The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced its position on the June A-match Korea-Japan match raised by the Japanese media, saying, “It is nothing more and nothing less than a simple idea.”
Japanese media such as Nikkan Sports and Sports Hochi reported on the 12th, “KFA and the Japan Football Association (JFA) discussed holding an A match in June. There was a strong request from the KFA, and talks were held in March.”
However, KFA immediately denied it. What the working-level officials on both sides lightly said was exaggerated. A KFA official said, “This is not a serious story. The joke with the JFA partner, ‘If there is no good A-match opponent, let’s do it ourselves’ has been expanded. It is an embarrassing situation,” he explained. Of course, there has been no exchange of official documents related to the A-match promotion.
In fact, the two sides have been closely collaborating on every A-match week set by the International Football Federation (FIFA). Following Brazil and Paraguay in June of last year, Uruguay and Colombia were invited together in March this year to play friendly matches at different schedules. The cost burden was greatly reduced while taking advantage of the adjacent geographic characteristics.
Of course, the Korea-Japan match is a very attractive card. The two countries are long-standing rivals who reached the round of 16 side by side at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. In the overall record, we are greatly ahead with 42 wins, 23 draws and 16 losses, but in the two confrontations that took place in March 2021 and July 2022, both were defeated 0-3, greatly damaging our pride. Expectations are also high for Korea, coached by Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany), and Japan, coached by Hajime Moriyasu, to face off with the best team members preparing for the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America. Even the 30th round of the English Premier League (EPL) in the 2022-2023 season, which took place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London last weekend, was packaged as a “mini Korea-Japan match” between Korean captain Son Heung-min (Tottenham) and Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton), drawing the spotlight. received. 메이저사이트
But now is a sensitive time. Our national team is in the midst of rebuilding. Not only is the burden of the match result high, but in June, where up to two matches are possible, each other wants to hold an A-match at home. In addition, both Korea and Japan are planning overseas expeditions in the second half of the year, so the possibility of an immediate Korea-Japan war is not high.