China (red shirt) could not even make an impression against Japan's "C team" - Photo: CN
Lost to the whole "C team"
In just a few days, the Chinese football team suffered two humiliating defeats, losing 0-3 to South Korea and then losing 0-2 to Japan, within the framework of the East Asian Championship (EAFF Cup).
It's worth noting that it was worse than a loss, as South Korea and Japan brought only mediocre players to the tournament.
Indeed, 20/26 players called by coach Hajime Moriyasu to participate in the EAFF Cup 2025 are "new soldiers" of the Japanese team.
They are not young anymore, with most of them between 24 and 30 years old. These players have simply never been called up to the national team because they are not capable enough. Only in the EAFF Cup, they have the opportunity to be called up.
Similarly, 13/26 Korean players participating in the tournament are rookies. All stars like Son Heung Min, Lee Kang In are obviously absent, and even the good stars like Paik Seung Ho, Oh Hyeon Gyu are also at home.
South Korea and Japan didn't even send a B team to the EAFF Cup, but only a "C team". And yet their C team still easily beat China.
The decline of Chinese football is nothing new, but consecutive defeats against South Korea and Japan at all levels over the past 10 years have forced the country's experts to admit a harsh reality.
That reality is described by two phrases "Kong Han Zheng" (Koreaphobia) and "Kong Ri Zheng" (Japanphobia), collectively called "Japanophobia".
Immediately after the loss to South Korea, the IFeng Sports newspaper commented that "the fear of South Korea is so great that even breathing is a mistake".
Is it a matter of skill or mentality?
The phrase "Korean phobia" appears frequently in domestic media.
An article on Sohu commented: “It has been 8 years since our last victory over South Korea at any level of football. From the national team to the U16 team, we have all failed. This syndrome cannot be cured by simply changing the coach."
China (white shirt) lost to South Korea after only one round - Photo: XINHUA
Similarly, the phrase “Japanophobia” was also mentioned when analyzing the 0-7 loss to Japan in the World Cup qualifiers last September.
In the last 8 encounters with Japan, China lost 7, with the only time they escaped defeat being against the opponent's "C team" in the 2022 EAFF Cup. But now, even the final limit China cannot overcome.
Not only at the national level, China's U23 and U20 teams also have poor records against Japan and South Korea. In the last 5 matches against South Korea U23, China lost 4 and won only 1, but those were friendly matches.
Against U23 Japan, they also lost both matches last year. And at the 2023 AFC U20 Championship, the outcome is of course no different.
Expert Han Qiaosheng - one of the veteran writers of Chinese football - analyzed on Weibo: "We are not only losing in technique but also in mentality. Players are afraid of collision, do not dare to keep the ball, and continuously clear the ball without direction. That is a sign of fear."
When asked about this fear, former coach Gao Hongbo also shook his head and said: "We need 10 years to narrow the gap in skill level, but just 1 year of poor mentality, everything will fall apart."
In fact, Chinese football fans and experts have long accepted the reality that they are far behind Korea and Japan in terms of skill. What they are bitter about is why they always lose, no matter the circumstances.
In the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, South Korea was held to a draw by Oman, Jordan, and Palestine (in both the first and second legs). This was an important stage, so South Korea always went all out, and the Middle Eastern teams showed that the Asian giants were not too scary.
On the contrary, in the less important second stage, South Korea played to conserve energy and still easily won against China both times they met.
And the recent victory with the "C team" was the last straw. Chinese fans bitterly accepted the reality that even the average players in Korea and Japan were far beyond the level of their national team.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/trung-quoc-dau-don-vi-chung-so-nhat-han-20250713155737194.htm
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