In the EAFF Championships, the women’s football lineup is arguably more spectacular than men’s. Unlike the men’s competition which many top players could not participate due to FIFA rules, the women’s competition is filled with the top-class resources from each country. This is expected to kick up the quality of the matches.

The first player that catches the eye is Ji So-yun. The player, currently in INAC Kobe, is undoubtedly the top star of Korean football. She is an adept playmaker who skillfully leads the team’s attack with penetrative kicks. Her debut in A matches was when she was only 16. She has played in various national teams since. Having earned the Silver Ball and the Silver Shoe in the FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup, her experience in the international stage makes her valuable in the Korean team.

The Japanese team is known to be one of the top teams in the world. So much that it is difficult to pick a few best players instead of many. Despite the absence of the Ballon d’Or winner Homare Sawa, the Japanese team is still full of accomplished European leaguers like Asuna Tanaka and Kozue Ando of Frankfurt, Saki Kumagai of Olympique Lyon, Yuki Ogimi of Chelsea and Mana Iwabuchi of Hoffenheim. With these seasoned players, Japan aims for the third consecutive victory. Among these players, the most interesting is Yuki Ogimi. Kicking 45 goals in just 98 A matches, she is Japan’s “main gun” along with Shinobu Ohno. Through this year’s EAFF Championships, she is expected to join the highly exclusive Century Club.

In China, one of the Asian powers in women’s football, the captain Pu Wei gets much attention. The 33-year-old veteran midfielder, Pu Wei was with China’s history in Women’s football since 1999 Women’s World Cup and through to 2008 Beijing Olympics. The Chinese team expects her international experience and leadership to positively affect the team, and ultimately aid the team in regaining its former glory.

From DPRK, which attracted much attention on whether to participate in the games or not, there are two top players to look out for. The strikers Lee Ae-gyeong and Ra Eun-sim are aggressive and dynamic players with excellent goal-kicks. The two players contributed greatly to DPRK’s silver medal in the 2010 Asian Games, and displayed excellent performance in the 2012 London Olympics. The two players are admired to be Lee Gum-suk and Jin Byeol-hi of the new generation, who led the DPRK team to be a world-class team back in the mid-2000s.