*This content was translated by AI.
China, which blasted South Korea, gave Japan a complete defeat in the final, was highly praised.
Japan's under-23 (U-23) national soccer team defeated China 4-0 in the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup final in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on the 25th (Korea time) and lifted the trophy.
Japan dominated China from the beginning of the game. Starting with Yuto Ozeki's first goal in the 12th minute of the first half, Kosei Ogura scored an additional goal in the 20th minute to take the lead.
In the 14th minute of the second half, Sato Ryunosuke, the MVP and top scorer of the tournament, scored a penalty kick. In the 31st minute of the second half, Ogura scored a decisive goal to complete the great victory.
Japan put up the U-21 national team for this tournament. It was organized with the Los Angeles Olympics in mind two years later.
The Chinese media's response after the game was 180 degrees different from that of the defeat against Korea. According to Japanese media 'Kokokara', Chinese media 'Sohu Dotcom' covered its players shortly after the final, saying, "The defeat itself is not a strange thing, and the young players fought well."
Nevertheless, he paid tribute to Japan's performance. The media said, "Before the game, there was also optimism that Japan would be inferior to China in terms of physical strength because it was the U-21 national team. "China came up with five scoreless games, so I predicted the possibility of winning," he said. "However, the reality has become a form of learning how China should play soccer with Japan's sophisticated passes and linked plays."
"The Chinese players couldn't even keep up with Japan's speed," he said. "The Japanese players have both physical and high skills to endure rough physical fights. There is still a long way to go in Chinese soccer," he said, acknowledging the difference in skills.
It is in contrast to the reaction seen when Korea lost to Vietnam just a day ago. China has mocked South Korea's loss to Vietnam in the third-place match.
Shortly after Korea's defeat on the 24th, Chinese media "Sina Sports" made headlines about Korea's downfall, saying, "Is it the Korean national team, or South Korea, which lost three games in this tournament and suffered its first defeat against Vietnam, was angry." The media even stressed, "It is the first time in history that the Korean U-23 national team has lost to Vietnam, and it is a disgrace in 23 years since the senior national team lost 0-1 in 2003."
He also criticized the game. "South Korea seemed to be chasing throughout the game," Sina Sports said. "With Nguyen Dinh Park's exit, they failed to win even though they had a numerical advantage at the end of the second half and throughout the 30 minutes of extra time. He couldn't win despite throwing 32 shots. In the penalty shootout, the goalkeeper played a rough game in which he could not read all seven kick directions."
Chinese fans were also cynical. "Sina Sports" and "Sohu Dotcom" were followed by comments saying, "Korea's true skills were revealed because it did not bribe the referee," and "The fact that one more player did not win in more than 40 minutes is evidence of weak power."
In fact, Lee Min-sung ended the tournament in fourth place by losing 6-7 in the penalty shootout after a rough match against Vietnam in the third-place match. He left a humiliating record of his first defeat in the Vietnam War and went home empty-handed.
China, on the other hand, is said to have rewritten its soccer history, although it missed the championship. China, which had not even passed the group stage before, achieved its first-ever finals with a scoreless streak of five consecutive games. In the semifinals, he also gained momentum by defeating manager Kim Sang-sik's Vietnam 3-0.
<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>
*This content was translated by AI.
