucky not to win this one.

As to the politics, not again. As with racism in European football, clear and forceful examples need to be made.

Let's keep sports neutral.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

hidingout:

The irony no doubt being lost on you. Those fools were holding up pictures of a sixteenth century military general (guess they had to go that far back to find someone who actually won a battle against Japan) and some other guy who assassinated a Japanese PM more than 100 years ago. Do you see who is "living in the past" gokaiwomaneku ?

No, the real irony here is that you made a long post bashing gokai_wo_maneku, but somehow missed the fact that he was not quoting the Korean banner, but actually mocking it. The banner read "A nation that forgets its history has no future".

0 ( +1 / -1 )

the reason I ask is because as therougou had posted the Koreans stopped cheering for their home team in the second half as protest because their political

Where you get the impression Koreans stopped cheering? A few red devil cheer leaders stopped cheering in protest. That was it. Most Koreans think they're idiots. What's the big deal?

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

This was a great win for Japan but Korea won't be feeling too badly about the loss. They dominated for most of match, had more chances with a highly experimental team that had probably 2 hours practicing together before the tourney under their spanking new manager after a total disintegration from previous managers' systems.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Where you get the impression Koreans stopped cheering? A few red devil cheer leaders stopped cheering in protest. That was it. Most Koreans think they're idiots. What's the big deal?

If you watched the match, you could hear only Japanese fans chanting throughout most of the 2nd half. Even the Japanese commentators said something like, "the few Japanese in the crowd are making a loud noise!", not knowing about the banner incident at the time. Not saying you are wrong, as maybe the Korean fans weren't very vocal to begin with, but this is why we got the impression that they stopped cheering.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It seems like a game between Argentina vesus Brazil.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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